The "burqini"

I'm not trying to make fun of this -- people can wear what they want -- but why call it burqini? A burqa is a rather extreme form of fundamentalist gear that is not found in much of the Muslim world outside of Afghanistan and, to a much less degree, India and Pakistan. Is the Taliban what they want their product to be associated with?

Incidentally, this "burqini" is now standard issue for Muslim female lifeguards in Australia.

Comments

[SP]

Purely shock/novelty value. I think the choice of the term "burqini" is simply because it sounds more snappy and has more Western name recognition (thanks to the Taleban) than say "hijabini" or "niqabikini." Though it's interesting to note that many of the outfits professional swimmers wear these days (full length, bodysuitish, with swim caps) are just the same except close-fitting and without the neck covered.

Those lifeguard outfits make them look strangely like Teletubbies.

[Cosmic]

Extremist, fundamentalist. Very useful and meaningful words.

[ben]

Fundamentalist maybe, expensive surely: AU$ 190 (US$150) only...

[Hamuksha]

Why didn't we hear about a 'microjab' 10 years ago? This trend of 'reconciliation" is all-new. Amusing. It began with Mecca-Cola, didn't it?

[Hamuksha]

No, no. Not Mecca-Cola. The debut fruit of this mind must be the 'Islamic shorts' (short Islami). It hit the Egyptian shores in the early 1990s.

[Waleed]

I think it is a great name. Burqini has made news websites and blogs buzzing for a few months now.

Yeah, and it does look like the Teletubbies.

[demerdash]

Do muslim female safeguards provide mouth-to-mouth breathing to men if necessary?
it seems to me it has more to do with fashion and style, than with religion. Look at me, im so cool, i wear burqini, im an active woman and a mysterious muslima at the same time..pretty attractive no? sometimes im a bit confused of what im allowed to do and what im not, but it's ok... i rebelious. i dont think they beleive that they would evoke dirty minds of beachboys that much if they had not covered their hair on the beach anyway.

[Global Voices Online » B]

[...] Al Amrani still has a few unanswered questions about the Islamic bikini - burqini. “I’m not trying to make fun of this — people can wear what they want — but why call it [...]