Thanks for playing: The answer is The famous Egyptian actor, Abdel Fatteh Al Osary, rocked the ironic mustache look back in the 's. Jokes aside, beards in the Middle East and North Africa, like veils, can be an important religious and socio-political signifier. In Egypt, for example, state regulation of certain outer forms of religious expression, including beards, resulted in the practice's widespread politicization. In the name of secular rule, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak banned government employees, including police officers and airplane pilots, from growing beards.
1. Arab men grow hair on demand
2. Arab men should have a competition of their own
During the Mubarak-era, beards were a no-no in Egypt - but now they're back in fashion with a vengeance. In the Arab and Muslim world, facial hair signifies a lot more than personal style, writes Cairo-based journalist Ashraf Khalil. A couple of years ago, I was with my parents in a mosque near Chicago. They introduced me to an old family friend - a lady who'd known me since I was a kid but hadn't seen me for years.
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They introduced me to an old family friend - a lady who'd known me since I was a kid but hadn't seen me for years. She embraced my mother and shook hands with my father, but when she turned to me she stood about a foot away from me, didn't offer to shake my hand and instead sort of awkwardly waved. She assumed that my facial hair was symbolic of a deep Islamic religiousness and was afraid that if she offered her hand to shake, I wouldn't take it. It's a sociological signifier, a shorthand that often tells you who you're dealing with and what they're all about before they can even speak. There are a couple of different styles in play, and as a journalist you learn to develop a sort of internal chart. Bowen discusses Britain's sharia courts bostonreview. A beard is regarded as a sign of strong Islamic belief. In many Muslim regions, men are required to have a beard and the longer the beard the better. The Taliban believes that a man's beard must be as long as a mans fist while Iranians argue that stubby growth is fine.
It's November and that means NoShaveNovember is here. The annual challenge aims to raise awareness around men's health issues, including prostate and testicular cancer. For Arab men, the annual challenge is not really a struggle, considering the speed at which facial hair grows As an Arab, you don't really need to partake in "No Shave November" seeing that we already have the proclivity to grow a beard on command. Somebody asked me "are you doing no shave November? When an Arab w a badass beard compliments your beard, you're doing something right in life???????????????????????? I'm ready for no shave November. This isn't funny. This is sarcasm.
