Omahan Abiola Kosoko wore plaid before plaid was back in style.

He likes to stay ahead of the fashion curve.

Abiola Kosoko wears kaffiyeh scarves solely for looks. "If I know I'll look good in it, I'll wear it," he said.

But a recycled trend has the 21-year-old Creighton University senior wrapped up in controversy.

He drapes a red-and-white kaffiyeh scarf around his neck. And some people don't like it.

The kaffiyeh started as a men's headdress in the Middle East — either for ceremonial purposes or to protect people from harsh desert conditions. The late Yasser Arafat, former Palestinian leader, often wore one on his head.

Because of that, Kosoko says, students have stopped him on campus and questioned his motive in wearing the checkered scarf. Controversy over the scarves got national attention earlier this year when TV chef Rachael Ray wore a paisley-patterned kaffiyeh in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial. The company pulled the ad after viewers complained that she was wearing a "terrorist scarf."

But Kosoko and others who like the scarves say they're nothing more than this year's hot fashion item. A kaffiyeh is set apart from other scarves by its soft cotton material and woven-tassel fringe.

Folding a kaffiyeh scarf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fold the scarf into a triangle shape.

Tie ends around your neck at the back or side.

Adjust to suit your style.

Or you could fold in half and drape it around your neck like a regular scarf.
Several celebrities, including actor Colin Farrell and R&B singer Chris Brown, rock them. The scarf has shown up in Gucci and Louis Vuitton runway shows — in checks and floral prints — and has been sold at specialty boutiques for $1,000 or more. The year's hot colors are pink and green.

Local boutiques and mall stores carry them. Urban Outfitters has an assortment. Charlotte Russe has a red-and-blue one shaped like a bandana. Runway Boutique in west Omaha carries a tan-and-blue plaid. The scarves generally run between $10 and $25.

John Calvert, a Creighton professor and expert on Middle Eastern history, said the scarf is common in Arabic-speaking regions of the Middle East.

"Someone has to be pretty naive to wear it if they don't understand the political connotations behind it," he said.

Middle Easterners — traditionally peasants — have worn the scarves since the early 19th century. In the 1930s, all classes wore the scarf as a symbol of unity against the British, who were occupying the region, Calvert said.

In the 1960s and '70s, a regional distinction emerged between the Jordanians' red-checkered scarves and the black-chec- kered scarves of the Palestinians. The Jordanian kaffiyeh has cotton decorative strings on the sides — the bigger the strings, the higher a person's status.

In the 1980s, activists wore them to show support for the Palestinians and those oppressed in Latin American countries and elsewhere.

Politically charged apparel is nothing new, and those who wear it don't necessarily think about the message.

Che Guevara T-shirts are ubiquitous among college kids around the world. People wear Buddhist prayer beads as trendy bracelets. So some think it shouldn't be a big deal that hipsters have co-opted the kaffiyeh.

"It's a good thing that people are becoming more open to them," said Kosoko, who has researched the background of the kaffiyeh.

A local Islamic leader says he isn't disturbed when people casually wear kaffiyehs.

The scarves have no religious meaning, said Syed Mohiuddin, president of the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture in Omaha.

"We live in a changing culture. We're adopting styles from one culture to another," Mohiuddin said. "I don't think it's offensive. Someone with a stricter interpretation of it might."

Kosoko wears kaffiyeh scarves for looks, not beliefs.

He thinks they're warm and stylish.

"If I know I'll look good in it, I'll wear it," he said.

The scarf prompts heated debates among Kosoko's friends. Some scoff that it isn't fashion.

One friend was upset when Kosoko offered to buy her one as a gift. She saw it as a political statement. But after Kosoko showed her a few featured on fashion Web sites, she now wears them.

Unlike Kosoko, Omahan Trudy Minor hasn't heard any complaints.

She uses her 20-some kaffiyehs to dress up her wardrobe. Some have chunky stripes. Some are checkered, and others have knitted swirls or are in solid colors.

Minor, 27, notes what celebrities are wearing in Vogue and Cosmopolitan magazines.

"I've never been considered a terrorist," she said. "I get lots of compliments."

She usually wears them as accent pieces with solid colored shirts.

"It gives a hipper look," she said. "You can do anything with it. You can use it as a head wrap, wear it as a belt or a scarf. Even though it may be from the past or a different culture, it's just an accessory."