Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Minister of State and Head of Qatar National Library, stressed that organizing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be considered a success for international coexistence and the inauguration of an important civilized stage in relations between Arabs and Muslims and other countries of the world.
Dr. Hamad Al-Kuwari added that culture is the soul of the people, and that Qatar has a pivotal and consistent role in promoting this saying over the decades and years, and that its organization of the 2022 World Cup comes within the framework of this pioneering role.
He explained that sport is a diplomatic tool within the guidelines of cultural diplomacy in general. Awareness of the accuracy of this stage requires the media to invest in all cultural aspects that turn the event into a soft power.
This came during an intellectual symposium organized by the Arab Book Club at Georgetown University in Qatar yesterday evening, Sunday, in celebration of the second edition of his book, "At the Destiny of the People of Determination: An Intellectual Biography", which was published by Bloomsbury - Qatar Foundation Publishing.
In his speech, Al-Kuwari stressed that "Qatar is inaugurating an important civilized stage in relations between Arabs and Muslims and other countries of the world, and the success of the World Cup will be a success for international coexistence, peace and positive interaction between cultures."
He added that the occasion of the World Cup "is not only a sporting occasion, but transcends it to be a civilized wedding within cultural diplomacy, which has an effective impact in consolidating the image of a country, society and civilization in the minds of visitors, and Qatar is undoubtedly aware of the importance of this bet and its constructive role," calling for seizing this historic opportunity. Each of his location to win adjacent bets for athletic success.
The book "At the Destiny of the People of Determination...An Intellectual Biography" by Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (Al-Jazeera)
The role of the intellectual
Al-Kuwari began his speech by saying, “The culture that does not produce questions is a static culture, like languages that do not develop themselves, their fate is demise, just as the educated person is called to simplify his questions always. About his status and role in his society and human civilization.
And he added, "I have often said that I am busy with questions because they make me aware of the concerns and challenges that arise in the present of my society and civilization. Today we re-discuss the topics that I presented in this book years ago, and the situation is that we live in a global situation that is witnessing a war that has resulted in severe economic conditions that put humanity on the brink of a third world war with the possibility of forming a new world order.
He added, wondering, are there serious intellectual justifications for reprinting the book in Doha today, which hosts the largest event in the world that brings together multiple nationalities, races, and social and economic levels, and what is the importance of presenting my book today in Education City and in one of the most prominent universities in the world?
And he answered, "I think that questions related to culture and knowledge are cloaked in the Arab intellectual as they move in the fortresses of knowledge. The pioneering university is the fortress that sponsors questions and university students in all fields of science work out of the question in all their research, whatever the circumstances and contexts."
Dr. Hamad Al-Kuwari, speaking to the audience (Al-Jazeera)
"As much as the people of determination"
Regarding his intellectual biography, Al-Kuwari says that “At the Destiny of the People of Determination” among his other books, the book is the closest to him “because it presents my intellectual vision of the juice of my knowledge, positions and opinions, and as much as this vision was the fruit of my personal experience in life, the book is not a biography, as I think It is not yet time to write it and tell it to the people.”
He added, "I found it more appropriate to inform people of this vision without denying my intellectual experience with what I encountered in my personal life. There is a kind of clash between them, but I have overcome the intellectual biography of what is personal and practical, and there is no doubt that all the ideas presented in the book are melted in the furnace of life, There is no talk of important and future ideas without them being the fruit of an existential experience. I benefited greatly from my diplomatic and political experience, and made culture the main test of all my work, and it became my main job and my daily bread.
Regarding his diplomatic and cultural activities, he says, "I am still to this day clinging to culture as a basis for all that humanity aspires to. Culture is a paradox of moral and social responsibility in internal, foreign, national and international policies. Therefore, I presented my vision in 9 chapters, each chapter is concerned with an issue related to our reality." Civilization in its various components, and related to Arab culture with its obsessions, hopes, failures and crises, so no cultural discourse can claim privacy without indulging in the burning issues of its culture.
He added, "Even when I was Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage and Chairman of the Higher Committee for the "Doha Capital of Arab Culture" event, I was guided to a slogan expressing my belief in that in the formula "Arab culture is our homeland and Doha is the capital."
