Are the fabric head garments worn by many Arab and Muslim men of religious, cultural, tribal, or national significance?
Why do (most) Afghan and (some) Pakastani men wear a more “turban”-like style, whereas those from the middle eastern region seem to favor a “flowing” style with a rope-like piece encircling it atop the head. What’s the rope-like piece called? Does it serve to affix the cloth to the head or is it strictly decorative? Is there a color scheme going on here. Arafat’s head apparel appears to be in black and white checker-like pattern, but a red and white pattern appears more common among most Palestinians; what’s that all about? Saudi men (or perhaps only Saudi dignitaries) appear to favor all white, no?
And why do (did) some Muslim men (King Hussein and Sadam come to mind) not wear special headwear at all? Does this suggest that they are less religious? Or is this all nothing more than a matter of personal preference among men in the region?
As far as I know, headgear for men in the Middle East has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with culture and national/ethnic traditions.
Curses! I had answered this question, but it was lost either in the board drop or perhaps was on the temp board.
Anywho, the headwear thing is highly regional/cultural specific like Magdalene said.
Among the Imami Shi’a, black turbans indicate Sayyid ( descended from the prophet ) ulema ( religious scholars ), blue turbans non-ulema Sayyids, white turbans non-Sayyid ulema. In other Muslim sects, the color of the turban often means nothing at all.
Kurdish Alawites ( a religion that split off of Shi’ism ) are referred to as Qizilbash ( ‘redheads’ ), because of their red turbans, a term that reaches back to the old followers of the Safavid Sufi order.
In border areas of Afghanistan, one can apparently often tell Baluchis ( large, elaborate turbans ), from southen Pashtuns ( smaller, darker turbans ), from northen Pashtuns ( Pakols - small felt caps ), by their preferred choices in headgear.
Adult male Sikhs are mandated to wear a turban in public as one of the badges of their religion.
And so on. In many areas types and color of headgear has no particular significance and you’ll see bright orange turbans, next to green turbans, next to small caps in the same family. The cultural variations are endless. So there is no universal chart for determining who is who by their headgear in the Middle East.
I read a news story a few months ago about a Sikh immigrant who, in the wake of the September terrorist attacks, was worried about the typical ignorant backlash against anyone who looked like an “Arab” (Usually pronounced “A-Rab” by the folks he needed to worry the most about). His mother, who still lived in India, set to work and a couple of weeks later he received a surprise package from her. Inside was a star-spangled turban featuring white stars on a blue background and red and white stripes. I want to say this was a local story in the DFW area, but unfortunately I don’t remember the location.
[ul][li]Sikh men: Wear peaked turbans, covering their long uncut hair[/li][li]Muslim Religious Elders: Wear spherical or conical kalansuwas, which are turbans wrapped around a cap[/li][li]Afghans: Wear a variety or styles but tend twine 2 together so as to allow them to hang over the shoulder.[/li][li]Iranian Leaders: Wear flat dulibands.[/li][li]Indian men: The quality of the turban and festooned jewels often signify class/caste.[/ul][/li]There are dozens of varieties, turbans are not required by islamic faith (lower case intentional).
Speaking of head coverings, excuse me while I assume the crash position and state; I have a feeling the world would be alot more peaceful if they all switched over to Uncle Sam-style Top Hats.