A father has described his anger after he and his son were refused entry to their local swimming pool because they weren’t Muslims.
David Toube and Harry, five, were turned away by staff from the men-only session.
The council has now admitted that workers at Clissold Leisure Centre in Hackney, north London, made a mistake and offered the family an apology.
Mr Toube, 39, a lawyer, said they visited the baths at 9am on Sunday.
“I arrived at the pool to discover that they were holding what staff described to me as ‘Muslim men-only swimming’,” he said.
“I asked whether my son and I could go as we were both male. I was told that the session was for Muslims only and that we could not be admitted.”
Mr Toube then spoke to the duty manager, who confirmed he could not enter.
“I asked what would happen if I turned up and insisted I was Muslim.
“The manager suggested that they might ask the Muslims swimming if they minded my son and I swimming with them. If they didn’t object, we might be allowed in.”
Mr Toube claimed he was told by a member of staff on a subsequent visit that it was a “requirement of the Muslim religion that Muslims could not swim with non-Muslims”.
He said: “I asked him whether Clissold leisure centre would institute whites-only swimming for racists. His answer was that they would if there was sufficient demand.”
Mr Toube added: “I spoke to a number of Muslim friends, and none of them had heard of a religious prohibition on swimming with non-Muslims.
“One friend was so disgusted with Hackney for trying to segregate Muslims and non Muslims that he suggested that he take his little daughter swimming with us, just to prove the point.”
The “modesty” swimming sessions take place every Sunday from 8am to 9.30am.
Two websites have been advertising them as being for Muslim men only. But Dr Taj Hargey, chair of the Muslim Education Centre of Oxford, said there was no requirement in the Koran for Muslims to avoid swimming with non-Muslims.
“The only requirement is that when women swim they should be modestly clad,” he said.
A spokesman for Hackney Council said: “None of Hackney’s leisure centres has religiously segregated swimming sessions in their public timetables. In common with most public swimming facilities, there are single sex sessions, and this session was men only.
“The member of staff in this situation made a mistake and the centre manager is working to ensure that all staff are clear about the timetabled sessions at the centre. Hackney Council would wish to apologise to any member of the public who was given incorrect information at any of our facilities.”
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