The Ministry of Culture launched the 'Seminar Series' on Thursday, at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI), in the presence of HE the Minister Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Thani and a number of thinkers and those interested in cultural affairs.
The first event, titled 'Culture and the multiplicity of identities in the Gulf' had as speakers writer Abdulaziz al-Khater, ACRPS research head Dr Haider Saeed, and DI's College of Social Sciences and Humanities Dean Dr Amal Ghazal. Hassan al-Saei was the moderator.
Dr Saeed focused on the formation of the Gulf identity and described it as one that arose in specific contexts. It is mostly political, where one aspect is highlighted at the expense of others, and a movement based on this identity. The classic example, according to him, is the Arab identity in the 19th century.
Dr Saeed talked about the source of the Gulf identity, when it was formed, in which context, awareness about it, the discourse on identity, and the emergence of narratives about identity. He said that one of the facts that led him to this research is the rich literature on the Gulf in the countries of the Arab Mashreq (Egypt, Syria, and Iraq).
It coincided with the early formation of the Gulf identity, and also, the discourse about belonging to the Gulf was present in the early political documents that accompanied the independence of the Gulf countries, including the document of the formation of the Nine-Union, where the Arab literature focused on these small emirates specifically, and this gives two basic keys to understand the formation of the Gulf identity.
The first is that these small emirates are the ones that form the heart of the Gulf. According to Dr Saeed, identity is a historic and complex fact that has a specific source. There is no single identity, neither for groups nor for the individual, as man has several identities.
"For instance I am an Arab and a Muslim and I belong to the Arabian Peninsula, and so on, but - as a political identity - it is not absolute and there is no ideal formula for identity, even the language. The new generations of Arab immigrants to Europe feel that they are Arabs, although globalisation and the emergence of the virtual space are seen as imposing one value on the world.
"The virtual space allows freedom of cultural exchange, but the flow of values is linked to power relations, stressing the importance of awareness with this identity. It cannot be assumed that we will reach the fragmentation of the identities issue in the world and the belief in a single identity. Identities always awaken to confront moments of domination, similar to what happened with colonialism.
"The Gulf societies were an attractive point for migrations because of their demographic situation and interactions with workers and experts. The Gulf people define their identity and show the symbolic specificity of clothing, culture and housing groups among others.
"The most exciting thing is the emergence of the Gulf identity, which has found important political expressions and is a more recent identity, not as ancient as the Arab or Islamic identity, not even identities known to the region, such as Najdiyah, Hijazi, or the Arabian Peninsula.
"Hence, the research question is about the emergence of this identity. We can say that there is no “Gulf issue” without these Emirates, and the Gulf identity is a protective framework. A framework for protection, using an explanatory line in the language of international relations: that the power vacuum left by the British withdrawal, and the fear of major powers in the region, has created among its elites the idea of gathering in one framework, but this matter would have other repercussions.
"The protectionist framework had other meanings, thus the Gulf Cooperation Council was formed to express different interests. Then the literature that spoke about Gulf privacy appeared, pointing out that the Gulf identity exceeded the role of security protection. The Arab identity was strongly present and this is the product of its elites, to be a compensation or a substitute for national identities," Dr Saeed concluded.
Writer al-Khater put forward some ideas about the concept of identity and said there are some criteria by which it is possible to differentiate between humanity and local identity. He stressed that identity can be human and local at the same time, unless some are referring to identity in its narrow sense or the identities of the first reference such as sect and tribe.
Al-Khater mentioned several points that summarise the equation that illustrates the problems of identity. He explained that firstly it is not possible to raise the issue of identity in isolation from that of freedom. Identity without freedom can be like a prison. Rather, he said, freedom comes before identity, so identity here is the essence, and he added: As long as a person is born first and then acquires his identity, freedom comes earlier than identity, and from here it appears that the originality of the essence man has founded is freedom.
As for the second point, al-Khater framed it in his talk about the concept of necessity and possibility, which he described by saying that identity is part of possibility and not all possibilities. "The possibility opens the identity and allows for coexistence with the other, as we see the originality here is the possibility."