He continues, "The issues that preoccupied me were not limited in their temporal and spatial horizons. My Arab and Islamic identity did not turn my eyes away from looking at the horizons of global culture, and I found myself addressing topics that not only aspire to provide solutions or alternatives at the stage of writing the book, but were included in that distant view that touches man. The Arab world is in the coming days as well, as we have always seen thinkers, artists and writers in the European Renaissance going ahead of their time, so their ideas will be completed by their realization after two centuries, as well as the Enlightenment philosophers who anticipate the French Revolution by tens of years and paved the way for its outbreak, bypassing the moment of the emergence of their ideas and perceptions. That is always future and proactive thinking.
Al-Kuwari added, “I was aware that thinking about cultural issues always bears the character of contemporary as long as these issues are not transient, but rather are confused with the major questions of Arab culture in its relations with other cultures, and I was approaching these issues with the first person, but I express the concerns of Arab generations who fought the battles of Arab thought in order to move The Arab world from the stage of imitation to the stage of modernization, my voice is the voice of thousands of intellectuals who have been raising candles to light the path of future generations.
Islam and human civilization
Regarding multiculturalism, the head of the Qatar Library said, “Belonging to the Arab-Islamic culture is not a simple matter. We have a moral responsibility imposed by this affiliation, because our culture, throughout its flourishing history, has been a guardian of human principles aimed at human happiness, and it has not been stingy with other cultures with knowledge and science, The House of Wisdom was transmitting knowledge to other peoples and spreading it without the condition of language, religion or race.
He gave the example of the "House of Wisdom", saying that the Caliph al-Ma'mun was aware that the sum of knowledge and science belongs to all humanity, so the role of the House of Wisdom was to embrace the civilized dialogue between Arabs and other cultures, "and Arab culture followed this approach for a long time, benefiting nations and bringing Europe out of its darkness, and with This is not an Arab blessing, but rather a positive contribution to human civilization, which, unfortunately, the West deliberately denies the role of other nations’ civilizations in building.”
In this context, Al-Kuwari stated that the influx of World Cup fans cultures is not alien to us, "The social body is accustomed to accepting different cultures as long as they respect our cultural specificity, and throughout my diplomatic, political and cultural career I believed that there is no differential ladder for the values that abound in the cultures of the world because All these cultures are equal in dignity and rights, and in their harmony and diversity they constitute the synthesis of human civilization. Our belief in cultural dialogue does not negate our adherence to our cultural identity and specificity, and this is the case of all societies that have the right to preserve the elements of their identity in their dialogue with other cultures.
Identity is not what is an awareness of the intrinsic components of a culture and a permanent interaction with various cultures is a neglected issue in the questions of Arab culture today, according to Al-Kuwari, “The question of identity continues with the continuation of the transformations experienced by societies, and some may always underestimate the importance of asking it, or believe that the Arabs have nothing to do with them. , when the horizons are blocked, do not ask this question. This is not true, as all nations live with this question always, because identity is not fixed, rather it is transformed, and every nation must ask the question of its identity whenever it faces major challenges and tests.
Signing of the book "At the Destiny of the People of Determination" by the President of Qatar National Library (Al-Jazeera)
cash awakening
Al-Kuwari called for a critical awakening, "It is not reasonable for some great powers to act with complete freedom when it comes to their security and interests and ignore the cultural security of other peoples, so the world of the South is still paying the price of wars and conflicts in which it has no elegance or camel, and prosperity bills are still pouring in on it. And the clash that he demands to pay for the developed world, and in any case it is just raw or fuel or a backyard for this world that gets more and more brutal in times of war and peace.”
And he added to the audience, "To be honest with you, I say that since the battle of UNESCO, my thinking is no longer focused on that terrible dichotomy that the world is experiencing, the dichotomy of poverty and wealth, center and margin, dependent and followed. Giving, a balanced relationship that prevails for everyone, and a better future for humanity, but I found with the recent war and the waves of fear, hunger and anticipation that are sweeping the poor world, that the way is still long, and that the intellectuals and people of conscience in the world must redouble their efforts and work to make way for their voices to soar in the sky of humanity. .
Al-Kuwari said that cultural diplomacy is required to "build people through culture, integrate culture into human development and achieve understanding between peoples, as a contribution to building a culture of peace."
Al-Kuwari concluded by quoting from his book, saying, "Our cause is all at the global level to tell our common story and create new hope and a broader common dream for cultural pluralism based on truth and saving the universal human being from his despair of brotherhood among human beings."