No Fun for Muslims

There are a couple of stories from Europe that could have loose connections with one another (if you try hard enough). First, Muslim Fun Day at Britain's largest theme park has been canceled (from al-Reuters):

Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday.

Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas.

Music, gambling and alcohol were to be banned for the day and theme park rides such as "Ripsaw," "Corkscrew" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" all segregated by sex.

But the park said the event's organizers, Islamic Leisure, who rented the park for the day and were marketing the event, had called it off due to "insufficient ticket sales."

[...]

Organizers had hoped to fill a niche for Britain's 1.7 million Muslims, some of whom may be uncomfortable with mainstream entertainment.

But the fun day had caused some consternation: a non-Muslim couple scheduled to hold their wedding at the park's hotel complained to newspapers that event organizers told them the bride and female guests would have to cover up.

The park promised the party would be exempt from the rules. A park spokeswoman said the wedding would take place as planned.

I had always assumed that Muslim Fun Day would involve groups of guys, on break from jihad, sitting around hoping a gust of wind would expose an ankle on some burkha-clad Islamobabe. I guess I was wrong.

On the radio I heard that they had only sold 1,000 tickets. That's a pretty poor ratio with 1.7 million Muslims in the country. I guess even Muslims don't want to attend the park with all those wacky restrictions. How much fun would that be?

And from Paris, this story:

Worried about an excess of flesh visible on the banks of the River Seine, Paris City Hall has banned thong bikinis, topless sunbathing and nudity at the summer sand-in-the-city event known as Paris Beaches, Le Parisien newspaper reported Saturday.

Violators will be fined $48, the report said.

Thongs and "monokinis" — or bottom-only bikinis — are common sights on France's Mediterrannean and Atlantic shores.

Paris was pushed to forbid "indecent attire" because it could "provoke temptation and dangerous behavior along the bank of a river," Pascal Cherki, mayoral aide in charge of sports, was quoted as saying.

City officials responsible for Paris Beaches could not be reached for comment Saturday. It was unclear why the ban was only imposed this year, the fifth year of the popular event.

"Provoke temptation"? In Paris, the home of sexual freedom and expression? What kind of group talks like that?

As Rush speculated on his show today, could it be that the Muslim immigrants who number in the tens of thousands in Paris (remember the Spring riots?) are influencing this decision? Perhaps a little pressure is being applied to the city leaders to make this change. The article does not give a reason for changing the rules now, but I wouldn't be surprised if the officials are feeling some heat.