DOHA: Qatar passed a law on the eve of the National Day yesterday which makes it binding on everyone to halt immediately and stand upright as a mark of respect when they see the national flag being hoisted or taken down.
“Anyone who is passing by and sees a Qatari flag being hoisted or being taken down must immediately stop and he or she must then stand upright as a mark of respect,” says the legislation.
And, all ships entering Qatar’s territorial waters must bear Qatar’s national flag, hoisting it prominently and in a respectable way. The flag should be on a ship until it leaves Qatar’s territorial waters, says the law.
The law contains extensive guidelines on how to use the national flag and bans its use as a commercial trade mark and use in advertisements without formal permission from the authorities concerned.
In no way should any one ever make changes to the flag or put photographs and designs, according to the legislation (Number 14 of 2012) which was issued by the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, reports Qatar News Agency (QNA).
The flag must be neat and clean and its colour must not have faded. It must be washed and ironed based on the type of the fabric, and people should stand up and face the flag when the national anthem is sung, says the law. If a flag has become unusable it must be burned, showing it respect, and until it is reduced into ashes, to make sure there is no trace of a flag.
After a flag is washed, it must be handled with respect for drying and it should not be mingled with any other linen. When a flag is hoisted horizontally, the white side should be on the left. In the event of it being hoisted vertically, the white side must be up.
It should be hoisted prominently on a building or from a window or balcony of a building. All government buildings and Qatari embassies overseas must hoist the national flag.
It must be used in official ceremonies, during the visit of Qatari delegations overseas or taking part in conferences or important events and during signing ceremonies, says the law.
The law gives the national flag the name of ‘Al Addaam’ (meaning ‘maroon’ in Arabic). This name was first used by Sheikh Mohamed bin Thani in 1851. Qatari tribes were attacked from the direction of Mesaimir at the time and they carried their tribal flags to the battlefield.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Thani saw the danger in the tribes having their respective flags so he decided to unite them under one banner, and he chose the two colours for the flag which is Qatar’s national flag today.
The Peninsula
