Keffiyeh

The keffiyeh (also Kafiya or keffiyeh; Arab كوفية, DMG Keffiyeh ) or Ghutra ( غترة, DMG Ġutra ) or Hatta ( حطة, DMG Hatta ) is a headscarf worn by men in the Arab world. The Arabic term is derived from the name of the Iraqi city of Kufa. The fabric is worn by Arabs for protection from the sun. Through the Middle East conflict in Palestine the cloth came to denote " keffiyeh ". In military circles it is known as Schemag.

Form

The Keffiyeh is a square white cloth, some with tassel edge, usually made ​​of cotton, which is often an equally motley pattern bears in the middle, at the margins, mostly in black or red, but also blue and purple, woven or embroidered. Color and material vary regionally. Thus, the Keffiyeh in Saudi Arabia is almost always white, red and black in the Gulf states in Palestine. In Palestine, many Kufiyas from a wool / cotton blend fabrics are made.

There are two basic ways to use the Kufiya:

• As a Turban (the usual headgear in Oman).
• After diagonal fold in the form of a headscarf. In the latter case it is a Agal (also: Ogal, Iqal or Ekal ), a kind of cord attached as a tether. In Palestine, the keffiyeh is placed directly on the head, in the Emirates including a hat is worn. Each region has its own way of doing, the corners of the cloth to carry forward or back or folded up, etc., so that one part on the color and the way the keffiyeh is worn, can say where the support comes from.

Kufiyas are available in different qualities. In Europe, you can often find cheap products. High quality Kufiyas be recognized by the woven or woven pattern and the quality of the fabric.

Origin

The Keffiyeh is originally from Kufa in Iraq and was initially worn by Arab Bedouins and sedentary farmers in this region. The Keffiyeh developed throughout the Arab world to a traditional garment, and is still widely used today. The fabric is worn as a head covering against intense sunlight, but is also used in Desert Storm as a protective covering of the eyes and mouth from dust and sand. The traditional headdress exists in numerous variations and colors. The keffiyeh is almost always made of white cotton and often provided with checkered pattern in a particular color. The Keffiyeh in only white color is also called Ghutra and is specifically supported in the Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain. Today " Palestinians towels " mostly made ​​in China. The traditional manufacturers in Palestine are largely displaced from the competition. One of the last Palestinian producers, the company Hirbawi Textiles from Hebron ( West Bank) counts.

The Keffiyeh as a Palestinian national symbol

In the course of the Middle East conflict, the keffiyeh has become a symbol for the struggling Palestinians, so that it became widely known in the German-speaking Palestinian scarf.

Beginning of the 20th century was the Keffiyeh in Palestine, as in other Arab countries, a traditional and popular headgear that was worn frequently, especially in rural areas. During the Arab Revolt from 1936 to 1939 was occupied by the British colonial power Palestine, the keffiyeh has been fraught for the first time politically. Representatives of the Arab upper class by insurgents on the orders of the Grand Mufti Mohammed Amin al -Husseini forced, instead of the traditional Ottoman Fez to wear a headdress of the Turkish occupiers and landlords, the keffiyeh as a sign of solidarity with the Arab fellahin.

Today's recognition and designation as a keffiyeh became the keffiyeh since the late 1960s and 1970s in the years by the leader of the Fatah organization, Yasser Arafat. The black-and- white keffiyeh has become Arafat's trademark, with whom he performed in public and the cloth thus made ​​known worldwide. And derives the German -language name Arafat scarf. Arafat has worn the keffiyeh folded in its own way over the right shoulder in the form of a triangle, so that the cloth reminds the limits of Palestine region ( including the State of Israel). In Palestine, the black-and- white version of the keffiyeh is typical of the Fatah, while supporters of the left-wing organizations such as the PFLP preferred more red Kufiyas. However, this color coding should not be overstated and is not generally accepted in Palestine.

Military use

During the Second World War, took over in the Arab Middle East and North Africa used soldiers of the British Army ( eg in the Long Range Desert Group ), the keffiyeh because of their wearability often, without it being part of the official uniform in their equipment. There are similar developments in recent years in other Western armies in operations in Arab regions, for example in the U.S. Army and the German Armed Forces in Afghanistan. For purposes of camouflage use the soldiers usually wipes in olive green or khaki with black pattern.

Keffiyeh in German speaking countries

Since the days of extra-parliamentary students organized protest of the 68 years in Germany 's left-wing youth culture and subculture, the " cloth " as a sign of solidarity with the PLO a popular character to the expression of personal belonging in particular to the anti-imperialist flow within the left-wing camp and the alternative scene. There it is understood as a sign of resistance against repression and as a symbol of personal freedom. Also, it is worn by hippies in this sense.

Away from the political significance of the keffiyeh in Germany and Austria (for example: Krocha ) in youth culture also like to particularly used as a fashion accessory without direct political symbolism of young people; the Keffiyeh has thus received its way into the apolitical youth and pop culture.

In particular, the political trend of anti- German and anti-national parts of the left criticize the wearing of the keffiyeh as a symbol of struggle and terrorism against Israel.

In Germany, the keffiyeh is worn since the late 1990s, increasingly right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis ( for example, the free comradeships see). This happens for one in the context of using the left symbols, which is frequently observed since the late 1990s in the extreme right to represent themselves as socialist or revolutionary, but on the other hand also an expression of anti-Israel motivated siding with the Palestinians in the Middle East conflict or simply anti-Semitism with a historical reference.