Thursday, June 26, 2008

International “Wear Your Kaffiyeh With Pride” Day: June 6


I only learned about this event today, organized in England by iMuslim, in response to the Dunkin' Donuts kufiya flap. Read about it here. I have no idea how many people donned kufiyas in response.

Meanwhile, check out Lorraine Ali's excellent commentary in Newsweek on the DD/Rachael Ray kufiya spat. Some choice excerpts:

Shouldn't we be more offended that Ray was shilling their weak iced coffee, a beverage that should be criticized for impersonating, well, iced coffee. But cries of "Bad java!" just don't seem to catch the attention the way racist rhetoric against Arabs and Muslims does...It's doubtful the ad would have been pulled if a handful of critics found Ray's garb too Hispanic or too African-American. The groups themselves would have been dismissed as bigoted or insane.

No comments: