Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari writes: Cultural centers are a soft, neglected force in the Arab cultural system

A few days ago, I celebrated the publication of the German translation of my book “At the Destiny of the People of Determination” in Berlin, accompanied by a group of Arab and German intellectuals. If I knew that the signature of my book in its German version would be in Al-Diwan (the Arab Cultural House), and I was looking forward to visiting it and knowing its advantages over the Arab culture, and I was very happy that my country would follow this path, and seek a house for Arab culture in Berlin that establishes the close historical relations between the two cultures. German and Arabic in its proper place.

This wonderful place had a story that increases its glory and translates the philosophy of its establishment, as the State of Qatar bought a building to be the headquarters of the embassy in Berlin, then it turned out to be a historical building that was owned by the German publisher Francis Calais, then turned into a center for German youth, and after World War II it turned into a club for soldiers. Americans.

This historical background inspired the officials in our foreign affairs to thankfully turn it into a house for presenting Arab culture. The center was inaugurated by His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2017, with the then German Foreign Minister, and the center was named “Al Diwan” in reference to the important poetic book "Eastern Divan of the Western Author" by the great German poet Johann Goethe.

I felt the clear vision of our embassy in Berlin, represented by the ambassador, to make every effort to turn this house into a house for dialogue between the two cultures. Therefore, I expressed the readiness of the Qatar National Library to provide (the Diwan) with all books, references and electronic connectivity, so that the house would turn into a source of knowledge that allows For researchers and students to view the numbered heritage library of Qatar National Library, and I dreamed that Qatari cultural centers would multiply and become a prominent phenomenon in Qatari diplomacy.

Belief in establishing a cultural institution bearing the stamp of Arab cultural identity in the heart of the capital of lights is a kind of dream, but great ideas always take the form of dreams in their beginnings, and in fact the institute was established to be an institutional sign of Arab culture and for that symbolic bridge with the cultures of Europe and the whole world, as Paris is the crossroads The cultures of the world without a doubt

Soft power absent from Arab attention

In this context, Al-Khater took me to evoke the lack of Arab interest in culture, as is the case with language, which I was exposed to in my previous article, although culture has a high position and constitutes a basic basis for international understanding and to serve common interests. To present its culture in its various aspects, as it contains libraries that cover political and economic aspects with a special focus on culture, in which seminars and dialogues are held, languages ​​are taught, art exhibitions are held, intellectuals, creative people and thinkers are hosted to talk about the country of the center, visits are organized for influential figures to present their experiences, and so on. Our Arab cultural situation and the absence of similar cultural centers support the role of (Diwan) in the world to illuminate our culture in the midst of the sky of other cultures.

And as an Arab ambassador for more than 20 years and in important capitals, we had hoped as Arab ambassadors that there would be joint Arab centers in which all Arabs would participate to represent Arab culture everywhere in the world. Joint Arab action.” The people of my generation remember this expression, which at the time was filled with enthusiasm and pride. They remember how we dreamed of “joint Arab action” that transcends politics and its zigzags, and builds for the Arabs their soft power in the world.

I was and still believe in the role of culture as a soft power, but where do we Arabs from that hope and from achieving soft power that goes beyond persuasion or the ability to win people over with argument, this power aims to attract, and in order to be attractive, it depends on many resources, among them the cultural centers that Developed countries establish it due to their awareness of their active role in cultural diplomacy in general, and their ability to make culture a motivating factor for the rest of the vital sectors of economy, social and politics.

Culture has had a profound impact on international relations since ancient times (Al-Jazeera)

We have to believe that culture has a profound impact on international relations since ancient times. Every vital area of ​​society has a direct or indirect connection to culture. We remember well what the American sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920) pointed out about the importance of culture in shaping the economy when he was exposed For the relative economic benefits of Protestant and Catholic cultures, we also mention how Lucian Bay (1907-1972) and Sydney Ferba (1932-2019) linked national culture and development.

More than one global thinker has felt the influence of the cultural factor in contemporary international relations. Lawrence Harrison, a professor at Tufts University in the United States, published his book “How do cultural values ​​affect economic and political success?” He stated that culture is the main problem in the progress or lag of any country. He derived it from his work for years in the international development project allocated by the US government to develop a number of South American countries, and he realized at the time that success is difficult because progress needs a culture that supports it. The famous "Central Liberal Truth," in which he is asked a burning question. When a people falls into a great civilizational crisis, they usually ask themselves one of two questions that will decisively determine their way of thinking.