The third point is incorporation versus appeal or stability versus change. In this respect he recommended de-centralisation of the self and the hostility of the other, stressing that this happens in the event that the idea of establishment is not exceeded.
"Appeal means we make identity a middle stage, in the direction of the human essence, and not a constant repelling of the development in the relationship with the other. Awareness alone about all these matters is not enough, but there is a need to rely on reality. It is common for cultural institutions and individuals to play an educational role in this aspect, calling for a move away from classifying people according to their origins."
Al-Khater said that in the horizontal structure the direct relationship between human beings is based on societal diversity, considering that each individual is part of the other. He blamed those who focus their efforts on writing the human tree and the history of tribes and the growth of the movement of written history on demand at the expense of the history of the state as a whole. This divides the ranks and politicises them.
“Perhaps one of the advantages of the siege is the unification of words, the alignment and the elimination of this reactionary thought,” the writer added.
Dr Ghazal presented a paper titled 'The Gulf and an Identity comprising many: The Sea and the Desert; The economy and the modern state'. She explained the interdependence of the levels of identity between the local nationally, the regional Gulf, Arab or Islamic, and humanity in the global sense, noting that each of the culture and identity has its determinants, whether real or imagined.
According to the academic, the Gulf identity is manifested by multiple local identities belonging to this common history. In this context there is no difference between a Gulf identity and Gulf identities, as what is meant is a collection of cultural identity with various dimensions, representations and manifestations in which there are more similarities than differences.
She stressed that the features of this history and its paths were determined by several factors. The most important of which are two geographical factors: the sea and the desert and what is between them. The sea has its own culture, economy and ships, and the desert has its caravans, roads and societies. It is a confluence factor more than a divergent one, and it forms social, cultural ties, and intellectual and economic networks that cross borders and unite them.
Dr Ghazal considered that the maritime dimension in Gulf identity as a rooted historical issue and a source of pride in some Gulf societies, including the Qatari society. Pearl diving has become part of the manifestations of local identity and has its own culture, whether at the level of the individual or the state.
She talked about the relationship of the Arabian Gulf with maritime networks that moved from the shores of the Arabian Peninsula to the shores of other continents. From the Arabian Gulf to the Indian Ocean - which is in fact an Arab, Indian, African ocean - which led to a Gulf identity that is distinguished from others with branches produced by manifold affiliations and imbued with special cultures. Together with the geography of the Indian Ocean and the history of trade and migration across it, it also produced many tributaries to an identity specific to Gulf societies compared to other Arab societies.
At the present time there is another tributary to the Gulf identity, which is an economic emergence from the economics of oil and gas. This allowed the establishment of the pillars of the modern state in the Gulf - in terms of the ability to modernise and create the necessary infrastructure to define and establish a national identity within certain geographical boundaries governed by a national authority that sponsors the modernisation programme and identity frameworks. The local government adopts it politically, security wise, economically and culturally, confirming the existence of an organic relationship between identity and culture. She said that the economic systems define many features of culture with its various axes.
The dean explained that Gulf identities have general cultural, religious and social contexts as well as their own. Some of which combine them within a single identity framework, and some that distinguish them from each other - with features that unite them more than what separates them, especially the cultural, religious and linguistic element. These identities that combine the local, the Arab and the global, always intersect and separate simultaneously. Gulf identity has its own cultural peculiarities, including the local and what is beyond that.
The audience interacted with the speakers, and Khalid bin Ghanem al-Ali confirmed that the seminar defined the Qatari identity and stressed that it was not a modern one, as is the case with the Gulf identity.
This was echoed by Dr Ghazal who emphasised that identity is acquired, but there may be identities by chance, and that in all cases, identity is determined by a set of factors.
In turn, writer Maryam Yassin al-Hammadi, director of the Department of Culture and Arts and General Director of the Qatari recipient of authors, said the great participation in the symposium reflects the extent of the impact of identity in society.
Researcher Hanan Ali al-Sharshani saw there is a lack of studies related to Gulf identity, especially Qatari identity. She wondered why the Qatari identity was not addressed in many academic studies and research, a challenge she faced while preparing her doctoral thesis.
