Patriotic songs are the heartbeat of the homeland. The lyrics, music, voices, performance and directing of these songs are influential in uniting people.
We know how much poetry, music and songs affect Arab audiences. In the field of mass communication, Arabs are counted among the “oral societies”. This means that words, poetry, anthems, songs and music affect them like magic, unlike literate Western societies that are referred to as “linear societies”.
Therefore, we memorised and sang patriotic songs in our childhood for the pan-Arab nation, and they cannot be erased from our memories. But suddenly the situation of our nation has changed, and so has the nature of patriotic songs that used to call for unity; now they call for schisms.
Despite that we believe in the importance of patriotic songs in the light of the current miserable condition of the Arab world.
Patriotic songs should not be linked to national events or be the product of tensions or security threats that call for loyalty to the nation.
When we sing songs for Arab unity, we promote love for every Arab country, so it might be described as “patriotic education” or civic education.
One day I was hosted by Qatar Radio for an interview. It was my first visit to the studio, so they asked me if I had a wish, so I requested a song titled “Allah Ya Omry Qatar”.
I was told that my wish would be granted despite the fact that they had rules under which patriotic songs were played only during national events. I asked why it was so. We listen to these songs during national events and feel so proud.
When I finished the interview, I turned on the radio and the song was playing, so I called the radio station and thanked them.
I started wondering about these rules, which I appreciate, of course, but they reminded me of two events: the first was Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and Kuwait’s subsequent liberation, and the second was H H the Father Emir’s coming to power.
I mean that patriotic songs used to be related to a major Arab political event or an important national event. This was years ago, and this might have been changed or it might be the same.
Patriotic songs should not be related to political tensions or events; they must not be associated with icons or names that disappear when their time is over.
These songs are called “patriotic”, so they are not written for the purpose of subjective glorification. The same is true of poetry. In the past, poets used to write poems for those who deserved them and those who did not. Some poets used to write poems for personal reasons and to earn money.
This is happening now as well, as shown by the hypocrisy of poets and journalists who glorify individuals and parties for their own interests.
In our childhood, we used to sing for unity when GCC summits took place. Today, there are not enough patriotic songs to sing, and I do not blame the writers because this is the result of the reality of the Gulf region.
In Qatar, we are still looking for a patriot song that moves us and extols the spirit of love and belonging.
We are not ashamed of admitting that most of our old songs were written for the governorship. Where are Qatari patriotic songs in all their colours? We need something that speaks of our homeland and our love for it, and we want voices and music that is enjoyable to listen to while drinking the morning coffee.
