(AhlulBayt News Agency) - A Muslim woman from Australia says she was forced off a French beach by angry locals for wearing a burkini.
Zeynab Alshelh, a 23-year-old medical student from Sydney, decided to fly to Europe to show support for Muslim women after 30 cities in the country banned full-length swimwear.
In an attempt to show solidarity, Ms Alshelh and her mother donned blue burkinis for a day out on the French Riviera with her father.
Despite the fact the ban on burkinis had since been overturned by France's highest administrative court, Ms Alshelh and her family faced a backlash from fellow beachcombers.
She said locals threatened to call the police if they didn’t leave.
“They weren't happy with us being there, even though it was on the beach that the burkini ban was overturned but the locals were not happy,” she said.
She told programme Sunday Night: “There shouldn't be a connection between terrorism and the burkini and there shouldn't be a connection between terrorism and Islam altogether.
“I have a nose, you have a nose you have two eyes, I have two eyes - everything is the same just slight difference in your believe systems.”
Frustrated by the reception she was met with at the beach, Ms Alshelh teamed up with a local Muslim woman to answer any questions the locals might have about the burkini.
Ms Alshelh, who began wearing a burka at the age of 10, said she has always been active in sports and was excited when she met Australian Aheda Zanetti, the creator of the burkini.
The controversy surrounding the burkini is confusing and shocking, Ms Zanetti told Daily Mail Australia.
Last month, scores of activists joined a ‘Wear What You Want’ demonstration at the French embassy.
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18 September 2016 - 18:28
News ID: 779937
A Muslim woman from Australia says she was forced off a French beach by angry locals for wearing a burkini.