I still remember those historical moments when we started thinking about the establishment of the Arab World Institute in Paris.

The first question is: What did we do wrong?

The second question is: Who did this to us?

Shouldn't we ask these two questions to our worn-out Arab cultural system?

Was it possible to talk about the economic miracle of South Korea, China's Taiwan, and Japan's achievements without linking it to the cultural values ​​of those countries?

Institute of the Arab World in Paris

We are still stumbling, and this is an optimistic description compared to another description that may be closer to the truth, which is that we entered the area of ​​looking towards a mirage when the "joint Arab action" weakened on many levels, especially the cultural level.

I still remember those historical moments when we started thinking about the establishment of the Arab World Institute in Paris. I was a participant in building this edifice of Arab culture in the eighties, when there was a minimum for joint Arab action, but it was an exception that did not repeat, yet I am sad about its current situation.

The belief in the establishment of a cultural institution bearing the stamp of Arab cultural identity in the heart of the capital of lights was a kind of dream, but great ideas always take the form of dreams in their beginnings, and in fact the institute was established to be an institutional sign of Arab culture and for that symbolic bridge with the cultures of Europe and the whole world, as Paris is the crossroads The cultures of the world without a doubt.

But it is unfortunate that this institute has often suffered from a state of chronic weakness compared to the steady growth of the group of cultural institutions existing in Paris despite its competencies, energies and great interest on the part of the diaspora from Arabs and other nationalities, and from the French and visitors to France in general, which is a genuine interest to understand Knowing the Arab culture has always been met with disappointment due to the Institute's inability in many periods to satisfy the enthusiasm of the cultural audience and satisfy its desires.

The successive officials who headed the Institute often responded to the reason for the Institute’s weakness due to the rampant financial deficit, which is undoubtedly a reason that cannot be condoned. order it.

I liked very much that metaphor for the diagnosis of the institute’s situation that “the captains come and leave while the ship sways continually without seeing on the horizon a specific goal for its journey,” and I often invoked the French poet Arthur Rimbaud’s favorite sentence in his poem “The Drunken Boat,” “I bemoan the Europe with the old barricades”, but I bemoan the Arab World Institute with the old barricades, as it became clear to me that the real reasons for the laxity of the Institute’s work and the loss of its compass are not the lack of money since its founding in 1987, but rather are reasons related to what is essential in the vision and policy of the Institute that found itself Without wings throughout many periods of his career, as he suffered from the stagnation of Arab culture, and was greatly affected by the deterioration of the Arab cultural system, in which the goal of the unity of cultural decision became a kind of mirage in light of a real division in the Arab political position towards many issues related to what was called "Common Fate".

This edifice has become alien to the reality of Arab culture as it was alien to the course of important issues in the environment in which the air of its culture breathes. On many occasions, the Institute deafens the noise caused by intellectual issues and new cultural phenomena around it. To glorify the past instead of listening and following the storm of the present.

This is how the institute arose as a stranger and remained strange until now, unable to integrate into the fabric of the culture of the other and unable to meet the needs of the culture that is supposed to innovate in presenting its image and working on its renaissance, after touching in previous stages the features of the vision. From an Arab director in the recent period, and his entry into an area of ​​intellectual confusion, highlighted by the “Exhibition of the Jews of the East,” all indications of the loss of Arab culture as one of its wings in the diaspora and the reduction of its eroding soft power.

Initiatives and Arab houses of culture

The Arab World Institute was not the only Arab institution concerned with spreading Arab culture in the world, as we refer to the Arab Cultural Institute in Washington, which was established in the eighties of the last century with the aim of enhancing the awareness and understanding of the American community for the countries of the Arab world, an institute that does not belong to a specific country. In the first place, they are the owners of charitable works from individuals and support institutions in the United States and the Arab world, so we cannot ignore those individual and collective initiatives that Arab intellectuals have undertaken and are still doing by establishing Arab houses for culture in the world, and their enthusiasm reminds me of what the writer Taha Hussein did From the establishment of a cultural center in Madrid at an early age, believing in the necessity of building bridges with cultures.

Cultural diplomacy in Germany and France was able to pass to an innovative stage to consolidate friendship between them and to further spread European thought. France was not satisfied with its cultural centers, and had established the Alliance Francaise in 1883 in Paris, which today represents the first global cultural network, It has 1,040 centers in 136 countries.

