We... and the Battle of the Cabots!
Fifteen years ago, I told a relative of mine, “Abu [Name], I wonder how many years it will take before you and I walk through a market and people look at us in surprise, as if we were strangers.” He replied, “Ah… how so?” I said, “If you walk in a market or mall wearing traditional attire—the dishdasha, ghutra, and agal—you appear strange.” He responded, “Maybe… is that possible?”
Indeed, these days many people—especially young people as well as older adults—have abandoned the ghutra and agal, opting instead to wear a cap or even go bareheaded (musa’al). This habit has spread even to visitors in government offices, all public places, and even in television interviews where the presenter appears bareheaded.
One day on Twitter, someone criticized this behavior and the abandonment of traditional dress. I replied: Times have changed, people change, and each chooses what suits them best. It makes no sense to go for a walk wearing a ghutra and agal; in such cases, a cap or no cap at all is preferable. Nowadays, many people wear neither a cap nor anything else, going completely bareheaded.
But if we think logically, the ghutra and agal are appropriate when you are outdoors, under the sun and wind that might blow away your ghutra, requiring the agal to hold it in place. However, if you are in an office or a mall, there is no sun overhead, nor wind to dislodge your ghutra, so wearing a ghutra and agal serves no purpose.
All societies change, especially in clothing. In old films, you would see an Englishman walking down the street wearing a hat, tie, and suit. But today, English and European men have forgotten the hat and tie, contenting themselves with T-shirts and jeans.
In this era, things have become mixed up, and our old folk sayings are faltering, such as “Eat what you desire, but dress what pleases people.” Now, people no longer care about what pleases others, but only about what pleases themselves, as long as it does not violate the law. Even if governments were to mandate a uniform dress code, this would be unacceptable, as it constitutes an intrusion into human freedom.
Therefore, I remind my relative of the anecdote I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Thus, we will become strangers, and we will follow the folk saying: “If the times do not obey you, then obey the times.”
The question is: Has the day truly come when our traditional dress has been overthrown and is being reduced to a part of our history? The possibility exists. Can we resist the “cap invasion”? I do not think so, because I have become one of those who wear it!
(My greetings to the front-line personnel, who spend only two hours a week at home, protecting the nation from the outset of this war.)
