Some politicians favor burkini ban

(ANSA) - Rome, August 19 - The controversial decision by some French towns to ban the full-length Islamic swimming attire known as a burkini has gained the support of some Italian right-wing politicians, while Florence's imam posted a photo online of Roman Catholic nuns wearing their habits on an Italian beach.
    Italy doesn't have a burkini ban, which Interior Minister Angelino Alfano on Thursday called a "practical matter" because wearing a burkini doesn't violate any laws.
    Alessandro Pagano, an MP with the small splinter New Centre Right (NCD) party, on Friday tweeted: "Germany says no to the burqa, France bans the burkini. Renzi instead sells off our identity. Let's say no to the Islamisation of Italy".
    Centre-right Forza Italia MP Daniela Santanchè wrote in a statement: "In Germany they go from words to facts: an agreement between regional interior ministers to put a ban on the burqa and other Islamic veils in some sectors of public life. What do Renzi and Alfano do? Nothing. Welcome to Italy, province of Islam".
    "Incredible how some politicians defend the burkini as "freedom of choice". So would we also tolerate polygamy as free choice? #craziness," tweeted another Forza Italia MP, Laura Ravetto.
    Meanwhile, Izzedin Elzir, the president of the Union of Islamic Communities and imam of Florence, posted on his Facebook page a photo of nuns in full habits on the beach, without any caption.
    "The burkini is the demonstration of a 'disculture' in the West, where they think that Muslims don't follow fashion," Elzir said.
    "I'm sorry that some city administrators and politicians in France, instead of responding to the political and economic needs of their citizens, are concerned about how Muslim women dress".
    photo: Santanché