My (earnest, irate) thoughts

This started as a comment to an interesting post I read from awhile back about latte-sipping urbanites wearing Middle Eastern headwear to look cool. It makes me laugh, this hilarious thing Americans do of picking up the outward symbol (kaffiyeh) and not necessarily embracing or even being aware of its political interpretations (tribal affiliation, Palestinian solidarity, etc.) or functional purposes (desert heat/wind). America, so commercial. America, so reductionist.

America, so effing funny.

Like 30 people left comments on the post. It partially digressed into a discussion between commenters whether Americans, particularly non-Muslims, were ‘allowed’ to wear ‘Muslim’ clothing.

The Prophet, upon him be peace, tells us that an Arab is not superior to a non-Arab. Would it not follow that Arab attire is not better than non-Arab attire?

Seriously, ‘Muslim’ clothes? What are those?

It seems funny to me (and typically American) that American converts to Islam would choose to wear foreign getups, whether they do it because they think it looks cool, makes them appear more pious, or helps them fit in. American culture, if it can be defined, is a tangled mess, a boiling stew of folks picking and choosing from a world of choices what is appealing to them personally. Further reading: ‘Terrorist Chic’ and Beyond

It seems equally funny that non-Americans would be irate or even surprised about their attire being hijacked by Americans, whether they are Muslim or not. Is their culture ‘above’ imitation or reduction? Why?

Muslim culture, if it can be defined, is a mélange. How can individuals remain intact, unchanged? Why should they want to? Is it really necessary to decide whether what other people are wearing is what you would choose? As Muslims, should we not have so many self-improvement projects going on, so many acts of charity to our family and community, that we simply don’t have time for all this absurd conjecture? Is this not rejected in the Qur’an as zanna, the pitiful, puny alternative to knowledge?

It seems like many people feel compelled to endlessly define what is acceptable, what is orthodox, what are the boundaries. And that is dangerous. When Americans do it, decrying the kaffiyeh as an endorsement of terrorism, it smacks of racism. When Muslims do it, decrying Western clothing as makruh, it smacks of racism, too.

I read once that racism is most prevalent among the poor or disenfranchised because they are more likely to feel ‘encroached upon’. I think it may stem from this feeling inside, this feeling that ‘the other’ is going to invade us, to conquer us. And that afterwards, we will no longer be ourselves.

In much of the Muslim world, colonized and gutted and refilled with Starbucks, there’s an understandable feeling of resentment, of anxiety… that they’ve already lost everything. The real fear is that the enemy isn’t out there, but already lodged inside them in the deepest, darkest places. Muslims are no longer confident in their vision of the world.

And, it would seem, Americans aren’t either.