Significance of Ayman al-Zawahri's Black Turban?

Question

Is he Shiite?
If not, when did he begin wearing a black turban?
Is this something to do with image portrayal ito Islamic world?

???

I know Shiites wear white turbans.

Question is not about Sikhs, nor about Jewish..

Question is about Sunni Arabs vs Black Turbans

Are black turbans common among Sunnis? Or is this image an appeal to encompass Shiites by appearing similar to their religious leaders.?

Most Arabs I've seen wearing red+white pattern turbans or head cover. Never seen green. Al Qaida #2 turban looking exactly like Grand Ayatolah turban to me.

Looking for expert answer, not recital of bigotry in various locales.

Answer 1

1) Shia mullahs wear either black or a white turban depending on their lineage. A black turban would only be worn by a direct descendant of the Prophet (pbuh) - sayyid-, as it signifies that..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turban#Turbans_in_Muslim_majority_countries



2)However Zawahri a Sunni.. as rather a sectarian hard line Sunni would not be wishing to copy Shia practice. One of roles of Muslim dress is actually to differentiate yourself from the non- believer..
(for example hennaing your hair in Islam is encouraged because at the time of the start of Islam it was banned for rabbis and priests to dye their hair so Muslims were meant to look different. One of the reasons woman wear hijab is to differentiate them from the non believer)
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1123996016142&pagename=IslamOnline-English-AAbout_Islam/AskAboutIslamE/AskAboutIslamE
As some hardline Sunnis don't believe that Shias are even Muslims there is no way that Zawahri would copy a Shia.


3)Rather he is wearing a black turban because the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) wore a black turban On the conquest of Mecca For Zawahri the wearing of a black turban would clearly signify his jihad# against the west
It is noticeable that he wore a white turban before 9/11.White is actually the perfered colour of Turban as the prophet (pbuh) said this was the best colour
His wearing a black turban would be symbolic that he is at war..
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/International/story?id=1011048






# Jihad in Arabic just means Struggle. And for most Muslims would mean a personal or spiritual struggle and nothing violent. But in the context of Zawahri it means war.

NB..As you can see by your answers for most Muslims colour of a turban or even wearing a turban doesn't mean much...The Quran is not strict on the colour of Turban worn. There is disagreement to what colour of Turbin is prefered.. Some hadiths say that black is prefered..whilst other say it is not because it is the colour of death
.For most muslims black would be a just be a sign of mourning... So it is very possible to be reading too much into small signs.


NB2 Red and white head dress is called a Keffiah..
Here is a wiki page that explains the significance of colour and design in the head dress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh

Green is the colour most associated with Islam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green#Islamic_green


NB3.. Turbans aren't really common dress for every day wear for ordinary Muslims...I'm Muslim and non of my friends / family wears a Turban. But most common colour of Turban if worn is white.

Answer 2

The turban is closely associated with Sikhism. While not explicitly required for baptized men and women (those who join the Khalsa), they are forbidden to cut their hair and the subsequent use of the turban to manage their long hair has become associated with baptized Sikhs. Unbaptized Sikhs are not required to leave their hair unshorn. The vast majority of people who wear turbans in Western countries are Sikhs.

Islamic leaders can be seen wearing turbans, in particular Shia Muslim scholars who have become famous for them (e.g., Ayatollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khamenei, Hezbollah head Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, and newcomers to the world stage, like Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani). The black colour indicates a sayyid, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

Jews in Arabic countries often wore turbans as well, due to assimilation. The traditional color is black.

The wearing of turbans has sparked some harassment or hate crimes in the United States as a consequence of the September 11, 2001 attacks, since some people assumed that people that wore turbans were Muslim. In fact, Sikhs (who are neither Muslim nor Arab) make up the overwhelming majority of turban-wearers in the Western world.

Answer 3

he wore a white turban, not a black one

Answer 4

I don't think think the colour has any significance. However it may be an Arab thing but nothing to do with Islam.

Answer 5

he is not a shiite he is against them.

may be it is the only one he has.

I have seen Shiite wearing white ones too

God bless