Kafeyah Scarf Now Trendy With Iranian Youth

For nearly 30 years its distinctive chequered pattern has been a sacrosanct symbol of Iran's Islamic revolution and an essential garment for its most committed adherents.

But now the chafiyeh, the black-and-white scarf proudly worn by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his loyal followers, has become an unlikely fashion item for young Iranians drawn to the same western pop culture that country's leaders disdain.

The scarf has become a craze among Iran's emerging crop of underground rap artists, who have taken to wearing it in concerts and video clips, according to Jahan News, a website considered close to Iran's intelligence ministry.

It has also become a trend among young men, who wear it along with T-shirts incongruously bearing the names of famous western bands. Young women have also been seen with the scarf, Jahan News reported.

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Comments

[CassG]

Dang, this article is sooooo late...even Rachel Ray wore it LAST year

[NoSillyName]

Why do so many people follow trends? No individual sense of style? Because everyone else is wearing it? Or just because by promoting trends, the fashion industry can make most anything seem desirable? They certainly rake in enough money by continually pushing a new trend.

[sonoffestus]

Hello, they were wearing these scarves in the 60's, and probably a few thousand years before that.

[NoSillyName]

Really? I never saw them in the '60s.

[johnnygoodwud]

are they cashmere,,,,,,,,,can i get one at l.l. bean?

[Smurfaveli]

That's an old trend. We've been wearing those scarves in the hood for a minute now.

[NoSillyName]

I saw one of these being worn by a foreign-speaking young man here in small town New Mexico last week. He and his friend were in the chip aisle at Walmart.

Should I be worried?

[InedaName]

When I was in college in the 80s, EVERYBODY wore one of these scarves. I still have mine. They are surprisingly warm in the winter.

[KansasWrangler]

OK, what is the point of this story? It sort of ended without saying anything about trend.

[kellygrrrl]

uhm, every high school kid in America with an Urban Outfitters gift card is wearing this scarf.

[EminentGrise]

Wear it or else.

[mamacat]

Scarves in general are very practical. They not only protect the hair from wind, but also the head and neck from the sun, and can help one to avoid a cold by protecting the throat area when it gets cold and windy.

When a symbol is seen everywhere, it can mean that it has lost its original symbolism, and become something else entirely. This particular style of scarf may be part of an identity, not a statement in favor of Jihad. That we here are afraid to adapt this style because of what some see as its connotations, says as much about us as it does about Iranians or Palestinians. It is a clothing style, not a swastika, a hammer and sickle, a Star of David, a Crescent Moon, the Stars and Stripes, or whatever other symbol one group or another detests. How are we ever going to live in peace if we can't even tolerate each others' styles? I find it difficult to believe that all of these young people in Iran are advocating murder and mayhem, whether they wear this scarf or not.

[Deparis]

I don't see anything wrong with wearing it, if that was the reason behind the article.

[ArmyCentrist]

Everyone is wearing them, my daughter dons them in many different colors, and I cringe slightly when she does it on post...they already look at me funny because of my Obama bumper stickers...but what can I say, she is half Arab...

[Jillian York - Huffpost Blogger]

Wow, what incongruity - spelled "kafeyeh" then "chafeyeh" within the same article (when it is typically transliterated as "keffiyeh" or "kufiyah").

The keffiyeh is associated more with a free Palestine than anything Iranian; that's a more sensical explanation.

It's also rather painful to see people like Barrister2010 call it a fashion trend.

[zunburnt]

It was already kinda fashion trend though for the last 2 years in Europe.
That scarf comes originally from the Palastinians and was copied by Kurdish rebels in North Iraq
and today young people wear it without much of a political message in all kind of colors.
So what, if it is for a younger group of people a fashion trend?

[Barrister2010]

The trend is HOT. A must have and must do. Like most political statements often get mainstream: hip-hop, afros, armbands...the list goes on and on.