The dean of OU's College of Architecture issued an apology Monday for wearing clothing associated with Islam at a back-to-school meeting.
A photo on the College of Architecture's Facebook page that has since been deleted showed Dean Charles Graham wearing a white thawb and a red keffiyeh on his head at the meeting on Aug. 20.
— The Oklahoma Daily
In his apology (posted below), Dean Graham wrote, "I asked a number of my Muslim friends around the campus and in Norman to see if my wearing the attire would be offensive in any religious way, and the answers were all resoundingly 'no.'" Still, his sartorial choice was controversial enough to generate three or four complaints to the president's office.
The University of Oklahoma maintains a study abroad program in Dubai focusing on building design and construction. In his apology, Dean Graham states he purchased the clothing during a visit there.
As Dean Graham correctly notes in his letter, the keffiyeh and thawb are not specifically religious, but rather everyday attire in much of the Middle East, particularly the Arabia peninsula and the Levant. He compares the use of this clothing to "what my Scottish ancestors and family who wear kilts currently do," and to Texans wearing cowboy boots and hats.
Dean Graham contends he "tried to use the time I wore the attire as an educational exercise," and had been told my his "Muslim friends" that "it would be a nice gesture of diversity and acceptance of other cultures."
22 Comments
This is very confusing. What were the complaints, that he was disrespecting a religion, or that he was disrespecting a 'Murrica?
"I have no problem with what some idiot, un-american, commie, ugly man wears, so long as he doesn't copy my look."
@Donna, I assume the former.
@Donna that he was disrespecting American values. CAIR (Council for American Islamic Relations) Oklahoma has already issued their statement on the apology.
cray, cray
aamir1234 can you find a link to the statement? I went to CAIR OK and couldn't find it.
And are you really saying that Graham had to apologize because somehow wearing the clothing of another culture is considered Un-American?!
hilarious....can we get a pic of what he was wearing? at least the 'mericans spared him his life
Was he wearing a burkha?
Follow the link, this is what he was wearing:
That...
is priceless.
But in all seriousness, who gives a projection based presentation with the house lights on?
I'm more offended by the use of the term "latest purchase" than with what he's wearing. Describing it as a purchase makes it sound like it's a tourist trinket he picked up while visiting abroad. One can easily talk about the clothing as traditional attire that relates really intelligently to the climate where it became traditional. This is a pure example of form following function in a vernacular way. There's a great lesson on architecture in this outfit!
I'm still having a hard time believing that someone/some people complained that wearing garb from another culture somehow makes an anti-American statement. And if it does, so what? It's good for the US to understand that other cultures have relevance and value. Within the discipline of architecture, it speaks to understanding the culture within which you're working, be it another country, neighborhood, religion or financial level. As architects we need to be able to recognize and respect different attitudes, because our clients will not always be exactly like us - bridging differences in cultures (either global or super-local) to bring harmonious interaction is a basic part of our discipline's task.
If it was a bunch of Oklahoma native architecture students claiming they were "offended" by a grown man choosing to wear a keffiya: grow up. Open your damn eyes.
I could rant on and on about this but I'm still confused. Is the scenario I explained in the preceding paragraph *really* what happened? It makes no sense. If the attire he's wearing really is a representation of a religious belief, one that he doesn't subscribe to, then I can see that it is offensive to members of that religion., and even though I'm not particularly religious I can respect that concern. But my understanding is that what he's wearing is daily attire.
I'm really too worked up about this, because delicate 'murrican sensibilities being offended by clothing is so ridiculous. To lighten it up, I'm old, so to me there is really one very strong association with that outfit: it's an exact clone of the sheikh's outfit in the brilliant Rock the Casbah video. RIP Joe Strummer, one of the geniuses of our age:
i always kind of think that if a keffiya shouldn't be worn in america because it represents a foreign culture, then we shouldn't really have taco bell here either.
also, lots of american hipsters are wearing them
the thawb is kind of just a costume though. the political message is 'look, i went to the mideast.' i don't see how that's offensive, though i think it's probably not the right garment for the culture or climate of oklahoma. but then he wasn't wearing it as an everyday sort of garment, he was wearing it as a costume because he was giving a lecture about how he went to dubai and bought a thawb. perhaps deep down the students are just mad about the waste of resources and lack of education?
aside from all that, i bet those are far more comfortable than what i'm wearing right now. i welcome the cultural transition that allows mideast attire to become as accepted as taco bell.
In all seriousness, any man who has never worn a long flowing garment in a hot climate: I highly recommend it. The fabric covers your skin from direct sunlight, and walking in it produces a breeze that cools your skin. My few visits to Oklahoma have been ungodly hot, so I imagine everyone there would calm down a little if they wore a thawb or something similar.
Also, keeping the back of your neck covered would prevent the condition that led to the creation of the term "redneck".
i don't know if they are as effective in humid climates. you're kind of trapping sweat in instead of letting it evaporate out?
That's why the clothing is loose, curt. It billows when you walk, which causes a breeze that evaporates sweat.
I wonder how offended these folks would be knowing that a majority of our service members purchased the same items, myself included, when they were deployed to the Middle East? You have to wonder what is wrong with people these days, he shouldn't have to apologize...
Oh, Mr_Wiggin, I wonder every day....so frustrated lately. Thank you for your service, again, and for being a reasonable person.
Think this politically correct thing is stifling and gone too far. Read an article by Jerry Seinfeld saying that neither he or most comedians will do standup at colleges anymore…I listened to a bunch of Don Rickles stuff last night to resuscitate my brain.
Very likely Dean Charles Graham, was Semitic Arab. A very large percentage of Grahams are part of J1 Haplogroup. Grahams are participating in a number of DNA projects hosted by Family Tree DNA.
Rev. Franklin Graham also tested J1.
https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/graham/dna-results
Haplogroup J-M267 is found at its highest frequencies in the southern Middle East, west of the Zagros Mountains in Iran, to the Mediterranean Sea, and encompassing the entire Arabian Peninsula. The J-M267 marker has been carried by Middle Eastern traders into Europe, central Asia, India, and Pakistan. As with other populations with Mediterranean ancestry, this lineage is found at substantial frequencies within Jewish populations. The Cohen modal haplotype lineage, as well as the presumed lineage of the Prophet Mohammed, are found in Haplogroup J-M267. J1 is also one of the main Haplogroups found among Arab populations.
Are you making a point or peddling a website?
If the dean of an architecture school in Dubai bought a Brooks Brothers suit in NYC and then wore it to school back in Dubai, would that be wrong?
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.