Turks abandoning beards due to ISIL association: Chamber head

MANİSA – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

The grim rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has had at least one positive side for Turkish barbers, as hirsute men have begun to forego their fashionable long beards amid concern about being associated with the jihadi group, according to Manisa Chamber of Barbers and Hairdressers head Ali Batu.

Locals in the Aegean province of Manisa have been flocking to barbershops to cut their beards in order not to draw public attention by looking like ISIL sympathizers, Batu said.

“It had become fashionable for men to grow their beards and everyone was growing one. This situation led to a decrease in barbers’ work. However, citizens no longer want to look like people who commit such atrocities after seeing members of the ISIL terrorist organization,” said Batu.

“Nineteen ISIL members were detained in Manisa on Aug. 7 and had long beards, so people opted to get their own beards cut in order not to draw attention to themselves. In other words, ISIL has damaged the beard fashion but helped our business,” he added. 

One local man said he had decided to get a trim after seeing ISIL members in the news. “I saw ISIL members everywhere in the news. I had grown my beard longer but now I’m getting it cut. I don’t want to look like a member of ISIL,” he said.