The appearance of the famous Egyptian journalist Bassem Youssef, during his last meeting with Piers Morgan, sparked widespread controversy, because he was wearing a northern “kashabiya”.
The famous journalist did not miss the opportunity to respond to the controversy that followed him regarding his clothing, saying in his comment on the topic: “Is he a Native American? Is he Mexican? No Saudi, Palestinian, Jordanian, Algerian, Moroccan. He comes from the Arabian Peninsula, not African. The truth.” “It is nothing and everything.”
Bassem Youssef spoke about the reason for his choice to appear in the “Northern outfit,” saying: “When I was preparing for the second interview, I had already prepared my clothes: a jacket, a white shirt, black pants, a look suitable for a television interview… The night before, I saw that jacket in my closet. One of my friends in Jordan had started her own business and gave it to me as a gift. Is it embroidery, sadu, or qashqabiya? It is everything and nothing. The amazing thing is that people who lived far apart from each other, whether in Palestine, the Arabian desert, or the African plains “Or the mountains of North and South America, they have a lot in common without knowing it. Vibrant colours, designs and patterns. All of these people have had this in common for thousands of years. Maybe it’s a natural connection with the land.”
He continued: “Maybe this is the language of indigenous people everywhere: colors, warmth, fabrics made with love. Maybe this is the way they communicated with the land. With colours, with love, with history, with memories, with roots. Like the roots of olive trees that have been there for 600 years. This is not just “Colours. Olive trees are not just plants. They are a family. If someone uproots a family member who has been there for 600 years, it is clear that he never belonged to that family.”
He concluded by writing: “I wore a monotonous colored jacket and I wore this. We hope you all feel the love, belonging, and colors that surround us and connect us to the earth, the earth, and our roots.”
