Post from Nazik Hasan's Blog:
Wear a kaffiyeh--everybody's doing it
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If you've been to almost any major metropolitan area recently, you've undoubtedly noticed trendy young hippies sporting rockin' checkered scarves around their necks and thought, "I wish I were that cool!" Well now you CAN be--for the low, low price of trivializing and commercializing a vibrant cultural (and national) tradition. These scarves, which are sold at, among other places, Urban Outfitters, are reproductions of the traditional Palestinian male headdress (kaffiyeh) that became symbols of the Palestinian nationalist struggle.  But recently, this emblem of a distant culture has transformed into a chic badge of upper-middle-class fashion-forwardness. It's one thing to sport a gimicky trend to seemlessly blend in with the cool kids in midtown Manhattan; it's entirely different to cheapen the meaning and value of a cultural and political legacy that will, rest assured, outlive any cover of Vogue

  


Reader Comments
  
yes
By Bobby Allyn Feb 14th 2008 at 5:28 pm EST
I back this post to the max
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Solidarity
By Liam from ATL Feb 14th 2008 at 6:08 pm EST
Perhaps I'm disconnected from fashion, but isn't wearing a kaffiyeh a symbol of solidarity? Personally I feel more more empowered when I see someone wearing one, because I know that people care. If I feel like that, imagine what a Palestinian half-way across the world and under siege feels to see this symbol of solidarity being worn by thousands of people across the world!

Plus, if someone is just wearing one to be fashionable that opens up the opportunity to inform them of the real reason they should be wearing one! It's all good!
Re: Solidarity
By ashwini Feb 21st 2008 at 5:17 pm EST
It should be a symbol of solidarity, but sadly, when I see the NYC hipster crowd with $5000 gucci bags wearing kaffiyehs, I would bet my paycheck that they have next to idea what the kaffiyeh symbolizes. Therefore they cannot be in solidarity.

And trying to inform usually does nothing. I've tried it on the 2 train a couple of times--I'm met with blank stares. Sigh.
  
Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration
By Zaid from UGA Feb 14th 2008 at 7:32 pm EST
I know a Palestinian Jordanian girl who is very ecstatic about getting these scarves out to people. Sure if you where one as a fashion symbol or something (like the Che t-shirts) it can be insulting. But many people see it as legitimate solidarity.
Re: Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration
By Bobby Allyn Feb 15th 2008 at 12:33 pm EST
right. they're all in solidarity of ignorance. ask some 20-something kids on the street who are wearing them and see if they know what it symbolizes --besides being 'cool'. I don't think it's a statement of solidarity if kids are wearing it for a certain aesthetic. I bet Che's remaining family and friends were filled with joy when his face was appearing on cell phone covers, bandannas, and t-shirts everywhere.

you can spend your whole life combatting capitalism and still have your face printed on a shirt at the gap
Re: Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration
By Superduperficial Feb 15th 2008 at 4:58 pm EST
I heavily approve of this stuff, and the less informed the people wearing it the better, because it defeats the regressive idea that anyone can 'own' a culture. Not if I can put it on a t-shirt, you can't!
Re: Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration
By Bobby Allyn Feb 19th 2008 at 3:00 pm EST
"the less informed the people wearing it the better"

really?

so, in other words, you encourage kids to be ignorant, symbol-wearing fashionistas over actually knowing the significance of deeply political symbols?

i'm interested in hearing how you can justify this.
Re: Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration
By zaid Feb 16th 2008 at 2:11 pm EST
If you're just anti-palestinian, come out and say it. Don't hide behind veneers.
  
Hippies
By Kayla Feb 15th 2008 at 6:18 pm EST
For the record, the hippies I know don't shop at Urban Outfitters. Hipsters, however, do.

I had to throw that out there in defense of the real hippies of the world.

Great, valid post Nazik.
  
arabs
By khalid May 16th 2008 at 2:39 pm EDT
us arabs own dese scarfs cant stand fukin dirty emos n grebs wearin dem if me an my arabs see u yu will get banged and the scarf gets taken of yuu NICELY!!!
  
The high road
By JustOneGuy May 29th 2008 at 3:03 pm EDT
People should be free to wear what they want. That's the thing about free speech is that you can wear a symbolically loaded article of clothing regardless of whether or not you know it is.

These hipster bug me, but far be it for me (or anyone) to take the high road on this.
  
Kaffiyeh -- Fashion or Politics
By David May 29th 2008 at 6:01 pm EDT
This is the rub for me...

Whether you sympathize with the Palestinian cause or not, wearing a kaffiyeh while sitting in a campus bar in Toronto or LA hardly constitutes activism to me...

It is so often the case that political issues become fashion statements -- Brad Pitt builds houses in New Orleans and adopts children from impoverished countries... you get the idea.

In my view to really understand an issue you have to physically go to the place where it is taking place; in Israel, for example, things are very, very complicated, and wearing scarves or buttons saying this or meaning that has little effect to my mind.

And this goes for Westerners, whether they be Jewish, evangelicals, "secular Christians" Muslim or Arab, as well, for that matter for Muslims and Arabs in other countries, who have never been to the Levant itself...
David
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