New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) Din Mohammad, a shopkeeper at the Batla House market in south Delhi, used to sell at least 60 'arabi rumaals' every month, but he has barely sold five in the last 20 days. There are few takers for the innocuous chequered scarves, usually worn by Muslims to offer prayers, that have come to be suddenly associated with terror.
People have been shunning them after three youths suspected to be behind the Sep 13 serials bombings in Delhi were shown on television and in widely publicised photographs being produced in court by police with their faces covered in the red and white kerchiefs.
'Earlier I used to sell at least 60-70 scarves in a month, but in the last 20 days I have sold only five. I am expecting the sale to rise when people go for Haj,' said Din.
'The sale of arabi rumaals has gone down after the controversial shootout,' Din told IANS.
His shop is in an area close to the spot where two Muslim youths alleged to be linked to the Delhi blasts were gunned down by police in what came to be known as the Batla House encounter.
Across the city near Jama Masjid in the walled city, Imran, who sells skull caps, scarves and rosaries, has a similar story: 'Earlier, I used to sell at least three to five scarves per day, but now it has been reduced to one and sometimes even as little as one or two in a week.'
Sadar Bazaar, Nizamuddin and Jama Masjid are the areas of Delhi where these scarves are sold wholesale.
Abdul Sattar, a wholesale dealer at Sadar Bazaar in central Delhi, said: 'There is a slump in orders, whether it is because they (scarves) are being associated with terrorism or economic recession is difficult to say, but we are hopeful that we will get more orders in the coming months when people go for Haj.'
Although the scarves are available in plain white as well, people have for long preferred the ones in black-and-white or red-and-white checks.
Middle aged and elderly people who pray regularly form the main clientele and the sale of these scarves is high during the month of Ramadan and during Haj.
'In fact the scarf is a replacement of imama (turban worn by religious leaders). The imama is made of five yard cloth. Tying the imama is a time-consuming procedure. The scarf is easier to use,' said Maulana Anzar of Saharanpur who had come to Delhi to meet his niece studying in Jamia Millia Islamia.
'These scarves can also be used as jaanamaz (mat) to offer namaz and to cover the head and face during summers and winters. Associating it with terrorism is insane,' Anzar said.
The chequered scarves gained global fame and were also called Arafati because of its use as headgear by Yasser Arafat, late Palestinian leader.
As a mark of protest against the police act of producing suspected terrorists in court with these scarves, Azamgarh MP Akbar Ahmad appeared in parliament with his face covered by a similar scarf.
Muslim clerics feel that visuals of terrorists with their heads covered with such scarves and that of police producing suspected terrorists in the same manner have maligned the image of Ulema (religious leaders) and common Muslims who are law abiding and want to lead a peaceful life.
'For the stereotyping that a Muslim wearing a chequered scarf can be a potential terrorist, terrorists, police and media are equally responsible. The media show mainly those images of terrorists in which they cover their faces with such scarves. Police did the same thing when it produced three boys as suspected terrorists with their faces covered with such scarves. This is outrageous,' Mufti Yasin of Deoband told IANS.
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