Make me Mahmoud.

October 16, 2007 2:55 PM

'Tis the season: Help me perfect my Ahmadinejad costume.

I've been growing my beard for a couple of weeks now. I'm skipping my regular haircut so that it should be long enough to style like his. I've got a suit to wear with an open shirt. What will really push this costume over the top and make it instantly recognizable? I'm thinking maybe a "Hello, My Name Is Mahmoud" name tag, but that seems a little cheap. Is there something I could carry? Any good (non-offensive) Arabic phrases I can holler over and over again?

Make my weeks of looking stupidly bearded beforehand worth it- help me push this costume over the top!

posted by PhatLobley to clothing, beauty, & fashion (20 comments total)

If you have any gay friends, make a production of pretending to ignore them because homosexuals don't exist in Iran.
posted by MegoSteve at 3:00 PM on October 16, 2007

You could hide a "secret nuclear program" somewhere on your body.
posted by DMan at 3:04 PM on October 16, 2007

When I think of him, I think of a tan Member's Only Jacket.
posted by dios at 3:05 PM on October 16, 2007

Well, he's known for denying the holocaust and the existence of homosexuals in Iran - try to work those in to conversation frequently.

Motorcade style Iranian flags on your car. Get a secret service-esque guy to follow you around, finger to earpiece at slightest provocation?

Carry around a (ideally arabic, with scary cover image) nuclear physics book - highlight passages.

Many have noted he likes to hitch his (usually grey) slacks up pretty high.
posted by phrontist at 3:06 PM on October 16, 2007

For added realism, understand that the main language in Iran is Persian (Farsi), not Arabic.
posted by exogenous at 3:23 PM on October 16, 2007

get a columbia university hat or pennant or something (or make one, making a pennant shouldn't be hard right?)
posted by citron at 3:53 PM on October 16, 2007

Although note that Farsi is written using Arabic script so they look about the same to the untrained eye.
posted by PercussivePaul at 4:03 PM on October 16, 2007

Looking at photos, dude points a lot.
posted by Ironmouth at 4:12 PM on October 16, 2007

You definitely need the Member's Only jacket. (Any beige windbreaker would do.)

Smile.
posted by Reggie Digest at 4:17 PM on October 16, 2007

If you don't have any gray hair at all, use some powder or spray to add a little bit. In pictures I see him wearing a ring (one hand or both, not sure) and there's a pin on his lapel. Also, he is known for saying Israel should be "wiped off the map" so if you find a way to visually represent that and the gay denial theme, you're set. This sounds like a hard costume to pull off actually.
posted by PY at 4:19 PM on October 16, 2007

Can you have a prop like a thick (maybe legal size) envelope addressed to Bush with "return to sender" on it?
posted by PY at 4:22 PM on October 16, 2007

Also, I like the name tag idea.
posted by PY at 4:23 PM on October 16, 2007

He is sometimes pictured exchanging kisses with his male supporters, in accordance with custom (though he was condemned for kissing the gloved hand of his elderly female school teacher earlier this year). Coordinate with your male friends to have them greet you with a kiss when you enter the room!
posted by PY at 4:29 PM on October 16, 2007

Coordinate with your male friends to have them greet you with a kiss when you enter the room!

Make sure tongue is involved.
posted by nax at 5:31 PM on October 16, 2007

Make sure tongue is involved.

But, you know, not in a gay way.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 5:41 PM on October 16, 2007

the tan jacket, definitely. i would walk around with a mock nuke that says, "this is not a bomb."
posted by thinkingwoman at 7:06 PM on October 16, 2007

i would walk around with a mock nuke that says, "this is not a bomb."

Haha! You could carry some large rocket-looking thing with a note on it saying that it's for peaceful energy production, or something.
posted by DMan at 7:45 PM on October 16, 2007

Assless. Chaps.
posted by kookoobirdz at 11:40 PM on October 16, 2007

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how recognizable you'd be even if you got him down 100%. Other than Saddam, I'm not sure if any foreign leaders would make for great costumes, considering most people wouldn't know who you were even if you told them.

I guess it depends on the setting, like if it's a political campaign headquarters... or Columbia University, or the UN.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 12:20 PM on October 17, 2007

It's not too late for Kim Jong Il, you know. Can't miss that guy.
posted by kookoobirdz at 9:12 PM on October 17, 2007