Until a few years ago, nobody had heard of a burkini. After this summer, it is unlikely many people will want to hear about the garment ever again. The fact that this item of beach clothing has become such a colossal story is deeply telling of the underlying issues of our time: issues not only to do with the present state of Islam, but also central issues with the current state of the West.

Unknown (and un-invented) though the burkini was until recently, its emergence says much about the global regression of Islam in our day. Throughout Islamic history, injunctions to “modesty” have been agreed upon, but precisely what forms this should take have varied widely.