The first event, titled 'Culture and the multiplicity of identities in the Gulf' had as speakers writer Abdulaziz al-Khater, ACRPS research head Dr Haider Saeed, and DI's College of Social Sciences and Humanities Dean Dr Amal Ghazal. Hassan al-Saei was the moderator.
Dr Saeed focused on the formation of the Gulf identity and described it as one that arose in specific contexts. It is mostly political, where one aspect is highlighted at the expense of others, and a movement based on this identity. The classic example, according to him, is the Arab identity in the 19th century.
Dr Saeed talked about the source of the Gulf identity, when it was formed, in which context, awareness about it, the discourse on identity, and the emergence of narratives about identity. He said that one of the facts that led him to this research is the rich literature on the Gulf in the countries of the Arab Mashreq (Egypt, Syria, and Iraq).
It coincided with the early formation of the Gulf identity, and also, the discourse about belonging to the Gulf was present in the early political documents that accompanied the independence of the Gulf countries, including the document of the formation of the Nine-Union, where the Arab literature focused on these small emirates specifically, and this gives two basic keys to understand the formation of the Gulf identity.
The first is that these small emirates are the ones that form the heart of the Gulf. According to Dr Saeed, identity is a historic and complex fact that has a specific source. There is no single identity, neither for groups nor for the individual, as man has several identities.
"For instance I am an Arab and a Muslim and I belong to the Arabian Peninsula, and so on, but - as a political identity - it is not absolute and there is no ideal formula for identity, even the language. The new generations of Arab immigrants to Europe feel that they are Arabs, although globalisation and the emergence of the virtual space are seen as imposing one value on the world.
"The virtual space allows freedom of cultural exchange, but the flow of values is linked to power relations, stressing the importance of awareness with this identity. It cannot be assumed that we will reach the fragmentation of the identities issue in the world and the belief in a single identity. Identities always awaken to confront moments of domination, similar to what happened with colonialism.
"The Gulf societies were an attractive point for migrations because of their demographic situation and interactions with workers and experts. The Gulf people define their identity and show the symbolic specificity of clothing, culture and housing groups among others.
"The most exciting thing is the emergence of the Gulf identity, which has found important political expressions and is a more recent identity, not as ancient as the Arab or Islamic identity, not even identities known to the region, such as Najdiyah, Hijazi, or the Arabian Peninsula.
"Hence, the research question is about the emergence of this identity. We can say that there is no “Gulf issue” without these Emirates, and the Gulf identity is a protective framework. A framework for protection, using an explanatory line in the language of international relations: that the power vacuum left by the British withdrawal, and the fear of major powers in the region, has created among its elites the idea of gathering in one framework, but this matter would have other repercussions.
"The protectionist framework had other meanings, thus the Gulf Cooperation Council was formed to express different interests. Then the literature that spoke about Gulf privacy appeared, pointing out that the Gulf identity exceeded the role of security protection. The Arab identity was strongly present and this is the product of its elites, to be a compensation or a substitute for national identities," Dr Saeed concluded.
Writer al-Khater put forward some ideas about the concept of identity and said there are some criteria by which it is possible to differentiate between humanity and local identity. He stressed that identity can be human and local at the same time, unless some are referring to identity in its narrow sense or the identities of the first reference such as sect and tribe.
Al-Khater mentioned several points that summarise the equation that illustrates the problems of identity. He explained that firstly it is not possible to raise the issue of identity in isolation from that of freedom. Identity without freedom can be like a prison. Rather, he said, freedom comes before identity, so identity here is the essence, and he added: As long as a person is born first and then acquires his identity, freedom comes earlier than identity, and from here it appears that the originality of the essence man has founded is freedom.
As for the second point, al-Khater framed it in his talk about the concept of necessity and possibility, which he described by saying that identity is part of possibility and not all possibilities. "The possibility opens the identity and allows for coexistence with the other, as we see the originality here is the possibility."
