CANTON, Mass. — Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled an online advertisement featuring Rachel Ray after conservative commentators argued that a scarf worn by the Food Network host implied support of Muslim extremism.
Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin was among the critics, contending that Ray’s black-and-white scarf looked like the traditional Arab headdress called a kaffiyeh.
In a column last Friday, Malkin wrote that the kaffiyeh “has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons.”
However, the Canton, Mass.-based chain denied there were any messages associated with the scarf.
“Absolutely no symbolism was intended,” Dunkin’ Donuts said in a statement.
The online ad was taken down last weekend because “the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee,” the company said.
Amahl Bishara, who is an anthropology lecturer at the University of Chicago, told The Associated Press that the incident displays the public’s misunderstanding of Arab culture.
“I think that a right-wing blogger making an association between a kaffiyeh and terrorism is just an example of how so much of the complexity of Arab culture has been reduced to a very narrow vision of the Arab world on the part of some people in the U.S.,” Bishara told AP. “Kaffiyehs are worn every day on the street by Palestinians and other people in the Middle East — by people going to work, going to school, taking care of their families, and just trying to keep warm.”
