Zunnar


Zunnar was a distinctive belt or girdle, part of the clothing that Dhimmi 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 overt tool of identification and not discrimination.

Etymology

The word originates from the diminutive of the Greek zone, probably via Aramaic zunnārā. In Syriac, it denotes the girdle worn by monks.

Description

The zunnar was usually wider than a regular belt 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 to wear a distinctive sash 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 caliph al-Mutawakkil, who ordered both Christians and Jews to wear the zunnar with a taylasān, or Fatimid caliph al-Hakim. Another example come from the year 1301 when the Mamluks purged Christians and Jews from administrative positions and additionally forced Christians to wear the zunnar and a blue turban.

Modern usage