November 15, 2007: While in the U.S. the practice of wearing ties has been declining, in Iran, it has become an important symbol of rebellion against the Islamic regime, which views ties as a symbol of Westernism. A man wearing a tie in public can find himself in trouble with the lifestyle police almost as quickly as a young woman who fails to wear a headscarf or shows too much ankle. One result of this is that, young men at clandestine dance halls, all wearing ties, tend to look like fugitives from the '50s in America. The Iranian secret police will, when searching a residence, look for a recently worn necktie. That would be proof that an enemy-of-the-state lives there.
