Dear Gentle Readers: The comments in this post are a continuation from my last post. If you haven't read my last post, you may wish to do so first. (Not that I am telling you what to do; I would never do that. It was just a suggestion--no need to get so huffy about it.)
(Notice the modern high-rise with the traditional architecture added seemingly as an after-thought. A metaphor for the new Qatari identity?)
Based on the paintings at the FANAR Center for Islamic Culture, it would appear that Qatar's identity is based on fishing, pearling, hanging out in the desert with falcons, and fighting the occasional war with camels prancing in the background. The problem with this pictorial representation is that it has little to do with Qatari people's lives today. The pearling industry was destroyed by the development of cultured pearls in Japan; people live in air-conditioned homes in the city, not the desert; whatever fishing is done is relegated to foreign migrant laborers; and this peace-loving country tries very hard to avoid conflicts with any of its neighbors.
Most of the wealth comes from gas and oil, not camel milk and palm dates. The vast majority of working Qataris are employed in public service or education, and the cityscapes are mostly of the modern. western variety. Shopping is the national pasttime, and the malls (rather than the souqs) are the favored community gathering spots. English is printed and spoken everywhere. To be sure, most signage and public documents are ALSO in Arabic, and mosques stud the landscape.
As I think I've already mentioned, this hyper-modern development has happened astonishingly quickly--so quickly that many people are a little dazed and wondering who they have become. In case they forget, they can always go to FANAR to see pictures of their authentic national identity.
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