The Keffiyeh; A Contested Symbol

In recent years there has been a resurgence in the interest in what is now widely assumed to be a fashion accessory; the keffiyeh. The main reasons for this rekindled interest in the keffiyeh is the emergence of conflicting discourses and narratives of the meaning of the keffiyeh and its origins. This was clearly demonstrated in the hype about the Dunkin’ Donuts advertisement series that featured Rachel Ray sporting what appeared to be a keffiyeh around her neck. Some of the harshest ravings were brought on by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin who authored an article, “The Keffiyeh Kerfuffle” where she referred to the keffiyeh as anti-American and critiqued Dunkin’ Donuts for not being aware of the keffiyeh’s symbolism for murderous Palestinian Jihad. Soon after this commentary by Malkin, Dunkin’ Donuts cancelled the advertisement series and put forward an apology in which they indicated of their ignorance about the symbolism of the keffiyeh and asserted that the scarf around Rachel Ray’s neck was not a keffiyeh but rather a “black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design.”

This ultra-sensationalized hateful campaign launched against the keffiyeh by bloggers such as Malkin and Charles Johnson and Dunkin’ Donuts’ response to the campaign reveal the varying meanings and associations attached to the keffiyeh. It is clear that while the keffiyeh maybe a mere fashion accessory for some, for others it is a symbol of Palestinian solidarity. One is yet more puzzled to learn that most of the keffiyehs’ such as the one around Rachel Ray’s neck is not produced in Palestine, but rather in China or India and that there is also something known as the Israeli keffiyeh.

The Israeli keffiyeh, just like the Palestinian keffiyeh comes with its own distinct narrative and claim to history and truth. It was brought into being by Shemspeed, a Jewish music label and promotion company based in Brooklyn. The Israeli keffiyeh is different from the typical keffiyeh as they are blue in color and features the Star of David symbols, instead of the typical black and white chequered symbols. In an attempt to clear out the controversy about the Israeli keffiyeh, Erez Safar, founder and director of Shemspeed reiterated that the keffiyeh is a symbol of Israeli solidarity as much as it is a symbol of solidarity for Palestine. According to him the Muslim tradition of covering the head actually originates from the Jewish tradition. In his statements, Safar refused to acknowledge and validate the reasoning of those enraged by the Israeli keffiyeh and actually saw the emergence of the Israeli keffiyeh as a potential opportunity for common ground, open dialogue and discussion between the two nations. Craig Nelson of the Abu Dhabi based newspaper, The National, disagrees. For Nelson the Israeli keffiyeh signifies the onset of another cultural war between Israel and Palestine not too different from previous wars waged over hummus and tabouleh.

Whatever meaning one may choose to attach to the keffiyeh, it is clear that it indeed is a contested symbol. It is a contested symbol with linkages to a complex history of extraction, production, distribution, appropriation and meaning making. The story of a keffiyeh does not begin and end with just who is wearing it, when and for what purpose. Hidden underneath the course fabric and the colorful designs is a rich archive consisting of stories of struggle, violence, nation building, economics, imperialism, language and many more.

Growing up in the Maldives; a 100% Islamic nation, Palestine for me was more of a religious issue than a political one. For me Yasser Arafat was the face of the Palestinian people, and because Arafat wore a keffiyeh I had learnt to associate the keffiyeh with Palestine. However, I did not become aware of the political symbolism of and the significance of the keffiyeh for the larger Palestinian cause until much later. The keffiyeh caught my attention again when I saw it being worn by two different people on a Maldivian National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) song program Ehandhaanuga. Ehandhaanuga is a song program, featured every Ramadan where young and new singers sing remixed versions of old songs. On Ehandhaanuga I came across male Maldivian singers who had keffiyehs around their necks. This left me puzzled. A male person wearing a scarf in the Maldives is unheard of and let alone a keffiyeh. From the looks it seemed like the singers were wearing the keffiyeh in an attempt to be trendy and did not know much about the symbolic significance of the keffiyeh. This left me with all sorts of questions regarding the origins of the keffiyeh and more importantly how one could engage in an informed and conscious consumption of the keffiyeh.

The Keffiyeh Through out History

The history of the keffiyeh in the Middle East goes all the way back to Mesopotamia. Also known as a ‘gutrah’ it is a piece of head clothing for men designed to protect them from the sun, dust and sand. Even though today, the keffiyeh is associated with the modern nation state of Palestine, the keffiyeh is not native to Palestine. In fact the black and white chequered keffiyeh commonly used as a symbol of Palestinian solidarity originally comes from Syria. Keffiyeh enthusiast and professor of Anthropology at University Arkansas, Ted Swedenburg in his talk titled, “From Resistance Symbol to Retail Item” states that traditionally the rural peasant Bedouins wore the keffiyeh as a way to distinguish themselves from the urban middle class Arabs who wore the tarboosh or fez. He explains that the keffiyeh was a symbol of one’s inferior position in the social and cultural hierarchy. However during the 1930s the keffiyeh got adopted by the guerilla fighters revolting against the British occupation of modern day Palestine. In 1938, the guerilla’s got control of all the urban centers and launched a campaign in which urbanites were forced to wear the keffiyeh, signifying national unity and the erosion of social and cultural hierarchies. Since then the keffiyeh has been utilized at various instances in varying manners by different groups within and outside of Palestine to further the Palestinian cause.

