A dip in the dark: Muslims demand swimming pool windows be covered to protect modesty

From The DailyMail U.K.

Swimmers plunged into dark after council covers swimming pool windows ‘to protect Muslim women’s modesty’

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:04 PM on 5th July 2010

A council has sparked anger after officials blacked out windows on a glass-panelled swimming pool to protect the modesty of Muslim women.

Darlaston Leisure Centre in the West Midlands’ town of Walsall, was hailed for its ‘ultra-modern’ design when it opened ten years ago.

But now council staff have covered 250 windows with dark-tinted film following complaints from Muslim swimmers.

Darlaston swimming poolDispute:The swimming pool in Darlaston, near Wolverhampton, West Midlands, where some users are unhappy by the council’s decision to cover windows with an opaque film

Muslim swimmers Darlaston swimming pool No looking please: The clear glass panes towards the bottom of the pool’s outer wall have been covered in a frosted film to prevent people outside looking in

But other users say the move has plunged the pool into almost permanent darkness and branded it ‘political correctness gone stark-raving mad’.

Pauline Poole, 65, a retired legal secretary from Walsall, said: ‘I returned to swimming after having a cataracts operation some months ago and was looking forward to looking out on some lovely trees while swimming.

‘What I found was a situation that reminded me of how it felt like before my operation, like looking at a horrible cloudy view.

‘If it was done for a minority of people, then why was there no vote on it?’

Retired building surveyor John Ewart, 63, from Walsall, added: ‘I cannot believe this council has agreed to something so loony.

‘The whole thing smacks of political correctness gone stark raving mad.

‘A lot of the people who swim are elderly or retired and they now have to swim in the gloom.’

A worker at the pool, who did not want to be named, said: ‘The windows were covered up and it’s probably cost a few hundred pounds.

‘Several customers complained it made the pool dark and dingy but we didn’t have a choice.’

The council initially refused to replace the windows with frosted glass because it was too expensive.

Today, the council defended the decision, saying they had ‘listened to the concerns of users’.

Councillor Anthony Harris said: ‘I’m pleased that we’ve been able to make these modifications because not only does it show we’re listening to the views and concerns of our users but also because it enhances the privacy of swimmers.’

A spokeswoman for Walsall Council said the complaints had predominantly come from the Muslim community but that non-Muslim women had also objected.

She said: ‘We received a request from the Muslim Community to protect the modesty of swimmers.

‘There were also requests made by some non-Muslim users as well.’

6 Replies to “A dip in the dark: Muslims demand swimming pool windows be covered to protect modesty”

  1. ‘There were also requests made by some non-Muslim users as well.’

    Just as the Lockerbie bomber had 3 months left to live after Kenny MacAskill released it (not him)…

  2. Jews set up their own institutions. In the twenties or thirties when Jewish medical graduates were unable to obtain positions in Toronto hospitals, they set up their own, no whining, no complaining. Any one care to rank the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto?

    The YMHA’s were set up out of their own resources.

  3. Where’s the fun in taking responsibility? it’s not part of the game. No, it’s far more exciting to seek out established institutions and force them to comply to a set of irrational religious edicts. Next thing you know, they’ll demand that non-Muslims wear burqas in the swimming pool to also ‘protect’ their modesty.

    It wasn’t long ago that Muslims demanded halal food in fast food joints in Paris; not in addition to what was already offered on the menu of course, but to replace the menu altogether with Allah blessed burgers. What happened? Despite the fact that restaurants catered to sharia, they then decided to not frequent the restaurants. Why? it’s all in the game–the fun is in the demand not the result. Let’s see how long it is before these Muslim women stop swimming at this pool altogether. Once we learn how to play the game, we’ll see different results.

  4. If the practitioners of ‘The Religion Of Peace’ desire special accommodations let them purchase and build their own. They are never satisfied, give them an inch and they demand and take a mile.

  5. Dhimmitude and political correctness goes hand in hand with the Islamification of the UK.

    Within two years, I predict that one of two things will happen to the UK.

    Either it will become the first western European nation to become Islamicized or the people will rise up and throw out those who would appease Muslims and those they are appeasing with no recourse to appeal.

    If they want to live under sharia law, SHIP THEM ALL BACK TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM.

  6. Grace’s point also apply to the flops of sharia finance in the West…