Comments on: The Keffiyeh: Fashion Trend or Political Statement?

By: Douchebag

Douchebag — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:08:27 +0000

These things shouldn’t have any political statement attached to them in the first place. They’ve been around longer than there have been “Palestinians.” They used to just be a piece of cloth people of different countries and all religions would wear to keep the sand and whatnot out of their faces. But now they’re associated with support for Palestine because Palestinians wore them when resisting Israel??? That’s stupid! And also, Palestinians think they own all property rights to these pieces of cloth. I read someone accuse Israel of “theft of national identity” or something because they were producing them. Seriously?? Shoot yourself!

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:14:09 +0000

Thank you for your words of reason, Gabe and Leila. I’ve been wearing one of these for 10 years. It’s black and white (just my luck!) and I use it as a scarf, because it’s f-in’ cold in Chicago. Actually it was a Christmas present from one of my clients, who grew up in Afghanistan (not a terrorist, as far as I know). His mother (also probably not a terrorist) volunteers for an organization called Women to the World, and one year she travelled to Afghanistan and brought back with her many goods that had been made by the folks she helps.

Among these items were these big giant pieces of cloth that I thought, in tragic ignorance, were just really, really long scarves, handmade by impoverished women in war-torn Afghanistan. I might even say that I have been wearing it proudly as a sign of my support for those who are the true casualties of war… Also, I believe 10 years ago is long enough to say that it pre-dated the hipster adoption of the scarf. I had no idea I was making any kind of political statement whatsoever… but people do tend to see what they want to see, and I’m just telling what I see when I look at a big scarf.

“Women to the World, Inc. is a Christian service organizaion operating a School for Women in Kabul, Afghanistan and provides humanitarian aid and health care to women, children, and orphans and families in Afghanistan.”

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:35:12 +0000

I distinctly disagree with the statement that the keffiyeh has to been seen as a bad symbol.
Also in the article you refer to PLO’s goals as “goals to annihilate Jews”, while you link to a clip of Hamas. Hamas is far from the same as PLO. The PLO’s goal is no annihilation whatsoever, they just don’t whish to be annihilated by the government of Israel.
The United Nations recognize PLO as “the representative of the Palestinian people” (source: http://www.un.org/en/ga/62/plenary/palestine/bkg.shtml).

By: Pernell

Pernell — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:34:25 +0000

I really think people just want something to argue about. Your thinking to much into to all this.

By: Gabe

Gabe — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:30:37 +0000

I completely agree with Leila. Generalizing all these arab scarves as meaning the same negative, “terrorist supporting” thing is just as ignorant as wearing it for fashions-sake. I’m a white american who grew up in Saudi Arabia, and personally own a couple. I love wearing them, they’re useful for all sorts of things, but just because one small, radical group uses them doesn’t mean it means the same for everyone. In Saudi, its merely a culturally neutral thing to wear, just like its culturally normal for a baseball player to wear a hat. Let me repeat: NOT EVERY KEFFIYEH/SHEMAGH/GHUTRAH SUPPORTS SOME TERRORIST IDEAL. For the majority of the arab population, they’re as normal and as unoffensive as a baseball cap.

By: Leila

Leila — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 06:03:13 +0000

Very interesting and IGNORANT that you would associate this with “terrorism”. Why don’t you learn the DEFINITION of the word “terrorist” before you use it, you ignorant racist. The keffiyeh is a traditional wear of the Middle East, regardless of political standing. It is sad to see so many people ignorant to such a subject and talk about it like they know what they’re talking about. This is how hatred is spread.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:24:05 +0000

I think it’s ridiculous that you can’t spell the world ‘ridiculous’ correctly (or ‘statement’, for that matter). Have you seen what’s going on on college campuses this month? Students wearing this scarf call for Jews to be eliminated. You may lie to yourself and others and say its not a political statement. But Muslim radicals who dream of the destruction of Jews see it as a political statement.

Just like this woman here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fSvyv0urTE&

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:38:22 +0000

I just feel the need to point out that these were issues to US and Britich troops since WWII. I just think it is rediculous to say that a COMMON clothing item is a political stement. My Khaki pants are arguably more of a political stement.

By: K

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:28:56 +0000

The Kafiyah is worn by many Palestinians–we wear it to show solidarity with them.

Israel has exceeded the land it was alloted at its creation again and again and again and continues to kick Palestinians out of land recognized by the UN as Palestinian.

And the ‘intifada’ you speak of? The first one was a peaceful organization of Palestinians into self-governing groups–something the Israelis quickly put a stop to by banning political candidates they didn’t like, and replacing local government with councils of people they chose. This undermining of Palestinian peaceful self government was deliberate strategy to disenfranchise Palestinians both politically and militarily–driving them to desperate last resorts that the Israelis could then use to distract the world from the actual occupation.

As for the second wave of Intifada, 1,000,000 Israeli bullets were fired before there was a single act of violenc by a Palestinian. The ‘terrorism’ of Palestinian groups is their lsat resort; the only way in which they can assert themselves since unlike liberty and freedom loving Americans, they have no vote in the Israeli “democracy” but are surrounded on all sides and controlled by the Israeli Army.

Wouldn’t you fight back if, say, Muslims invaded America, kicked you out of your home and militarily forced you into concentration camps and turned the U.S into an Islamic state, then called itself a democracy but gave YOU no vote, no voice at all?

Its only ‘terrorism’ because Israel and the 30 billion they get from us each year pay it to be called such.

Peace,
K

By: Zach

Zach — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:01:09 +0000

That was interesting. I didn’t know that the colors of the keffiyeh had any “meaning”, for a lack of a better word.

As for people wearing them in the US, those that don them like bandanas, no matter what they say it’s purely for fashion. And that’s fine. So many people that see themselves as being smarter or “deeper” or more enlightned than others seem to be ashamed of finding pleasure in pointless things. But who cares? Clothes and fashion can be fun, they can liven things up a bit.

Sid Vicious wore a swastika. People copied him and probably said it was a “protest” or whatever other pretentious feel-goodery they feigned to feel blameless, to show people that they “get it” or to feel like they were “doing something”. Really though? They just liked the rise they got out of people for wearing it and that’s fine. People just sound foolish when they deny it’s for fashion and try to shroud, with some affected snobbery, something that would of been fine if they just admitted they liked how it looked.