Can fashion drain meaning?

Keffiyehs...shemaghs...whatever you choose to call them. These desert scarves from the Middle East are now pretty much ubiquitous in the West. Urbanites the world over have adopted and integrated the scarves into their wardrobe, transforming them into fashion icons. Must-have accessories and whatnot.

Anyways, my sister was telling me about how she was rocking one while shopping somewhere. Someone working at the store told her that he had been wearing one earlier but was told by a fellow coworker that "he should remove it because it offended his religion."

This piqued my interest. First off, what religion would he be offending? If you read up, you'll find that these scarves were adopted by pro-Palestinian groups as well as those fighting for Palestinian solidarity. So if anything, wearing shemaghs would theoretically offend pro-Israel types. No specific "religion" is involved as far as I know.

But then again, I could be wrong. After all, as much as I'd like it to be, Wikipedia isn't exactly the end all be all of information. I mean, anyone can fuck with an entry -- altering shit to suit their needs, letting their biases subtly cloud the truth, messing with stuff for a laugh, etc.

I should know...I'm guilty of it myself. Haha! That's a different blog post altogether though.

But I digress. Back to the scarves.

The main question I'm chewing on is basically this: Can fashion drain meaning from an icon? Think of all the "important" iconic imagery and belief systems that have been mass-produced and converted into disposable bits of pop culture: Che Guevara, Jesus (is my Homeboy), Bob Marley, Buddha/Buddhism, etc. etc. To me, these figureheads have been overly diluted by their commercialization and have regrettably lost some of their resonance as a result.

Or does it actually happen in reverse? That is, when an icon "loses" its momentum...its energy and potency, is it relegated to a mere fashion? A trend to be merely hopped on, ridden, and discarded when its use has been exhausted?

Debate-worthy, no?

In the meantime, I'll keep wearing my olive-green shemagh/keffiyeh. Why? Not 'cause I'm pro-Palestinian. Not 'cause I'm anti-Israel. I respect both peoples equally but I wear it cause I think it looks dope. And it keeps my neck warm...especially when you're chilling out on freezing outdoor patios listening to Reggae jam bands.

Oh and this may be T.M.I. territory, but it also doubles as a handy napkin. You know. For spilled drinks and whatnot.