Council members discussed how legal reform could contribute to preserving Qatari culture, and ways to address the high cost of living crisis and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The Shura Council of the State of Qatar held its regular weekly session, in Tamim bin Hamad Hall, today, Monday.
Council President Hassan bin Abdullah Al-Ghanim began the session by offering words of congratulations to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on the occasion of the advent of the month of Ramadan.
He called for the holy month to be a month of blessing for the Emir of the country, prosperity for the people of Qatar, and security, peace and stability for the Arab and Islamic countries.
During the meeting, council members discussed a proposal to strengthen national identity among Qatari students enrolled in private schools.
Council members also discussed the cost of living in light of high inflation rates as well as the worsening humanitarian crises in Gaza.
Preserving Qatari culture
Ahmed bin Al-Hitmi Al-Hitmi, Council Member of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, gave a presentation during Monday’s meeting, in which he identified strategies for enhancing awareness of Qatari Arab and Islamic cultural values among Qatari students in private schools.
Al-Hitmi's suggestions included legislative reform regarding school uniforms. To preserve national identity within private schools, he proposed requiring male Qatari students to wear the thobe to school, while the official uniform of Qatari students should be consistent with the values and customs of Qatari society.
At the end of Al-Hitmi's presentation, the Council agreed to submit its recommendations to the government.
Arab and Qatari culture
Qatar also preserves its culture by preserving its language.
The implementation of Law No. 7 of 2019 has ensured the continued use of the Arabic language at the private and institutional levels in correspondence, during meetings, publishing data, etc.
The law also stipulates that private international educational institutions must make provisions for the study of the Arabic language.
Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, a Qatari statesman and head of the Qatar National Library, said in a 2022 opinion article in Doha News that the Arabic language goes far beyond communication.
“It is our identity and our past that preserves our heritage and the history of our ancestors; “It is the language of our faith, without which our religious commitment would not be complete.”
Al-Kuwari added: “It is our future, without which we lose what distinguishes us as a nation and what links us to our past. It is our present, without which we cannot be described as a nation.”
Domestic inflation and crises in Gaza
During its meeting today, the Council also received an explanation about the position of the Council’s Economic and Financial Affairs Committee regarding the Council’s General Secretariat’s response to the Council’s proposals regarding the current costs of living.
The committee, headed by Mohammed bin Yousef Al Mana, is working effectively to address the recent rise in living costs, which has been exacerbated by high inflation rates. They are also exploring ways to ease the financial burden this imposes on citizens.
In a separate presentation, Al-Hitmi discussed the Palestinians’ struggle for liberation as the bloody Israeli war continues without stopping, despite the advent of the month of Ramadan.
The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that since October 7, the assailant's indiscriminate military campaign had killed at least 31,112 Palestinians and injured 72,760 others.
Frontline medics in the Strip are facing enormous pressures from humanitarian crises, facing severe shortages of blood products, medicines and clean water – among other necessities banned by the occupier.
Majid Al-Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated during press statements on Tuesday that the situation between Israel and Hamas is “very complex,” despite ongoing Qatari-brokered efforts to restore the humanitarian ceasefire.
He added: “We are not close to reaching an agreement, which means that we do not see the two sides agreeing on a language that can resolve the current dispute over the implementation of the deal,” and therefore cannot provide a specific timetable for when the bloodshed will occur. to the end.
