More Tahrir Kufiyas

Today was the second day of fighting between the pro-democracy forces and the Egyptian security forces, supporting the hated SCAF. Here is a great summary of what has been happening, from Jack Shenker of The Guardian.

And here are a couple photos, courtesy a photo gallery published today in The Guardian.

Khaled Elfiqi/EPA

Here, demonstrators are fleeing from the attack of the security forces. They retreated, but later, they were back, occupying the scare. Notice all the kufiyas.

AhmedAli/AP

Here are the security forces, the CSF, on the attack. Notice the guy on the right side of the photo, who has accessorized his uniform with a kufiya. Did he grab it off of a protester, I wonder?

Long live the extraordinarily brave people of Egypt. Down with the SCAF.

Anne Frank with Keffiyeh in NYC Street Art

Anne Frank with Keffiyeh in NYC Street Art
Originally uploaded by nickcalyx

Ever on the lookout for kufiyas (aka keffiyeh, kaffiyeh, shemagh), I found an interesting flickr pool called "Hipster Intifada." It has several interesting kufiya shots, including this one of Anne Fank. Plus check out the "History of the object in question" in the discussion section, from AnomalousNYC.

For more flickr photos, just click on kufiya, keffiyeh, or kaffiyeh on flickr. (Most common spelling on flickr: keffiyeh.)

More kufiyaspottings (#30-32): Israeli Version with Star of David, Bush/Olmert/Peres, Hip Elbow Patch

Three more recent kufiya (كوفية) items.

(1) From a very informative blog, Culture et politique arabes, authored by Yves Gonzalez-Quijano, who teaches Arabic literature at l'université Lyon2. (Warning, francophobes, it's all in French.) He does a very nice job of providing an overview of the history of the kufiya and its recent inroads into the world of fashion. Two observations of particular interest. First, that, in response to the explosion of kufiyas in Western fashion, an Israeli designer has come up with a blue-and-white kufiya, in the colors of the Israeli flag, with the design of the Star of David. (You might have to look at the photo for a minute, like I did, to see the six-pointed star.) I've not been able to determine which designer is doing this.

Gonzalez-Quijano concludes by observing that despite its current fashionability, and much like the image of Che Guevara, "the Palestinian keffieh hasn't totally lost its evocative power," as evidenced by this photo of Hugo Chavez.

If you weren't convinced, how about this poster, plastered around Israel by extreme right-wing activists in anticipation of Bush's visit?

Six activists were arrested on the charge of vandalism, for putting up the posters, as reported by Ynet. The belong to the extreme right Jewish National Front, founded in 2004, which calls for Palestinians (both in Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip) to be "encouraged" to emigrate. They oppose the withdrawal of Israeli civilians and military from any Palestinian territory, and therefore consider Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Israeli President Shimon Peres (depicted here along with W) to be traitors.

Note that the kufiyas on their heads are arranged in the very distinctive style of late Palestinian president and PLO leader Yasir Arafat, as if to associate them with the ultimate "terrorist." (Note: Bush's niece Lauren has actually been kufiyaspotted.) Thanks to John L. Knight for alerting me to this item.

Finally, kabobfest has spotted another kufiya fashion line, this one from a New York outfit called Kiser. Read about it here. A "Kefia Shawl Collar Sweatshirt." Only $86. Very hip.

Kufiyaspotting #29: Karen Hess

Thanks to Bob, who spotted this item on Karen Hess for me in this week's Sunday New York Times Magazine. (I had looked through the magazine but missed the photo.) This issue of the magazine is composed of obits for important people (at least, according to the Times) who passed away in 2007. I had never heard of Karen Hess, who according to Betty Fussell, author of the piece, was a well-known food activist, contrarian, and food historian. She considered Julia Child a "dithering idiot." And she wore a bonnet and a kufiya. You gotta love her.

Happy New Year!

Kufiyaspotting #28: Khaled

I've been meaning to write about Khaled's kufiya for a long time, and finally found a photo. In winter 2002, shortly after the events of 9/11, music promoter Miles Copeland organized a very successful tour for three Arab artists who recorded for his (now-defunct) label, Mondo Melodia. The tour featured rai star Khaled, Egyptian sha'bi vocalist Hakim, and Palestinian-American 'ud and violin master Simon Shaheen. The tour served as a kind of coming-out party for Arabs in the US, who made up a significant and enthusiastic component of the audience in many locales. In a sense, the concerts represented a public validation for Arab popular culture, in the wake of several months of intimidation hanging over Arabs and Muslims in the wake of 9/11.

