Clothing Restrictions Quotes
At the time, headwear identified the wearer’s caste and class. Fezes, Turbans, etc. were eliminated in favor of hats. This was Ataurk’s solution to two problems: He wanted to have Turkey modernize and develop along the lines of Western democracy and the traditional Islamic headgear being replaced by Western hats were daily symbols of the national modernization. The second advantage was that Turks could no longer identify caste and class by the traditional headgear and the society became much more egalitarian which it has been ever since.
See {617160} for a similar legal opinion. The concern was that poor Muslims may desert their faith when they see how well-dressed the tolerated people, Christians and Jews, are. They might conclude that Christianity or Judaism is better at making people wealthy than was Islam. See {617162} for a Koranic support of the idea. The Western view of this is generally, that is what the marketplace of ideas is all about. In 21st century America, Jews and Mormons on the average were the wealthiest religious groups. The logic of al-Ramli is that Mormons and Jews—each only 6 percent of the population—should not be allowed to show their wealth, lest Roman Catholics for example—25 percent of the population—will convert from Catholicism to the other two religions. From a democratic point of view, the response should be, we so be it. That is their choice. But America is the living proof that the assumption of conversion and loss of faith is per se wrong. The Mormons and Jews are visibly more successful, yet there are very few Roman Catholics leaving their church and converting to the two wealthier religions. There are some, but not at any greater rate than people convert from “wealthier” religions.
