By Sarah Dea
If you’ve been to hipster metropolises like Montreal, Brooklyn, or any other fashion forward city in the Western world, it’s likely that you’ve spotted young, terminally hip, non-Arab people draping curious tasseled, checkered scarves around their necks.
In a Los Angeles Times article entitled “‘Terrorist Chic’ and Beyond” this elusive scarf was styled as the height in trendy military gear seen as chic in hip circles across America.
Although this fad has long hit European cities – to the point that it’s now stale – it has only in recent months cropped up, en masse, on our own Ottawa streets.
The mysterious scarves, however, aren’t just another invented fad like slap bracelets.
They have a history. And a politically charged one, at that. They’re called keffiyehs, or shemagh scarves.
These accessories have Middle Eastern origins.
But they have in recent years, become associated with the Palestinian side of the bloody unrest between Palestine and Israel.
In fact, even the colours of the scarves can indicate affiliation with different political parties such as Fatah of the PLO. The late Yasser Arafat of the PLO was often seen sporting one.
How the scarves went from Palestinian solidarity to hipster cool is somewhat of a mystery.
A lot of youth who choose this fashion accessory don’t even know what the keffiyeh means which is the most unsettling part about their sudden popularity.
This historical artifact has now been reduced to a passing trend which directly demeans and disrespects a long and bloody history for Palestinians.
It can also offend pro-Israel Jews who can interpret the scarves as anti-Semitic.
Alas, like Kabbalah beads, dreadlocks and bindis, the keffiyeh has now been ushered into the world of cultural appropriation.
But it’s nothing new for once powerful political symbols to be mass marketed and all the rage. Che Gueverra paraphernalia comes to mind.
In fact, Urban Outfitters, a trendy clothing and accessory store, has recently pulled its line of keffiyahs from its shelves.
This move came after a barrage of complaints.
The keffiyahs were being marketed as “anti-war” scarves. Seriously.
“Due to the sensitive nature of this item, we will no longer offer it for sale,” a notice on the Web site stated.
“We apologize if we offended anyone, this was by no means our intention.”
Perhaps the reason for the keffiyeh’s rise is due to the timeliness of the Palestinian conflict and otherwise often misunderstood nature, especially in North America.
Wearing such a profound symbol central to the conflict without an understanding of its meaning seems pretty unfashionable to me.
The bottom line is wear a keffiyeh or don’t. As most things, it is a matter of choice. As the traditional headdress gains popularity, its fundamental significance will become more and more watered down anyway.