NewsInternational

French court cancels license to use "sharia bikini" in Grenoble

DDHK.ORG - A French court has canceled a permit that previously allowed the use of the burkini in the city of Grenoble. With the decision, the French court again banned the use of the "sharia bikini".

Previously, in May 2022, the City of Grenoble had permitted the use of the burkini after several local Muslim women protested the ban. "What we want for women and men is that they can dress however they want," Grenoble Mayor Eric Piolle said at the time, as quoted by France24.

However, the city court rejected the decision. The objection was then upheld in France's highest administrative court on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

According to the French Security Council, based on the principle of religious neutrality, allowing the use of the burkini would undermine "equal treatment of visitors, which compromises the neutrality of public services."

"Contrary to Grenoble City's claims of objectivity," the city's initial decision to allow the use of the burkini was only "to satisfy demands of a religious nature," the court said.

The court also ruled that allowing the use of the burkini in the city of Grenoble could make some swimmers violate "hygiene and safety rules."

As reported by CNN, the French government implements religious neutrality in their "rules of separatism" approved by the government of President Emmanuel Macron. Under the law, France prohibits any act which has "the real purpose of making sectarian claims based on religion."

Meanwhile, Muslims in France often find it difficult to access public services due to restrictions on the use of religious symbols. The French government itself has banned the use of religious symbols such as Muslim headscarves, Jewish head coverings and large Christian crosses in several French schools. This ban was implemented in 2004. [Source: CNN Indonesia] [DDHKNews]

See also:

×