But these initiatives are not sufficient in view of what is rich in Arab culture and what Arabs aspire to by introducing their culture and communicating with the cultures of the peoples of the world, and the initiatives of countries have remained few and are never measured with what other countries have accomplished for their culture. If we look at the map of foreign cultural centers, we will realize the status of culture In those countries, we understood the deep meaning of relying on culture, and we explored how other nations concluded that development plans failed if they neglected the cultural dimension, and in light of this, their cultural centers became active.

German experience

I remember what former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said about the value of the Goethe-Institut: “It is an honor for me that our literature has such an identification card abroad.” Indeed, the Goethe Centers, which are spread over 82 countries, contribute to conveying Germany's perceptions of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. And it works to promote German culture and language, so that the institute will be a symbol of cultural exchange and a wide window that introduces the world to German culture through German language teaching and the various cultural events that the institute carries out abroad.

Germany did not stop at this point in international cultural work on its own, but rather strengthened its cultural diplomacy by engaging in the priority projects of the "Axe-la-Chapelle" treaty through the establishment of the Franco-German institutes. The first institute was opened in Palermo, Sicily in 2021, and it will open in A future stage: 9 additional institutes will strengthen the network of cooperation and cultural activities. As for the subsequent Franco-German cultural institute, which is expected to open in 2023, it will be in Iraqi Kurdistan at the Erbil Citadel, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Cultural diplomacy in Germany and France has been able to pass to an innovative stage to consolidate friendship between them and to further spread European thought, as France was not satisfied with its cultural centers, and had established the Alliance Francaise in 1883 in Paris, which today represents the first global cultural network It has 1,040 centers in 136 countries.

French cultural network

The French cultural network abroad organizes about 50,000 cultural events per year, in addition to creating sustainable networks that include creators as well as those responsible for drawing up cultural policies. : How many learners of the Arabic language do we have in the world?

And where are the cultural centers that are concerned with that, with funding from Arab countries?

France did not stop at this network to promote the French language and culture at the same time. In 2011, France quickly established the Institut Français, which became the sole executive agency for French cultural activity abroad, with the task of implementing French diplomatic policy in the cultural field and communicating with foreign cultures.

It is also the case of Britain, which, through the British Council, sought to highlight the presence of its culture in more than 120 countries, as well as the case of Russia, which established Russian cultural centers since 1917 and now has 44 branches around the world, as well as the case of Turkey, which established the Yunus Emre Institute in 58 countries in the world, all of which are experiments in cultural diplomacy and to highlight the virtues of soft power that achieve human rapprochement and increase faith in the role of difference in civilizational creativity, and contribute to the radiance of local cultures, and again: Where are we in all of this?

What we need today is not only to spend on culture, but to design a cultural vision that accommodates the new challenges imposed by our Arab regional situation and the course of international politics. We cannot maintain previous years’ plans to meet the challenges of the present.

The Arab culture faces many dangers, and it is threatened in its Arabic language first and in its creativity secondly. However, we still believe that the means of bridging international relations based on culture is not impossible. Modern history.

We are certain that the Arab-European dialogue will not be fruitful unless the Arab world is prosperous, and Europe will not be able to count on the Arab countries as its partners unless these countries are in clear and accelerating growth, and it is not possible to remain in a position of regret about the past of these historical relations In which the Europeans were seeking to acquire knowledge in the universities of Andalusia, and this was done by Gerard of Cremona (1114-1187), who went to Toledo to request the book “Almagest” by Ptolemy, and found that he was forced to study at its university and translate more than 80 manuscripts in various sciences and return them to His European homeland.

And we should not forget when Sicily was a scientific center where Arab and European scientists met, and scientific books - especially Arab medicine books - were taught in European universities until the 18th century.

And all of these signs are nothing but a simplified evidence of that dialogue and cultural exchange that existed in the medieval era and after, in times when the Arabs believed more in the role of culture in building human rapprochement and showing the civilized aspects of their culture because they believed that “everything decreases with spending except knowledge, it increases with spending.” “But what we need today is not only to spend on culture, but to design a cultural vision that accommodates the new challenges imposed by our Arab regional situation and the course of international politics. We cannot maintain the plans of previous years to meet the challenges of the present.