(Thumbnail image from Ahiida)

“Summer’s here and so is the Burqini, it’s a cross between a Burqa and a Bikini, the idea is to allow traditional muslim women to swim in public without restraint.”

Meet the burqini, a new fashion trend that’s sweeping the world of Muslim women’s fashion…or at least some parts of it.

Despite the Burqini’s modesty the bathing attire is causing a political stir in, of all places, traditionally non-traditional France.

This week, a Muslim woman was kicked out of a public swimming pool when she tried to enter the water wearing a Burqini.

"I just want to be able to swim with my children, that’s all this is about."

This is causing a bit of a scandal, especially in light of President Sarkozy’s stance on Islamic dress, or the Hijab.    

“The burqa is not welcome in France… We cannot accept in our country women imprisoned behind bars, cut off from social life, deprived of identity.”

The first lady, former swimwear model and singer Carla Bruni has been thus far silent on the issue.

A blogger for The Frisky, weighs in on the Burqini, saying that while the author agrees with President Sarkozy’s opinion that the hijab is a political statement and not a religious custom,

"…I also feel that it is in the hands of the Muslim women to change (if they wish to) their own burqa destiny without pressure from either their religion or Sarkozy. Dictating a dress code, even if it seems to protect women from subservience, might not be very productive."

The CBC interviewed some American Muslim women who say that the Hijab is empowering.

“It just says I would like you to judge me on who I am and what I do and not on the way I look.  You know it is a fact that men and women are perceived differently.”

The Burqini’s Australian designer, though, says the Burqini is less a cultural statement and more, as the French swimmer asserted, a practical solution to the problem of being a Muslim woman who wants to swim.

“Ahiida is a company that’s targeting practicality, you know easy, adapt to the lifestyle change, you know we need to get active, you know maybe even stop war, how about that?”

So, what do you think?  Is the Burqini a practical solution to a religious challenge or is it an extension of an oppressive culture?