new thread
A sad tale reported in the news today:
Moroccan police tackle crime with harsh tactics
To be fair though it's not a crackdown on long hair as it is more a crackdown on muggings, etc.
"Photos posted on Facebook show muscular young Moroccan men, often tattooed, with elaborate haircuts, pricey athletic shoes and expensive mobile phones wielding huge cleavers. In the past few months, there's been a rise in muggings by these young men riding souped-up motorbikes."
It should be noted that Morocco depends heavily on tourism and
s crime wave like this will scare away tourists big time. Hence
the order from the king to clear the problem. Sounds alot like New York City when Rudy Gulliani got elected to office (that was
not about long hair, but was a massive crack down on crime.)
Finally I would note this isn't the US of A, it is Morocco where their judicial system is much different. If you live or visit
Morocco you have to realize there is that difference.
MLHH is not a community of American longhairs. It is a worldwide community of longhairs. Abuse of our brothers concerns us all.
This man had gone to a concert with his friends. He was not engaged in criminal activity.
Bill
I'm hoping the forced haircut was just an isolated circumstance and not the norm
of how they handle such situations. My thinking is it was a "spur of the moment" occurence by these authorities.Still it was wrong and should not have happened. Guess it goes with the territory in places such as this :(
Mârk
Has anyone seen more than one article on this? I've noticed all the news reports seem to be duplicates of a wire service report.
Currently, most countries of the Islamic world seem to have a tendency of hostility towards long hair on men - which probably has its roots in a puritanic interpretation of Islam originally stemming from Saudi Arabia, i. e. Wahhabism and Salafism, which is not native to most Islamic countries, but since the Saudi sponsoring of Afghan resistance fighters (mujahidin) against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s has been propagated fervently throughout the Islamic world, aided by billions and billions of oil dollars...
Traditionally, in the overall picture, Islam is not anti-longhair down the line - there always have been restrictive views on long hair on men, but on the other hand, throughout Islamic history, many examples of long-haired men can be found, especially in the context of Sufism, the mystical stream of Islam, but also among tribesmen in remote mountain and desert regions, such as large parts of Afghanistan, or among Yemenite bedouins. There even exist literary traditions descring the prophet Muhammad himself as having shoulder-length hair!
Even nowadays, among the fierce militants broadly labelled as "Taliban" or "Jihadists" you might find longhairs such as Baitullah Mehsud or Amir al-Khattab, in spite of the blend of Wahhabism and arch-conservative Indo-Pakistani schools of Islamic law they mostly have adopted...
Here a stunning video example of long-haired Iranian (Kurdish) sufis during an ecstatic "dhikr" ceremony:
See you in Khyberspace!
Yadgar
Hi Yadgar,
Thanks for that educational reply especially with the video.It was amazing all those men waving their hair to the chants.Possibly a very early form of headbanging as we know it today? Cheers
Mârk
And you know this how? The news articles are not clear on that.
So, if, say, you get caught smoking a join at a concert it's OK to lop all your hair off? I don't think so!
Except they're not in the US of A, they are in a foreign country
subject to laws of that country. We may not agree with it but
when you visit/live in that country you have to live under their
laws.
Also when it comes to smoking a joint, i'd recommend
the movie Midnight Express.
A forced head shaving may be morally questionable, but historically, slaves and prisoners have been shorn as a symbol of their subjugation/capture. In the United States, at least in the past, authorities have claimed it's a method of maintaining hygiene with new prisoners, but I find that questionable. In a way, it's a form of crime deterrent. I'm not saying it's justified, but it sounds at least somewhat effective. Regardless of the reasons, suicide is a rather extreme response. Afterall, hair grows back.
I have to say this - I'm stunned by the lack of sympathy shown by some of the commenters. Why? Is it because he was in Morocco? That really should make no difference.
No. For me it is because I'm not a citizen of Morocco. The authorities have no reason to listen to complaints from
me, a citizen of the US of A.
I would mention that in this type of csse, these people are in
Morocco, not the United States. As such they are under the laws and customs of that nation. I can sympathize with their plight
but I, as a citizen of the US of A has no say in their judicial system.
Also if you're visiting some of these countries it is best to look closely the country you're visiting. For example if you're visiting some of these countries you would advised to leave the
weed at home.
Same goes with those who live in that country. Maybe it is not a good idea to hang out on a street corner at 5 am in plain view of the police. You may be doing nothing wrong, but you are attracting the attention of police. Police who may very well
jump to conclusions about what you are doing..
And yes there countries that will force guys to get a haircut,
you should be fully aware of this and act accordingly.
Finally if people don't like policies like this in a country,
it is up to the citizens of that country to bring about change.
Ultimately it comes down to being street wise in whatever
city you end up in.
WOW, how horrible. When I think back to my own devastating impulsive short haircut back in Y2K, -- and I did this to myself, I wasn't forcibly shorn by the police or anybody else -- I can only begin to imagine how painful this event must have been for this young man. Logic would say, "Oh, his hair will grow back"; but logic isn't always present whenever we are filled with damaged emotions, especially if we ar physically violated in any way.
Although hair has no nerve endings, to go from having long hair one minute to a buzzed scalp the next, is nothing short of terrorizing. I even had a female friend who confessed to me years ago that when she impulsively cut her long hair to a short bob one summer, she said she cried and cried about it for weeks and even months afterward.
So sorry to hear about this young man's suicide. My condolences to his family and friends who probably miss him terribly -- which means even more was lost than just a beautiful head of hair.
- Ken