Marianne Merten
Teenagers are wearing it. The elderly are wearing it. For weeks the only visible member of Muslims against Illegitimate Leaders, Abduraghman Khan, has been sporting it while claiming to have signed up about 1 000 volunteers for the war against the United States.
It is, of course, the Osama bin Laden T-shirt.
Various versions have been around since September 11. The colourful one making the rounds in Cape Town features “Long Live Osama bin Laden” in red on the front and back with a picture of the man in question. The motto reads: “To those against whom war is made; Permission is given [to fight] because they are wronged; and verily God is most powerful for their aid.”
My search for the T-shirt turned out to be a lot less complicated than expected. Around the corner from an inner-city shop, down the road, at the corner. That’s all there was to it.
And if I thought to find a mysterious-looking, long-bearded type plying the garments in a conspiratorial manner, well, I was wrong. The proprietor, who sells them “at no extra cost” with the promise that “the money goes straight to the cause”, turned out to be a clean-cut, boy-next-door kind of guy.
Above the counter of his store are newspaper photographs of children with guns and green headbands with Arabic writing. A hand-scribbled cardboard notice spews anti-American slogans while a newspaper article on the Afghani people’s poverty is pasted on the wall next to a quotation from the Qur’an.
“I was told you have the Osama bin Laden T-shirt,” I said when he finally popped his head over the newspaper he was reading.
“Who told you?” came the response, along with a suspicious look.
A heap of crumpled T-shirts only medium sizes available were hauled from next door. “There are new T-shirts coming soon with the Afghanistan flag. But I’m first selling off the stock,” he said.
Noticing me looking at the pictures and slogans, he lowered his voice: “You know, there are many hypocritical Muslims around. I disseminate the truth here. It’s my duty.”
There are no signs to advertise the sale of T-shirts at this shop, but if you know where to go it’s easy. Problem now: to which occasion do I wear it?