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"Solidarity" with Palestinians/Arabs/Muslim world
So I don't get why some leftists try to show solidarity with Palestinians and Muslims (against Western imperialism/Zionism I suppose) by donning keffiyahs, headscarves, and even sometimes converting to Islam (or being a pseudo-Muslim by which one has not converted but is very, very, very sympathetic to the religion).
It just seems really bizarre to me... like "I have so much solidarity I'm going to make use of Muslim/Arab aesthetics and beliefs to prove how much solidarity I have." You don't see people who are really caught up in other anti-imperialist conflicts really take on the cultural aesthetic, maybe because there aren't that many visible symbols of solidarity? The Keffiyah and headscarves and visuals of the Arabic language are very provocative and powerful images in this day and age. I guess I feel that it's more for "shocking the mainstream Westerner" than anything else.
Sometimes I doubt whether the people who convert or are very sympathetic to Islam do so for the counter-culture value or they actually believe that "there is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet."
I might get flamed, and I may very well be ignorant of something here, but I would like someone to enlighten me.
Last edited by Invincible Summer; 17th August 2010 at 10:28.
We've got your war!
We're at the gates!
We're at your door!
We've got the guillotine...
i personally haven't seen this sort of thing but i imagine there is some merit to your speculations.
Well of course I wear a Keffiyeh in support of Palestine. But this is no reason because I want to "shock the US", but rather just to show where my support goes to. I don't care what others think, because their thoughts are quite useless when compared to the thoughts within the movement of supporting places like Palestine.
I honestly don't understand why you're complaining. Activists can choose to show their solidarity however they like. You should support visual signs of resistance to Zionism and imperialism, not bring them into question. The visual signs of solidarity show the populace that there are those who are standing up for the Palestinians, it shows them that not all westerners are on the side of the imperialists/Zionists. It also communicates to the oppressed that they have supporters in countries abroad and not to lose faith in the struggle.
Keffiyah are worn by plenty of Christians, secular nationalists and Marxists in Palestine. Its just a scarf. It is a bit played out as a fad in North America, though.
Not where I live! lol
The real reason people wear keffiyehs is because they look cool, the political statement is secondary. People I see wearing keffiyehs are always people who look like they are already into fashion. I never see someone wearing generic clothes like a t-shirt and jeans but also a keffiyeh.
Last edited by gorillafuck; 17th August 2010 at 03:07.
Then you haven't met me (obviously). When you live in a town where there's maybe 20 communists, & the vast majority are white trash conservatives, something like a Keffiyeh is not something you use as a "fashion statement".
White trash? That's a hateful classist word. Don't use it.
I'm not saying it's has no political statement with it, but everyone who I've ever met who wore a keffiyeh as a political statement was also already into fashion, and when I see people I don't know wear it they almost always look like they're into fashion. That's just my observation.
Hateful classist word? It's a bunch of racist white conservatives. I'm white as well, but that doesn't make me condone to their measures or beliefs, so I use a word - that's all it is - to distinctly determine differences between myself & them.
How is it not a classist word? It's a word used to describe poor rural whites.
A good number of them are bourgeoisie. Yes, there's a good amount of working class, but they're more within the Latino population here.
But white trash is a word used to refer to poor rural whites.
Idk where you're from, but where I came out of the projects, white trash meant nothing but racist white people.
Hmmm...well regardless of how it's been used, in my area, white trash only meant racist white people. We'd call rich white's that were racist "white trash".
File it under "shit white people shouldnt do". Seriously a non Muslim wearing a muslim head scarf is probably on the same level as white boy dreads.
Keffiyahs are not Islamic though. And since when are there not already white Muslims?
Muslims don't believe Allah was a prophet.Originally Posted by ¡Basta!
I think you're on to something about the counter-culture value of religions. In the '60s and '70s it was religions like Hinduism and Buddhism.
If you're a theist, it's easy to bounce from religion to religion because you'll believe anything.
Most people know that God doesn't exist, they just choose to believe. It's definitely a delusion.
