In Turkey, it's all about the beard
On Oct. 13, Turkish newspapers reported that men in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Turkey are going to barber shops in record numbers to get a clean shave. Having a beard, according to the reports, is seen as a symbol of affiliation with the Islamic State (IS). A tweet made the rounds on multiple accounts stating: “If today no Kurd is scared to speak Kurdish, but Kurds are scared to wear a beard, that means there is pressure from the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), not the Turkish state, on the people.”
More:In Turkey, it's all about the beard - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East