Kufiyas on the armed anti-government militants at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

Several people alerted me to the widely-circulated photos of the armed anti-government militants who occupied the Oregon nature refuge.

Rob Kerr/AFP/Getty Images

The photo (source: The Guardian), from January 4, shows Ammon Bundy speaking at the militants' daily press conference. I have no idea who the guy is on Bundy's right, garbed in the green kufiya.

As you can see from the photos below, from January 8, taken by Rick Bowmer for AP (found here), sporting kufiyas seems to be pretty routine for these guys. 

I suppose there are at least a couple of sources here, and I'm pretty sure that donning kufiyas for these guys has nothing at all to do with Palestinian solidarity. First, kufiyas were and no doubt still are worn routinely by US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, going back to 2003. You can find "military" ones easily with a google search, although they are more commonly called shemaghs in such circles, it seems. I have a fire retardant (!) khaki kufiya brought me by someone who served in Iraq, and I think it is military issue. I've posted about military kufiyas, which I've described as examples of "tough guy" kufiyas, here and here. 

Second, over the past decade or so, there have been several occasions where bad-ass tough guys in Hollywood movies are shown in kufiyas. My favorite is John Travolta in From Paris with Love, but there are lots of examples. Here's a few, but you can find many more in this blog. 

Finally, kufiyas have been showing up in gun catalogs. For instance, this photo, from the Griffon Industries 2011 calendar. The woman (Miss June) in the kufiya and camo bikini top is being used to market the gun. (There are more items around like this, and I need to do more searching, and posting.)

 

My guess is that the armed militants in Oregon are wearing kufiyas, inspired or influenced by the three sorts of uses described above.

 

British soldier in shemagh/kufiya, Siwa 1942

 

 

Source: memoryprints.com

A soldier of the Long Range Desert Group uses a Libyan keffiyeh scarf to protect his head from the sun, Siwa, 1942.

US Army Military Shemagh Arab MuslimTactical Desert Keffiyeh Scarf Black Skulls

 That's how it's described on ebay.

Rothco, which describes itself as "The World's Foremost Supplier of Military and Outdoor Clothing and Accessories," markets the item as a ROTHCO SKULLS SHEMAGH - TACTICAL DESERT SCARF.

Beckham in Kufiya-Shemagh; Kate Moss for Palestine (Kufiyaspotting #16)

Thanks to Tom, I've now located a photo of Beckham in a kufiya. These things have now become quite the thing in the UK. (A forthcoming article in the New Internationalist provides more details.)

Urban Outfitters in the UK markets the black-and-white one as the "Shemagh Scarf" at 15 quid for women and 6.99 for men, and in pink and purple, as the "Heart Woven Desert Scarf."

According to the online catalogue, "The Shemagh scarf has been given the girly touch. Now in pretty colours and decorated with hearts, it won't provide you with much camouflage in the desert, but it sure is pretty." And 9.99 quid. (If you look close, you can see the hearts. But it's also got the distinctive kufiya checkered pattern too.)

Meanwhile, Topshop (known lately for its Kate Moss line) is marketing them as "Tablecloth Scarves," in purple (for 12 quid).



And just to show you how different the political atmosphere in the UK is when it comes to Palestine, tycoon Philip Green paid 60,000 pounds at an auction for the Palestinian charity Hoping Foundation for a kiss with Kate Moss--but then gave the chance to kiss to Jemima Khan. The event netted 200,000 pounds. Other donors included Hugh Grant and Imran Khan; attendants included Jerry Hall and her sorta stepdaughter Jade Jagger--whose own mom is pretty radical.


Kate (along with Elle McPherson and Jemima Khan) was also in attendance on June 21, when Elton John netted $200,000 for the Hoping Foundation, getting paid to sing Elvis' "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" Nick Cave, Shane McGowan, Mick Jones, Lulu, Chrissie Hynde (backed by Jeff Beck on guitar) and Bryan Adams also sang at the event, which raised $700,000 for Palestinian children.

Palestinian children really need this help. Where are the Jeff Becks and the Chrissie Hynde's of the US? (Or maybe it's that we don't have a Karma Nabulsi to organize events like this?)

I'm on the hunt for photos of Colin Farrell, Nicole Richie, and Cameron Diaz, who have also been spotted in the kufiya according to this article in the Palestine Chronicle.