Nadim Damluji, in his paper titled, “Imperialism Reconfigured: The Cultural Interpretations of the Keffiyeh” demonstrates how the keffiyeh was utilized as symbol of unity and resistance by two different actors in two different episodes of Palestinian led resistance against the occupation. In furthering this idea, Damluji introduces readers to what James Lederman calls ‘imagespeak’. According to Damluji imagespeak is significant in explaining the evolution of the symbolism of the keffiyeh vis-à-vis the Palestinian struggle, as ‘imagespeak’ is a concept that “describes how actors outside the West generate forms of shared symbolic language.” The first episode that he outlines is Black September in 1970, during which a group of members of the Marxist inspired political group, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked flights from Israel, Los Angeles and Rome, landed them on a Jordanian airstrip, evacuated the passengers and blew up the airliners. This whole commotion was televised (as the PFLP actually invited television crews to film the events) and the keffiyeh appears on this coverage on the bodies of the PFLP hijackers, signifying a sense of unity and reminding the world of the Palestinian struggle. One of the most cited images from this episode of resistance is that of Leila Khaled (one of those involved in the 1970 hijackings) covering her hair with a keffiyeh whilst holding a gun. Until then the keffiyeh was a piece of clothing that was mainly associated with men, thus Damloji argues that this iconic image of a rather feminine Leila Khaled supporting a keffiyeh was significant to the evolution of the keffiyeh as a non-gendered signifier of the Palestinian struggle.

The second episode that Damluji outlines is the first Intifada, which took place from 1987 – 1993. The Intifada was a period during which for the most part Palestinian activists, authorities and political parties tactically adopted an approach of resistance without violence. The main aim of this was to create empathy and sympathy amongst viewers by establishing a position of victimhood and helplessness. Thus the Palestinian resistance to the atrocities of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) came in the form of stones. During the first Intifada the keffiyeh was also utilized for the practical purposes of hiding one’s identity from the IDF. Thus the constant portrayal of the stone throwing helpless Palestinians clad in a keffiyeh during the first Intifada assisted in the establishment of the keffiyeh as symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Soon after the end of the first Intifada, with the brokering of a peace agreement between Palestine and US – Israel alliance, the keffiyeh re-emerged as a symbol of ‘renewed’ Palestinian nationalism. The Palestinian delegation during the peace talks was led by Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Yasser Arafat used the keffiyeh as symbol of Palestinian nationality and never made a public appearance without it.

Looking at the different colors of the keffiyeh just within Palestine, it is seen that a certain colored keffiyeh was to send a certain message or to signify one’s membership in a certain group. Rachel Shabi in a 2008 article explains that while the black and white keffiyeh was the keffiyeh that was worn by Yasser Arafat and associated with the PLO, the red and white chequered keffiyeh was adopted by the Marxist to distinguish themselves from the overarching nationalist movement. It seems that with the disappearance of the Marxist within Palestine, the red and white chequered keffiyeh is now being adopted by the Jihadi group: Hamaas. Damluji describes Hamaas as an organization that, “strives for Palestinian liberation using Islamic rhetoric.” Post Intifada, a discourse centered on religion was utilized in Palestine to consolidate identity and mobilize resistance and organize politically. Thus via a linkaging of religion with nationalism, Hamaas has been able to utilize a ‘historically’ national symbol to mobilize and gain support to a discourse rather different from that of the Marxist inspired PFLP.

The keffiyeh first gained prominence in the West towards the end of the first Intifada. Many Western activists and young people in the United States wore the keffiyeh to express their support and sympathy towards the Palestinian struggle. However, the more recent appearances of the keffiyeh in the West especially in the United States has little to do with the Palestinian struggle as often time’s people who wear the scarf are not aware of its symbolism. While one of the earliest re-emergence of the keffiyeh in the United States could be traced back to the 2004 campaign rally for Howard Dean the keffiyeh did not gain much public attention until the spring of 2007. In spring 2007, Urban Outfitters started marketing and selling the keffiyeh as an anti-war scarf. However the line was discontinued due to harsh criticisms. Since then the keffiyeh has been around in retails stores, high fashion boutiques and fashion shows as well and is viewed as a mere fashion accessory with no history or underlying politics.

The de-historization and depoliticization of radical symbols is not a new phenomenon. In an article in the New Statesman, Ben White argues that over the past few decades many a radical icons and symbols have been appropriated by market forces to be devoid of any political use. The prime example that he uses to illustrate this is the vast number of Che Guevera posters, t-shirts and mugs which are being mindlessly consumed all over the world and especially in the United States.

The de-historization and the de-politicization of the keffiyeh overhauled the traditional production apparatus of the keffiyeh. Traditionally the keffiyeh was woven in small factories within Palestine. However the advent of globalization has allowed countries such as China to enter into the keffiyeh production business and hurt local keffiyeh producers, leaving them with no choice but to close shop.

The most recent development in the keffiyeh world is the Israeli keffiyeh. The Israeli keffiyeh has the Star of David on it and has the words, “Am Israel Chai” (The nation of Israel lives) on it. The main seller and marketer of the Israeli keffiyeh is thekef.com, a website managed by the promotion company Shemspeed. In a New York Times article, the owner of Shemspeed contested Palestine’s claim to ownership of the keffiyeh and stated that the keffiyeh is a significant part of his identity as it has been worn in his Jewish family for a long time. He argues that the Israeli keffiyeh is just a different interpretation of a scarf worn by his brothers (Palestinians) for thousands of years. The Palestinian Authority Culture Minister contests these claims, accusing Israel of stealing Palestinian heritage and called for an investigation into the matter.

A careful analysis of the evolution of the keffiyeh over time demonstrates the dynamic and ever changing nature of culture and cultural appropriations.