MTV Style › Andi Teran

Emo graffiti.
Photo: Getty Images

According to a new report from the Washington Post, there's panic among Iraqi youth after people have been threatened and killed as a result of dressing in an emo style. It all stems from a recent Facebook posting of a young Iraqi man dressed in a white blazer with aviator sunglasses and coiffed black hair who was allegedly beaten to death. An Iraqi woman who refused to be identified for fear of retaliation, said his name was Saif Raad and that he was a student of hers. "I think he was killed because of the way he was dressed," she said.

Even though the skinny jeans/coiffed black hair emo look has been popular in the West for quite some time, it is somewhat new to the Middle East, a predominantly conservative part of the world. Lists have been drawn up with names of people threatened with death unless they change their adopted look. Iraqi clerics and police officials have even deemed the look satanic and a threat to society. Many young people have either cut their hair or remained in their homes for fear that they will be targeted. "If we were a normal country, this would be a normal style," said a recent Iraqi college graduate, "but in Iraq, we have these crazy militias who make an excuse to kill people."

{via the Washington Post}

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