Umar Rashid

Umar Rashid, a 29-year-old painter and musician, was standing outside the Grand Star nightclub in Chinatown one night after the start of the Iraq war when he came face to face with the potential perils of militant chic. A "soldier-looking dude" glared at Rashid for a moment and then said angrily, "People died wearing that in Iraq." The guy was referring to Rashid's kaffiyeh, the versatile Arab head scarf, often with a checkered pattern.