The third point is incorporation versus appeal or stability versus change. In this respect he recommended de-centralisation of the self and the hostility of the other, stressing that this happens in the event that the idea of establishment is not exceeded.
"Appeal means we make identity a middle stage, in the direction of the human essence, and not a constant repelling of the development in the relationship with the other. Awareness alone about all these matters is not enough, but there is a need to rely on reality. It is common for cultural institutions and individuals to play an educational role in this aspect, calling for a move away from classifying people according to their origins."
Al-Khater said that in the horizontal structure the direct relationship between human beings is based on societal diversity, considering that each individual is part of the other. He blamed those who focus their efforts on writing the human tree and the history of tribes and the growth of the movement of written history on demand at the expense of the history of the state as a whole. This divides the ranks and politicises them.
“Perhaps one of the advantages of the siege is the unification of words, the alignment and the elimination of this reactionary thought,” the writer added.
Dr Ghazal presented a paper titled 'The Gulf and an Identity comprising many: The Sea and the Desert; The economy and the modern state'. She explained the interdependence of the levels of identity between the local nationally, the regional Gulf, Arab or Islamic, and humanity in the global sense, noting that each of the culture and identity has its determinants, whether real or imagined.
According to the academic, the Gulf identity is manifested by multiple local identities belonging to this common history. In this context there is no difference between a Gulf identity and Gulf identities, as what is meant is a collection of cultural identity with various dimensions, representations and manifestations in which there are more similarities than differences.
She stressed that the features of this history and its paths were determined by several factors. The most important of which are two geographical factors: the sea and the desert and what is between them. The sea has its own culture, economy and ships, and the desert has its caravans, roads and societies. It is a confluence factor more than a divergent one, and it forms social, cultural ties, and intellectual and economic networks that cross borders and unite them.
Dr Ghazal considered that the maritime dimension in Gulf identity as a rooted historical issue and a source of pride in some Gulf societies, including the Qatari society. Pearl diving has become part of the manifestations of local identity and has its own culture, whether at the level of the individual or the state.
She talked about the relationship of the Arabian Gulf with maritime networks that moved from the shores of the Arabian Peninsula to the shores of other continents. From the Arabian Gulf to the Indian Ocean - which is in fact an Arab, Indian, African ocean - which led to a Gulf identity that is distinguished from others with branches produced by manifold affiliations and imbued with special cultures. Together with the geography of the Indian Ocean and the history of trade and migration across it, it also produced many tributaries to an identity specific to Gulf societies compared to other Arab societies.
At the present time there is another tributary to the Gulf identity, which is an economic emergence from the economics of oil and gas. This allowed the establishment of the pillars of the modern state in the Gulf - in terms of the ability to modernise and create the necessary infrastructure to define and establish a national identity within certain geographical boundaries governed by a national authority that sponsors the modernisation programme and identity frameworks. The local government adopts it politically, security wise, economically and culturally, confirming the existence of an organic relationship between identity and culture. She said that the economic systems define many features of culture with its various axes.
The dean explained that Gulf identities have general cultural, religious and social contexts as well as their own. Some of which combine them within a single identity framework, and some that distinguish them from each other - with features that unite them more than what separates them, especially the cultural, religious and linguistic element. These identities that combine the local, the Arab and the global, always intersect and separate simultaneously. Gulf identity has its own cultural peculiarities, including the local and what is beyond that.
The audience interacted with the speakers, and Khalid bin Ghanem al-Ali confirmed that the seminar defined the Qatari identity and stressed that it was not a modern one, as is the case with the Gulf identity.
This was echoed by Dr Ghazal who emphasised that identity is acquired, but there may be identities by chance, and that in all cases, identity is determined by a set of factors.
In turn, writer Maryam Yassin al-Hammadi, director of the Department of Culture and Arts and General Director of the Qatari recipient of authors, said the great participation in the symposium reflects the extent of the impact of identity in society.
Researcher Hanan Ali al-Sharshani saw there is a lack of studies related to Gulf identity, especially Qatari identity. She wondered why the Qatari identity was not addressed in many academic studies and research, a challenge she faced while preparing her doctoral thesis.
