Not every trend becomes a fashion, and not every fashion is culture. These norms come from practices of years and sometimes centuries of continuous use by a type of culture, caused by different reasons and factors. Although there are thousands of factors that determine which trend is going to be a fashion and which fashion is going to become a part of a culture, one of them is religion and believes of the people. Therefore, whenever some person or group of people or even a culture starts doing a practice that impacts the culture, it may become culture if there are religious grounds for it. You will be able to read about the origins of men’s headscarves and Islamic caps in this article that you would love. We’ll also talk about the importance of covering head in Islamic culture and why Muslim men follow this tradition set by Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W).
1: The Origins of Men’s Headscarves and Islamic Caps According to World History:
People all over the world, including Muslims, wear headscarves and caps that they believe are a sign of modesty and the importance of religion and some territorial and ethnic norms and cultures. These caps and scarves vary from place to place and area to area. Sometimes factors like sects and the tradition of Imams of a particular Muslim group follows have also been impacting to determine the colour size and style of the head wears in Muslims. Today’s world has a history of this type of headwear that allows an insight into the history of different regions, cultures, and continents. There will be a complete discussion of various factors that have been determining the types of caps in almost all peoples and nations of the world.
2: Traces of Head Covering in Abrahamic Religions:
Head covering has been a tradition in all three Abrahamic religions. A tradition that is strong to the core and numerous men and women follow it all over the world in daily routine. Moreover, these religious identities and traditions are found in other cultures, but there is no clear evidence of religious influence in all cases. In the following are the types of head covering traditional names these religions follow:
- Turban:
This type of wearing is more common in Pakistan, India, and some Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and African countries. The people who wear these headcovers are mostly Muslims that is sometimes influenced by the region and climate of the area.
· Sikke: This type of cap, used by Turkish Muslims too, is considered one of the Islamic hats People wear. This type of cap is worn during a type of dance done by the whirling dervishes of Maulana Rumi.
- Kippah:
This cap worn by Jewish men is a special occasion cap in the U.S that shows their affiliation with their religion and denotes their religiousness. This type of cap is also known as a yarmulke.
These types of caps and head covers show that these wearings do have massive religious influences that impact the size, colour, and design of these caps. For different areas of the Islamic world, there are different types of caps and the origins of men’s headscarves and Islamic caps may be developed on the basis of climate issues and different ways of living. This fact is one of the most influential factors in the development of the type of head cover worn in a particular area. Moreover, there and many other types of headgears worn by men that have religious backgrounds.
3: Men Head Scarf in Arab Countries:
Men's headscarf is predominantly worn by men in the Arab countries that are adorned according to the colours of the area the man is from. There can be certain colours of men’s Arabic scarves that change according to the traditions and regions. This type of scarf is called Keffiyeh in Arab countries. These types of scarves are worn by Qatari, Bahrainian, Palestinian, Kuwaiti, and Iraqi men that are known for being a sign of Mesopotamian people. For Islam, this Arab tradition was acceptable to a considerable extent that leads to continuity. These are the origins of men’s headscarves and Islamic caps in the modern world.
4: In South Asia:
Although there are many people who wear turbans in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, there is still a massive number of people who prefer wearing a skull cap. Some pieces of evidence still survive today, like the Siddhis wearing a sort of skull cap that is a sign of modesty and tradition in them. Similarly, there is a tradition of wearing skull caps in other parts of South Asia that typically denotes the influence of a local culture that evolved into this well-known tradition. The influence comes from other areas of the world, especially the areas of Muslims from the west who came to India as rulers, also known as Mughals and Salateen. These people had a following of Islam that brought these types of headcovers in south Asia. Most of them Turks, who wore such caps.
5: Far East Asia:
In countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, the far East Asian countries, there are more ethnic traditions and influences than religious ones. This area of the world has one of the versatile areas in headgear and clothing styles as there are 300 types of clothing traditions in Indonesia alone.
6: North America:
In North America, Red Indians, the native people of this region, used to wear caps with features. It was a traditional style that has faded out but still is regarded as an old tradition.
7: In Africa:
There are several different types of climates in Africa, a factor influencing the clothing and headgears of men. For example, people in more hot areas and deserts wear more protective headgears like in the Sahara Desert areas. For other countries, there are different colours that even change according to the tribes of the country.
8: Islamic Reasons for Heads Wears:
A man who is praying must cover his hair as it can be done, but there is no compulsion in this. For headcovers at other times, you must understand they are done in the following of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W). This denotes the historical traditions that have been carried on since the time of the Prophet that say it is more righteous to have your head covered. There are sayings of old Muslim scholars and their writings that tell that Prophet himself used to wear a turban at all times.
Although some modern scholars of Islam say it was a tradition of Arabs even before Prophet, there is no compulsion in covering your hair if you are a man. To support that, there are several fatwas from different parts of the world that argue this. But, still, if a man wants to wear a turban of a headcover, he can as it is preferred by scholars and Imams to this day. Some others support this tradition by quoting from a book of Imam Shafi, according to which a Muslim man should wear a cap during prayer as it is disliked.
9: The Islamic Caps:
Islamic caps have different styles in different areas of the world as there are skull caps worn in South Asia, there is toppe worn by Turkish men. There is one argument behind all of these caps that says that Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) used to cover his head. Muslims, since the time of the Prophet, have been using headcovers, and it is considered something that has more dignity and more respect. So, wearing every type of Muslim cap is considered a gesture towards Islam and Prophet.
There are several theories about the origins of men’s headscarves and Islamic caps that have the influence of Abrahamic religious traditions in most areas. From India to Africa and America to Asia and Europe, Islam, Christianity and Judaism have made this fashion with deep-rooted religious reasons. Muslims, Christians, and Jews are not the only peoples who have been wearing scarves and caps; there are other peoples who have been wearing this clothing. For Muslims, these headwears are more like other Islamic cultural norms like Islamic calligraphy, making beautiful mosques, and adorning their houses with Islamic frames. You can see the conquer factor in India and the Muslim China area influenced by the invading Turks, also known as Mughals, which changed the religion of many living in the regions according to their mindset.
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