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If scarves could speak, what tales would they tell? The old Palestinian in his kaffiyah, the Saudi Arab with his burnoose, the Tuareg who veils his face while his womenfolk show theirs, the Iranian women who show their faces but under black chadors... The women of Afghanistan are veiled from head to foot, but no one can call them terrorists except, maybe, the Taliban (who wear no scarves, unless you count turbans). Even here, in the decadent West, some brides still veil their faces, if for no reason other than tradition. But their veils are as transparent as their hymens. They contain as little meaning as they do fabric. They are not a threat except maybe to those who like their virgins as unambiguous as their laws. Those nineteen men who terrorized America (the decadent West) were altogether barefaced. It didn't matter who saw them board her planes. In fact, had they been visible as Muslims (in scarves) would they have gotten so far? The veil does not conceal terrorists. Neither does it make them visible. This is not the kind of shorthand that is written in a scarf. Nowhere is it written that a Muslim's scarf means anything except I am a Muslim, I pray five times a day, go to mosque on Fridays, fast from dawn to dusk in the ninth month, give alms to those poorer than I, make the journey to Mecca at least once in my life, read the Koran every day... and nowhere in the Koran does it say that one has to be a terrorist if one is a Muslim who happens to wear a scarf. · · · · · ·
Sabina Becker is a poet and a writer who lives in Cobourg, Ontario with her computer, her books and her cats. You can see more of her work at http://www.sabinabecker.com. This is Becker's second contribution to Swans. Do you wish to share your opinion? We invite your comments. E-mail the Editor. Please include your full name, address and phone number. If we publish your opinion we will only include your name, city, state, and country. Please, feel free to insert a link to this poem on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge or repost this work without the expressed written authorization of Swans. This material is copyrighted, © Sabina Becker 2002. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. |
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