Image from Morocco misrepresented as Muslims seeking bikini ban on Florida beaches

By: Rajeswari Parasa
March 27 2024

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Screenshot of the claim made online (Source:X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

Amid the ongoing month of Ramadan, which requires followers of Islam to fast, pray, and reflect, a TikTok user recently shared a photo of two men holding a black banner with the words "Respect Ramadan No Bikinis" with the claim that the visual was captured on a beach in Florida and that Muslim residents in the city are demanding a ban on bikinis. The post had over 2,933 comments at the time of writing and garnered a slew of inflammatory responses. Archived links to the post and others making the same claim using the viral photo can be found here and here.


Screenshot of the claim circulating online. (Source:TikTok/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, this claim is false, as the photo has been online since 2015 and was not taken in Florida.

What are the facts?

Upon investigation, we found that no credible media outlet had reported any incident involving Muslim residents of Florida demanding a bikini ban on beaches. Such an event would have garnered significant media attention.

A reverse image search revealed that the viral photo dates back to 2015 and originates from Anza Beach in Agadir, Morocco. Reports from local Moroccan websites, such as Le360, confirm that members of a surfers' association in Agadir launched a campaign urging tourists, especially women, to refrain from wearing bikinis during Ramadan, the holy fasting that Muslims observe for a month before Eid. Several pictures resembling the viral photo can be found in these reports.

The Le360 article from 2015. (Source: Le360/Screenshot/Modified By Logically Facts)

Further corroborating this, an article from Morocco World News titled "Morocco Bans Poster Calling on Tourists not to Wear Bikinis in Ramadan" confirms that the banner was put up by a group of surfers and was circulated on social media in 2015. The then Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, condemned the banner, stating that individuals cannot impose their own laws and that nobody has the right to dictate tourists' attire on a beach.

The verdict

A 2015 image from Morocco has been shared with the false claim that Muslims in Florida have demanded a ban on bikinis on beaches. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.