Excerpt:
Sport-minded Muslims like to quote the Prophet Mohammad, who said, "Teach your children swimming, archery and horse-riding." As far as the former is concerned, the difficulty is reconciling it with the Quran's instruction to both men and women to dress modestly.
It's a dilemma that Nele Abdallah decided she couldn't ignore. Five years ago, she went on holiday to the Mediterranean. She'd recently converted to Islam, and hadn't given much thought to what that meant in terms of beachwear.
"The sun was shining and everything was wonderful, but it was my first summer holiday with a headscarf, and I just hadn't realized it was going to be a problem," she recalled. "But without suitable swimwear, I couldn't go in the water."