The President of Turkey Banned Fez Hats, And It Caused Riots
In 1925, the President of Turkey decided to ban fez hats. As silly as this law sounds, there was a lot of deep-seated religious bias built into this new law. Many Muslim men wore fez hats, because it was possible for them to bow down during prayer. And in 1829, the fez was actually a mandated replacement for the turban for all government officials. At that point, it was a huge part of Turkish culture for nearly 100 years. The President’s push for brimmed western hats was an idea of a “new” Turkey that was more secular. People were so angry about this, that they rioted in the streets. Over 100 people were arrested, and 57 people were actually executed for passing out anti-hat pamphlets. Technically, it is still illegal to wear a fez in Turkey. (Though no one actively enforces the law anymore.)