Zunnar

Zunnar (also spelled "zunar" or "zonar"; Arabic: زنار zunār) was a distinctive belt or girdle, part of the clothing that Dhimmi (e.g. Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians) were required to wear within the Islamic caliphate regions to distinguish them from Muslims.^[1] Though not always enforced, the zunnar served, together with a set of other rules, as a covert tool of discrimination.^[2][3]

Etymology

The word originates from the diminutive of the Greek zone, probably via Aramaic zunnārā. In Syriac, it denotes the girdle worn by monks.^[1]

Description

The zunnar was usually wider than a regular belt (as to make it distinguishable)^[4] and was often worn with patches of varying colours.^[1] The requirement to wear it has been attributed to the so-called Covenant of Umar, however this covenant seems to have been a set of practices that were only formalised in around the 9th century.^[1] It seems likely that the belt was only one part of the intention to oblige non-Muslims to keep their usual costumes as to prevent them from being confused with Muslims.^[4] As such, the requirement seems to have been for Christians (Jews are initially not mentioned) to wear a distinctive sash (the zunnar) and a distinctive sign or mark on their headgear and that of their animals.^[5]

In case of omission of belt, the punishment could be whipping, imprisonment or public humiliation.^[6] Although the wearing of the zunnar was not always enforced, it could always be implemented at the discretion of any Muslim ruler as was done for instance under the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil, who ordered both Christians and Jews to wear the zunnar with a taylasān (a shawl-like head covering),^[5] or Fatimid caliph al-Hakim.^[7] Another example come from the year 1301 when the Mamluks purged Christians and Jews from administrative positions and additionally forced Christians to wear the zunnar and a blue turban.^[8]

Modern usage

• In 2001, the Taliban in Afghanistan required Afghan Hindus to wear yellow badges.^[9][10]
• Zunnar is a Palestinian article of clothing used mainly as a belt around the waist.^[11]

See also

• Clothing laws by country
• Kushti worn by Zoroastrians
• Himiana worn by Mandaeans
• Zone (vestment)

References

1. Tritton, Arthur Stanley (1960). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Brill. pp. 571–572. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
2. Nettler, Ronald L. (25 February 2014). Medieval and Modern Perspectives on Muslim-Jewish Relations. Routledge. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-134-36682-8. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
3. Fletcher, Richard A. (1999). The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity. University of California Press. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-520-21859-8. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
4. Hoyland 2021, p. 277.
5. Roth 2017, p. 173.
6. Yeʼor, Bat (1996). The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude : Seventh-twentieth Century. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8386-3688-6. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
7. Casiday 2012, p. 91.
8. Casiday 2012, p. 40.
9. Taliban to mark Afghan Hindus Archived 21 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine,CNN
10. Taliban: Hindus Must Wear Identity Labels,People's Daily
11. Embroidering Identities, a century of Palestinian clothing,The oriental institute museum of the university of Chicago

Sources

• Casiday, Augustine (2012). The Orthodox Christian World. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-45516-9. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
• Hoyland, Robert (24 March 2021). Muslims and Others in Early Islamic Society. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-91618-9. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
• Roth, Norman (5 July 2017). "Clothing". Routledge Revivals: Medieval Jewish Civilization (2003): An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-67698-4. Retrieved 2 October 2024.