Zunnar (also spelled "zunar" or "zonar"; ') was a distinctive
belt or
girdle
A belt without a buckle, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle in various contexts, especially historical ones, where girdles were a very common part of everyday clothing from antiquity until perhaps the 15th century, especially for w ...
, part of the clothing that
Dhimmi
' ( ', , collectively ''/'' "the people of the covenant") or () is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligation under ''s ...
(e.g. Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians) were required to wear within the Islamic caliphate regions to distinguish them from Muslims.
Though not always enforced, the zunnar served, together with a set of other rules, as a covert tool of
discrimination
Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...
.
Etymology
The word originates from the
diminutive
A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
of the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
zone, probably via
Aramaic
Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...
zunnārā. In
Syriac, it denotes the girdle worn by monks.
Description
The zunnar was usually wider than a regular belt (as to make it distinguishable) and was often worn with patches of varying colours.
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.
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. 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.
In case of omission of belt, the punishment could be whipping, imprisonment or public humiliation. 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
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
caliph
al-Mutawakkil
Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...
, who ordered both Christians and Jews to wear the zunnar with a taylasān (a shawl-like head covering), or
Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...
caliph
al-Hakim. Another example come from the year 1301 when the
Mamluks
Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...
purged Christians and Jews from administrative positions and additionally forced Christians to wear the zunnar and a blue turban.
Modern usage
* In 2001, the
Taliban
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
, leader1_name = {{indented plainlist,
* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
in Afghanistan required
Afghan Hindus to wear yellow badges.
* Zunnar is a Palestinian article of clothing used mainly as a belt around the waist.
Embroidering Identities, a century of Palestinian clothing
''The oriental institute museum of the university of Chicago''
See also
* Clothing laws by country
* Kushti
The ''kushti'' () also known as kosti, kusti and kustig is the sacred girdle worn by invested Zoroastrians around their waists. Along with the sedreh, the kushti is part of the ritual dress of the Zoroastrians.
Origin
The Avestan term for ...
worn by Zoroastrians
* Himiana worn by Mandaeans
* Yellow badge
The yellow badge, also known as the yellow patch, the Jewish badge, or the yellow star (, ), was an accessory that Jews were required to wear in certain non-Jewish societies throughout history. A Jew's ethno-religious identity, which would be d ...
worn by Jews
* Zone (vestment)
The zone ( ''zōnē'', from ζώννυμι ''zōnnȳmi'', "I gird") is a form of girdle or belt common in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean. In ancient Greece, the zone was traditionally worn by women.
In ancient Greece
Cultural significance ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Belts (clothing)
Islam and other religions
Islamic clothing
Islam-related controversies
Clothing of the Ottoman Empire
Islamic terminology
Religious discrimination