Doha, Qatar: This February, Qatar National Library (QNL) is hosting a series of events to mark National Sport Day and to explore the cultural connections between the Arab World and Southeast Asia.
The month begins with the Hadhrami Arab diaspora in Indonesia, which will be the subject of panel discussions and a series of presentations that will offer a broad overview of how the community has forged close ties to Indonesian society throughout history.
The event, which takes place on 10 February, brings together Dr. Engseng Ho, a professor at Duke University and a scholar of transnational anthropology, Professor Farish Noor from the University of Malaya, and Professor Fatimah Husein, an expert in philosophy of religion at the State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga in Indonesia.
For those interested in creative writing in Arabic, on February 10, the library will host the Arabic Short Story Workshop led by Sabah Sanhouri, a Sudanese fiction writer and founder of the #OneDayFiction project.
Sanhouri, a member of the Sudanese Writers Union and a jury member of the University of Khartoum’s Short Story Contest, will explain how writers can leverage their senses to build characters and create a cohesive plot.
On February 12, the focus will turn to sports with the library hosting a day of entertainment and healthy competition for families in celebration of National Sport Day.
The day will also feature a walk that kicks off at the library and finishes at Oxygen Park, led by Dr. Nasser Al Muhannadi, author of How to Be an Iron Man.
Children will also have the opportunity to participate in the Little Storytellers programme to learn how to read a story expressively firsthand from a professional storyteller.
The history of Indonesia will take centre stage again on February 21 with Dr. Oman Fathurrahman, a philologist with vast experience and expertise of the Islamic world.
