As the world watched the biggest event unfold in Qatar this December, the most celebrated sport came with an Arab twist for the first time, setting into motion a global conversation.
Argentina striker Lionel Messi approached to his teammates on the award podium while carrying the World Cup trophy and donning the traditional Arab bisht, an iconic moment that will undoubtedly be etched in the books of history and be remembered as the pinnacle of his career.
The black garment, lined with a gold design and known locally as a ‘bisht’, was draped onto the World Cup champion by no other than Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. For the Arab hosts of the region’s first World Cup, the gifting of the bisht was a symbolic a part of Arab culture to honour guests.
Many rushed online to express the significance behind the amir’s decision to dress the World Cup 2022 winner in bisht at the first such major event in the Arab region.
“I’m probably in the minority here but I thought Lionel Messi wearing a bisht was a nice touch. Bishts are given to Arab warriors after a victory in battle or to royalty… Messi just won the greatest battle of them all and confirmed himself as the king of football,” one Twitter user wrote.
The move is seen as a means of sharing the culture – and the geopolitical importance of the World Cup game – with the world, along with paying homage to a superstar player in what will indeed be remembered as the crowning achievement of his career.
What is the bisht?
The bisht is a traditional men’s cloak that is part of the region’s ancient heritage and is worn in special ceremonies.
For centuries, Bedouins used to wear the cloak in the cooler months to insulate themselves from the winter chill, but today it is predominantly worn on special occasions. The cloak is most frequently worn by grooms on their wedding day, by royalty at formal events, and even at funeral receptions. Regality and status is another feature carried by the black garment.
The finest bishts are created from spun camel hair, which yields a delicate, cashmere-like fabric. While more reasonably priced variants are created from cotton and polyester, others are fashioned from goat’s hair or wool. The fabric is then dyed, usually in black but occasionally in brown and white as well.
The cloak is embroidered with a dazzling gold stitching called as zari, typically using silk or gold and silver thread. These designs frequently mimic the margins of the gown or the neckline.
The bisht has no buttons and is worn open to hang or pull across the chest with one hand while walking. It is widely worn throughout the Arab world, not just in the Gulf.
Some historians argue that the bisht served as the model for the gowns worn by university graduates at graduation ceremonies around the globe, and were first given to graduates of Al-Qarawiyyin University in Morocco in the ninth century to set a scholar apart from the rest of society.
Schooling white supremacy
As the black garment hugged the superstar player on stage, in what seemed to many as a warm gesture of honour, the moment became tainted by racist and Islamophobic sentiments that had already been following Qatar since the start of the World Cup.
‘Euro-centric supremacy’ was recently put under the spotlight by Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwa Al Khater, who shared a tweet to remind critics that the graduation gown, shared universally, stems historically from the Arabian cloak.
“Gowning Messi with a ‘bisht’ drove many Euro-Centric supremacists Crazy. Do they know that their graduation gowns came from the Arabian gown?” the Qatari official said in a tweet on Saturday.
Al Khater hit out at critics for being unable to comprehend how a Muslim tradition could be so universally accepted, in turn highlighting the global phenomenon of Islamophobia.
“A tradition Muslims started in 859 at Al-Qarawiyyan University; founded by a Muslim Woman by the way. Too much for your colonial fantasy?” Al Khater said, underpinning the Arab origin of the graduation gown worn internationally to mark the completion of an education phase.
Students from Europe who studied at these institutions received their degrees and then returned to their home countries donning Arab robes, ‘thawb’ or ‘qamees’, which served as a sign that they had completed their studies at a Muslim university, according to research.
This imitation of donning the baggy, wide-designed attire worn by Arabs and Muslims has continued today and expanded worldwide.
“The Arabic clothing (Thawb) has remained the purest and clearest sign of scholastic integrity up to this day of ours, especially during scholastic events such as debating and graduations,” Jack Goody penned his book titled “Islam in Europe”.
The graduation cap or the mortar boards were an Islamic inspiration whereby local scholars would place the Quran atop the flat hats, the ‘mortar’, to represent the primacy of holy scripture over the intellect.
The tassel on the back of the “mortar board” served as a bookmark for the Quran’s pages. Students carry their mortar boards while dressed in subfusc, emulating the tradition of Muslim students carrying their Qurans.
The right to wear it on your head only comes after graduation, historically signifying the knowledge acquisition of the holy book.
Not a foreign act
Western pundits and journalists did not shy away from exhibiting brazen xenophobic criticism in response to the iconic moment.
BBC pundit Pablo Zabaleta asked “Just why? There’s no reason to do that,” while BBC host Gary Lineker said it was “a shame they’ve covered his shirt” during what was “a magic moment”.
Meanwhile, ESPN journalist Mark Ogden described its as a barber’s “cape” while HITC Sport’s Dylan Walsh compared the traditional clothing to a “Victoria Secret robe”. Both of those tweets have now been deleted and the journalists issued watered down criticism of the moment.
The Telegraph referred to it as “the bizarre act that ruined the greatest moment in World Cup history,” while an Australian media site charged Qatar with “hijacking” Messi’s moment—a word used particularly disparagingly of Arabs, penned Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at Wayne State University and the Berkman Center at Harvard, in Doha News.
“It should come to no surprise that the vast majority of this tirade came from Britain, the faded empire that replaced the spilling of colonised blood with the modern spilling of postcolonial ink,” Beydoun said.
Western media’s criticism of the World Cup hosted in Qatar has been seen as ‘old Orientalism refashioned for modern audience’.
As the negative coverage of the bisht grew wider, questions around the occurrence of handing an item of local clothing during celebrations rose.
Pictures of world-renowned football player Pele wearing a sombrero during a previous World Cup victory began circulating online, with many reminding critics of the familiar act of adorning winners in local piece of clothing.
The Brazilian former professional footballer, real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento, wore the Mexican Sombrero hat after winning his third FIFA World Cup in 1970 held in Mexico.
World’s biggest positive depiction?
As many felt the bisht’s association with royalty meant it was a fitting means of “acknowledging Messi as the king of football,” the demand for the cloak skyrocketed with the same store that provided the bisht selling out shortly after.
As negative headlines were published around the world, the bisht grew popular on the ground, with fans rushing to stores to have a piece of arguably the biggest moment in footballing history.
Whether the royal black bisht, long white thawbs or the customised flags worn as a ghutra, the Qatar 2022 tournament was able to drape global fans with a stunning embrace of culture.
All the aforementioned garments have over the last two decades been used as part of a mass Islamophobic media campaign designed to dehumanise Arab and Muslim cultures and traditions. Racist caricatures, films and cartoons have depicted violent, bearded, armed, Arab men donning such clothing.
However, the iconic moment on the the biggest sports stage in the world – an Arab, Muslim leader honouring his foreign guest – shattered such narratives and provided a clearer and more positive depiction of Arabs and Muslims.
