Minister of Culture H E Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Thani attending the ‘Seminar Series’ held at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha, yesterday. Pic: Rajan Vadakkemuriyil
The Ministry of Culture (MoC) launched its ‘Seminar Series’ yesterday, on nature of identities, and culture and the numerous identities in the Gulf wherein the Minister H E Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Thani joined in discussion saying such dialogue will enrich societies with different views and opinions.
Speaking at the event held at Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS), the Minister also explained that holding such an event can establish a culture that accepts viewpoints of other individuals. “We, the Ministry of Culture, record these ideas to take them into account,” he said.
The Minister earlier affirmed that the programme works to achieve the ministry’s vision by giving culture its essential role in protecting the identity of society, ensuring its progress, and promoting dialogue between thinkers and generations of intellectuals.
In attendance in the first event of the ‘Seminar Series’ include Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey, H E Dr. Mehmet Mustafa Goksu and other officials. The ‘Seminar Series’ organised by MoC will run for two weeks in partnership with Qatar University and ACRPS aimed of spreading the culture of diversity and giving the elite of society thinkers, intellectuals and graduates opportunities to enhance the intellectual environment.
Through this, the Ministry seeks to establish an intellectual environment that enhances the role of culture and intellectuals in community service, highlighting interlocutors and speakers in a number of fields, and supporting cultural and intellectual activities, as well as building bridges of communication between generations of intellectuals.
The first discussion of the ‘Seminar Series’ featured speakers including Abdulaziz Al Khater, Journalist; Dr. Amal Ghazal, Professor of History and Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies; and Dr. Haider Saeed, Head of Research Department at ACRPS and others.
Speaking on the sidelines of the seminar, Dr. Ghazal told The Peninsula that the dialogue discussed layers of identities within the landscape and the relation between culture and politics, what is historical and imaginary within the identities. “We talked about the desert and the sea in shaping connections within this space.”
The Dean and History Professor mentioned that she has published researches and studies mostly about Oman and the presence of Omanis and Arabs in general in East Africa, and the Indian Ocean. Dr. Ghazal on her presentation focused on the dimensions of the Indian Ocean when studying the identities of the Gulf “because there’s so much cultural influence.”
She also said that this kind of dialogue is the starting point of diversity of opinions. “Once we have that, we’ll have a lot of issues to talk about and to deal with in a very transparent way and this enriches our knowledge, enriches the dialogues we have through identities and the country we live in.”
Dr. Ghazal is known for her groundbreaking book, Islamic Reform and Arab Nationalism: Expanding the Crescent from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, 1880s-1930s which examines the relationship between Islam, nationalism and the evolution of identity politics from late 19th Century to World War II. It provides a cross-national, cross-regional analysis of religious reform, nationalism, anti-colonialism from Zanzibar to Oman, North Africa and the Middle East.
For his part, Dr. Saeed meanwhile told The Peninsula that conducting the Seminar Series is an “important initiative from the Ministry of Culture to build this event in the academic and institutions inside Qatar.”
The topic is likewise crucial as few literature in regard with the Gulf identities are available, he explained. “The discussion was very free, there is no limit and the interaction with the audience is important.”
Dr. Saeed who is also the Head of Research Department at the Arab Center said: “The Gulf identities is new, this means the whole Gulf area, not just in Qatar. And there is political context built in this identity. If you can recall the 2017 Gulf crisis, there is a conflict between Gulf identity and the national identity, when the Gulf identity slipped, there is a wake-up call of national identity. And I think this type of identity we are discussing is of political context, followed by culture.”
The said crisis he was referring to began on June 5, 2017 wherein air, land and sea blockade was imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain. The three and a half year old rift ended in January 2021.
Dr. Saeed who is also the Editor-In-Chief of the academic peer-reviewed journal of ACRPS “Siyasat Arabia” (Arab Politics), has participated in writing and editing of numerous books including “The National Report of Human Development Situation in Iraq” (2008 and 2014), author of “The Situation of Social Sciences in Iraqi Universities” (2008, Arabic), “Politics of the Symbol: on the End of National State’s Culture in Iraq” (2009, Arabic), and The “Arab Shia: Identity and Citizenship” (editor, 2019, Arabic).
