TIED TO THE WEST :

Neckties Slowly Returning to Iran (Ali Akbar Dareini, May 24, 2002, Associated Press)

They've been denounced as decadent, un-Islamic and a symbol of the oppressive West. But neckties are slowly coming back into fashion in Iran.

The reappearance of the tie confirms that the strict social code imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution is giving way to moderation and variety.

The most obvious change is displayed by women, who once had to wear either head-to-toe chadors or bulky coats and dull head scarves. Makeup was forbidden.

Now, women are wearing cosmetics, brightly colored scarves and body-hugging jackets with little fear of the authorities.

Men are also making some leaps into once-prohibited territory: short-sleeved shirts, long hair and clean-shaven faces in defiance of the Muslim clerics who say facial hair pays homage to the bearded Prophet Muhammad.

Ties are joining the sartorial shake-up, although they are still rare. [...]

"The 1979 Islamic revolution was mostly a cultural revolution. The tie is a symbol of the West and we don't want to be followers of the West. We want to keep our own cultural identity," said a Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It seems that the important fact here is that this is a "reappearance". For all our reviling of the Shah for being too repressive, too brutal, etc., the fact is he--like Attaturk in Turkey--forced a program of Westernization on his nation from above and thereby may have laid the groundwork for its rapid return. Iran and Turkey may be the most important societies in the world right now, ongoing experiments in the Westernizing of Islamic cultures. We have to expect ups and downs as they attempt to strike a balance [like this one : Iran casting dragnet for Barbie (BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press)], but the success of this enterprise serves all of our best interests so it deserves our support. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 25, 2002 10:04 AM