Death for a Haircut--The thin line between style and punishment.

Washington Times | Frontpagemagazine ^ | June 28, 2006 | Sharon Behn

[SJackson]

BAGHDAD -- In a country where people are killed because their names mark them as Shi'ites or Sunnis, having the wrong haircut can be lethal, too. So for barber Abu Saif, staying in business requires keeping up with the latest religious edicts.

"Being completely clean-shaven is not right," Mr. Saif explains as he draws his razor down a customer's cheek, then sweeps it back up toward his upper lip. He takes time over the cut -- a perfect upside-down question mark shave around the cheek that is most popular with Baghdad's religious Shi'ites.

"The 'Marine' cut, or shaven head, is forbidden. It is considered to be something of the foreigners," said Mr. Saif, 52, who has been cutting hair and shaving beards in his small Mansour barber shop since he was a boy of 12.

Above all, he said, Iraqi barbers have given up "threading" -- a practice common in the Middle East and Asia that involves removing facial hair with two threads tied together, rather than with a razor.

For some, the punishment for doing so was death.

[SJackson]

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Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.

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[ichabod1]

But the war and constant conflict have taken a toll on the typical barber-shop banter, he said. Customers still comment on social and political matters, and still ask for marriage advice, but politics have become a dangerous topic.

This was an odd thing to say. They certainly didn't have MORE political discussion freedom when Saddam was running the show. To the contrary, nobody talked to anybody, from what I gather.

[SlowBoat407]

They certainly didn't have MORE political discussion freedom when Saddam was running the show. To the contrary, nobody talked to anybody, from what I gather.

Open discussion can breed arguments, however, and rather than being hauled away to a torture chamber, one may find oneself in a no-holds-barred brawl with razors lifted from the barber's counter.

[martin_fierro]

"Being completely clean-shaven is not right"

"Beeyotch, I make this skullcap look good."

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

Weddings are big days at the local barber shops. A "wedding cut" includes a facial massage, eyebrow thinning, a good haircut, an extra-fine trimming of the beard and removal of unsightly ear hair.

I didn't know Iraqi barbers catered to the women-folk, too. ;)

[martin_fierro]

"They get their ideas from actors on television, or some famous Iraqi singers or Brazilian soccer players," said Mr. Saif, who has about 20 customers a day. "Some cut most of their hair short then leave it long in front. Others wear their hair long but slicked back with a lot of gel."

[Cicero]

From an old article at Jihad Watch:

---

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Umm Ali says militants killed her son last month for the most unlikely of reasons: He trims men's beards.

In Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, residents say Sunni Muslim extremists have made barbers the new hunted, accusing them of violating a strict reading of Islamic teachings that say men should keep their beards long.

Some extremists also consider Western-style haircuts an offensive symbol of the hated, secularized culture of Europe and the United States.

To them, sporting a clipped beard or a modern haircut is an infraction worthy of death.

Black banners mourning the dead were strung up in the neighborhood as the unwitting violators fell one after another to the militants' harsh brand of justice. In one month alone, five barbers were shot dead, residents said.

``He was a haircutter. He only cuts hair,'' Umm Ali said of her son, Sadiq Abdul Hussein. ``He was handsome,'' she said, gazing at a photo of him.

Abdul Hussein was killed after he shrugged off a threat to stop shaving men's beards or lose his life.


Posted by Robert at February 7, 2005 08:35 AM

[Centurion2000]

If your religion forces you into a particular type of haircut, you might be a muslim.

If you religion has you on your knees 5 times a day, you might be a muslim.

[Just another Joe]

If you religion has you on your knees 5 times a day, you might be a muslim.

Might..........If your religon forces you to be on your knees 5 times a day, you might be Muslim

If your religon has you on your knees 5 times a day you may just have a better relationship with the Almighty.

[FlipWilson]

Now, if we can only have an election in DeLay's district, this would be perfect. I love how suddenly it is not ok to replace a candidate in Texas three months before the election, but is ok to do so umpteen days before the election in NJ. Bottom line, if DeLay cared about retaining his seat, he should have thought about timnig his departure such that it would not be left in the hands of a judge to decide the election.

[FlipWilson]

Ok, disregard the above post. I have no idea how I posted that, in this thread!?!? I thought I was posting in another one, obviously. WTF?

[Londo Molari]

"left in the hands of a judge to decide the election."

What type of haircut does the judge have? :-)

[FlipWilson]

LOL. I think its a mullet or a pompador.

[greenthumbedislndr]

If your religion forces you to have a certain type of haircut or face death, would any sane person call that a "religion of peace"?
Bring back the crusades. Kill'em all, shave them and bury them with pig guts.

[agere_contra]

You don't get out of it that easily! Post a picture of DeLay's barber immediately and we may forgive you :0)