The Origin of the Qatari ‘Bisht’

Chances are, you’ve probably worn something like this too

A great final between Argentina and France and a fitting end to an excellent tournament.

I’m seeing a lot of noise online about the Arab ‘bisht’ which was put on Messi by the Emir. What’s the issue?

First of all — a nice move; well played Qatar — :)

Secondly, it’s nothing new and not a big deal.

Pele wore the sombrero after winning the World Cup in 1970, hosted in Mexico. This is something which represented the host culture, going back 500 years, and he was happy to wear it.

In the 2004 Athens Olympic games, the host nation and organisers put an olive wreath on the head of all medalists — which represented their tradition and was a throwback to the original Olympic games. Again, a nice touch, it brings that bit of heritage and authenticity to proceedings.

In the same way, the Arab bisht is a cloak given to bestow honour, status and grace upon the recipient. Chances are if you’ve been to university anywhere in the world, you’ve worn a cousin or ancestor of this.

Its origin comes from Muslim academia, where students of Islamic ‘madrassas’ in the golden age of Islam dressed in these robes on graduating. Jack Goody in his book titled “Islam in Europe” said that:

“The Arabic clothing (thawb) has remained the purest and clearest sign of scholastic integrity up to this day of ours, especially during scholastic events such as debating and graduations.”

This is why when we graduate from university today, we wear these gowns known as subfusc, along with the mortarboard (the flat hat) which represents the flat hats of the Islamic scholars back then who would rest the Qur’an on the ‘mortar’ to symbolize the primacy of Scripture over the intellect. The tassel at the back of the ‘mortar board’ was for bookmarking the pages of the Qur’an.

The bisht, therefore, derives from this, is something noble and cultural which was aimed at congratulating and honouring someone who not only lit up the tournament but cemented his status as the greatest football player of all time.