At the New York concert, an audience member threw a black-and-white kufiya onstage, and Khaled put it on and wore it for the remainder of the concert. A significant gesture, especially in light of the fact that Khaled is frequently depicted as "apolitical."

I write about this event, the tour, and the reception of Arab music in the US post-9/11 in an article published in Middle East Report (Fall 2002), called "The Post-September 11 Arab Wave in World Music," and at greater length in an article published in Anthropologica called "The 'Arab Wave' in World Music after 9/11." (Unfortunately, neither is available online.)

Alas, the demise of Mondo Melodia has meant that less Arab pop music is being released in the US...

Everlast's "Letters Home from the Garden of Stone"

I learned about this song and video from the invaluable KABOBfest, who kufiyaspotted Everlast. (It would appear that I'm involved in some sort of kufiyaspotting contest with my kabob comrades!) But this cannot count as a kufiyaspotting for me, since I've already 'spotted' Everlast, who logged in at #13. Thanks to the KABOBers for turning me on to a great anti-war song, one of the best I've heard. Everlast sings from the position of a soldier fighting in Iraq, raising questions about the rightfulness of what he's doing. The song and video manage to raise sympathy both for US soldiers who are dying as well as for the Iraqi civilians. The video in particular makes clear that Iraqi civilian casualties are much higher; it shows a billboard that says, "684,000 Iraqi civilians killed since 2003," as well as images of wounded Iraqi civilians and one horrific image of a dead, burned corpse--the kind of picture our US media does its best to keep out of public view.

And I quite like this chorus:

Cuz I don’t know these men who kill me
And I don’t know these men I kill
Maybe I’ll wind up on the same side
Can’t see none of us doin’ God’s will

But here's the thing about the video that is wild. For about half the vid, Everlast is shown, wearing a kufiya, playing guitar or walking around in a cemetery. There are a couple closeups of statues of Jesus and a number of closeups of the Virgin Mary. Then, for a few moments, we see Everlast assuming the position of prayer. And if you recognize these things, it's clear that he's performing Muslim prayer. Nothing in the lyrics give this away, but it is well known in rap circles that Everlast converted to Islam in 1996. According to Everlast, it was in part due to the influence of rapper Divine Styler, when he was making his transition from the Five Percenters to Orthodox ("Sunni") Islam.

And there's nothing inherently un-Islamic about doing Muslim prayers in a cemetery, nearby statues of Jesus and Mary. For Muslims, Jesus is revered as a prophet (but is not regarded as the son of God). Muslims also honor Mary ("Maryam") and believe in the virgin birth (but not Jesus' divinity).

Everlast has come a long way since House of Pain and "Jump Around."

More Tween Kufiyas (Kufiyaspotting #27)

Finland is apparently not the only place where tweens are donning kufiyas. Check out this video, filmed by Vashtie with an all-volunteer crew, for the Kanye West/Lupe Fiasco/Pharrell song, "Us Placers." The kid who "performs" the Kanye West bits wears a red kufiya.

I can't say that I'm all that wild about the song--it's certainly not the most interesting outing from any of these artists. But what's notable about it is the kufiya placement--the sure marker of a cool kid.

Finnish Tween Kufiya Fashion (Kufiyaspotting #26)

Cute, aren't they? But maybe this is so-o-o-o last year?
Courtesy Hel Looks, a site devoted to Finnish street fashion. (Thanks, Jeff!):

11 January 2007, Kamppi Shopping Center
Reko (11) and Jere (12)
Reko: "I bought this scarf last year. I like it because it's stylish. My jeans are Acne but Levi's and Lee are ok, too. I don't like bright colours. Next I would like to buy a white or grey WESC hoodie."
Jere: "I'm wearing jeans by Lee. The shoes gotta be Vans or Lacoste – other brands are ugly. I would never wear rubber boots. We listen to r'n'b and rap. Uniq and Elastinen are the best."