Subtitle: Much Ado about a Single Scarf
The big wigs at Dunkin’ Donuts have caved to the pressure and finally yanked an online ad featuring its celebrity spokesperson Rachael Ray wearing a fringed black-and-white scarf.
The neckpiece was at the center of a debate between critics such as conservative commentator Michelle Malkin and Dunkin’ Donut execs. Malkin and hundreds like her complained to the donut chain that the scarf Ray wore in the ad offers symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism.
The coffee and baked goods company pulled the ad featuring the popular celebrity chef holding an iced coffee last week after it had been up for less than a month saying, “the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee.”
Upon seeing the ad Malkin complained that the scarf wrapped around Ray’s neck looked like a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress, which has come to symbolize (to some) Muslim extremism and terrorism.
In a column posted online last week Malkin added that the kaffiyeh, “has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons.”
Now imagine the shock that came over the stylist who dressed Ray for the ad. She says the scarf had a paisley design, and maintains that “absolutely no symbolism was intended.”
I believe her… and so do a slew of other much more educated people like Amahl Bishara, an anthropology lecturer at the University of Chicago who specializes in media matters relating to the Middle East.
She told reporters that complaints about the scarf’s use in the Dunkin’ Donuts ad demonstrate serious misunderstandings of Arab culture.
“Kaffiyehs are worn every day on the street by Palestinians and other people in the Middle East – by people going to work, going to school, taking care of their families, and just trying to keep warm,” Bishara noted. She then added that while some extremists and terrorists may wear kaffiyehs, “To reduce their meaning to support for terrorism has a tacit racist tone to it.”
Wonder how long it will be before we see Ray wearing a scarf in public again?