Public
pool bars father and son from its 'Muslim-only' swimming session
04/17/2008·
DailyMail | April 18,k 2008
| Colin Fernandez / Nick Mcdermott
Here is more
evidence of Islam embedding itself in the EU and exerting control little by
little in anything and everything so that they can make their presence known
and felt throughout all of EU society.
A father and
his five-year-old son were turned away from their local swimming pool because
they were the wrong religion. David Toube, 39, and
his son Harry were told that the Sunday morning session was reserved for Muslim
men only...
Hackney Council, which runs the Clissold Leisure Centre in Stoke Newington, north
However, the Muslim-only session was advertised on
its website.
Mr Toube, a corporate lawyer,
described his experiences on a blog.
"I arrived at the pool to discover that they
were holding what staff described to me as "Muslim men only
swimming"," he wrote.
"I asked whether my son and I could go as we
were both male. I was told that the session was for Muslims only, and that we
could not be admitted. I asked what would happen if I turned up and insisted I
was Muslim. (One wonders what would occur in jolly old
"The manager suggested that they might ask
the Muslims swimming if they minded my son and I
swimming with them. If they didn't object, we might be allowed in."
A few days later, Mr Toube, who lives with his wife, 38-year-old barrister
Samantha, and their two sons in Stoke Newington,
"He gave me an identical story. His explanation was
that it was a requirement of the Muslim religion that Muslims could not swim
with non-Muslims." (This can not be
found chapter and verse in the Koran)
Mr Toube joked: "I asked him
whether Clissold Leisure Centre would institute
Whites Only swimming for racists. His answer was that
they would if there was sufficient demand."
He added: "I spoke to a number of Muslim friends,
and none of them had heard of a religious prohibition on swimming with
non-Muslims.”
"One friend was so disgusted with Hackney for
trying to segregate Muslims and non Muslims that he suggested that he take his
little daughter swimming with us, just to prove the point."
However, Dr Taj Hargey, chair of the Muslim Education Centre of Oxford,
said it was not true that Muslims could not swim with non-Muslims.
"There is no Koranic verse or any statement
from the sources of Islam that says different religions should be
segregated," he said.
"The only requirement is that when women swim
they should be modestly clad."
The Prophet Mohammed is recorded as saying that it
is a Muslim's duty to learn to swim as it could save his or her life.
The swimming sessions for male Muslims were
advertised as taking place every Sunday from 8am to 9.30am.
Leaflets stipulated: "It is compulsory for
the body to be covered between the navel and the knees.
"Anyone not adhering to the dress code or
rules within the pool will not be allowed to swim. All brothers welcome.'
A leisure centre spokesman said staff
were wrong to refuse entry to Mr Toube.
He added: "The member of staff the user spoke
with at the time was mistaken when referring to the session as Muslim-only.
"The men's modesty session is not a private
hire and is, therefore, open to the public.
"Staff cannot ask your religion on entrance
and you won't be refused entry if you don't appear to be Muslim."
A spokesman for the Equality and Human Rights
Commission said: "Segregating
services may amount to unlawful discrimination and could create a sense of
unfairness, inadvertently increasing community tension."
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