Doha, February 23 (QNA) - The Majlis and cultural salons in Ramadan are among the most eminent societal platforms, in Qatar, that help strengthen cultural and religious awareness, as well as time-honored values that underpin Qatari society throughout history.
These platforms aren't merely confined to gatherings and socialization but serve as open educational venues where expertise is imparted, popular memory is restored, and values that combine religion, morality, and national identity are renewed.
In Ramadan, the status of this Majlis is significantly elevated by virtue of month's spirituality, these venues morphing into spaces for Holy Qur'an recitation, learning the Prophet's biography, upholding enduring Islamic tenets, and sharing opinions about the issues facing the community, thereby ultimately promoting awareness and belonging and endowing young people with a practical model, as good morals in people's reality are interpreted as good listening, high recognition, and adherence to the Majlis protocols.
Researcher in Heritage and History, and owner of a Majlis, Abdulaziz Al Buhaashim Al Sayed, highlighted to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the people of Qatar tout these platforms and give them overriding significance, as long as these venues contribute to preserving the cultural and social legacy through daily practices that epitomize the true meanings of magnanimity, hospitality, and good reception.
These platforms literally instill the facts in visitors, particularly young people, that hospitality isn't merely a kind of social tenet, but rather a profound ethical value that reflects the society's identity and its history, Al Sayed outlined.
Al Sayed further elaborated that from this standpoint, he vigorously committed to making his Majlis and other platforms a positive environment that combines the authenticity of heritage and the criticality of dialogue, by opening their doors to everything that enhances knowledge and protects society's values.
Through this Majlis, several cultural salons have been organized to drill down on mores and heritage, as well as the long-standing value of Arab hospitality, which is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of Qatar, Al Sayed pointed out.
The features of the Qatari identity, Al Sayed says, lie in receiving guests, preserving the Majlis etiquette, and the meanings of social solidarity.
Alongside introducing the heritage elements associated with folk tradition, he noted that these salons stem from a firm belief in the role of culture in building the individual, and in the understanding that safeguarding heritage is not achieved through display alone, but by revitalizing it in awareness and practice, and by connecting it to future generations through dialogic and interactive approaches that bring meaning closer and firmly instill values.
Overall, the Qatari Majlis has been renowned for its magnificent designs with indelible heritage footprints, as each Majlis showcases an aspect of the forebears' timeless legacies in a commitment to maintaining aspects of Qatari heritage symbols present in these platforms.
Either you find the coffee dallahs (coffee pots) meticulously arrayed and aesthetically displayed as a symbolic manifestation of hospitality and generosity, or you encounter Majlis interiors imbued with a distinctly heritage-oriented character or observe the swords that constitute an integral component of authentic Qatari heritage, embodying profound meanings of dignity, pride, and valor.
Given its civilizational magnitude and enduring cultural eminence, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, operating under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in its tenth session convened in Windhoek, Namibia, in December 2015, formally approved the nomination files of "Al-Majlis" and "Arabic Coffee", and subsequently inscribed them on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
These two nomination files were submitted by four nations: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE, with the State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Culture, in close collaboration with the Ministries of Culture of the participating States, exerting significant efforts to secure the inscription of the files, thereby safeguarding two of the most eminent elements of Qatari cultural heritage: the "Qatari Majlis", with its prominent and distinguished role in Qatari culture, and the "Arabic Coffee" element, symbolizing Qatari generosity and distinctive hospitality across various occasions. (QNA)