Compared to the Qatari press, the Qatari art of caricature has shown more courage and maturity. The space occupied by editorial cartoons has become vital for putting across a message. This has been the case because Qatari cartoonists are talented.
According to some prominent Qatari caricaturists, editorial cartoons are more powerful than the written word. Qatari cartoonists, with their distinct lines, affable characters, use of slang and stinging comments, are now in demand. They have become a daily nuisance and a source of headaches for many officials and government bodies.
They sour the mood of officials, who open the day’s papers in the morning to find veiled criticism of their failure to fulfil their duties and live up to the standards and expectations of the Qatari people.
Abdul Aziz Al Sadek says government officials fear cartoons, not articles or columns, because they carry an overdose of criticism, whether in content or form.
Salman Al Malek says editorial cartoons have become a common feature of a typical Qatari daily or weekly. “People may read only what concerns them in the newspaper, but the cartoon is read by all. It is the star of the paper.”
“Qatar is unique among the Gulf countries because of the number and good quality of its cartoonists. You don’t find this anywhere else in the Gulf. It’s a unique Qatari phenomenon,” Malek added.
Many believe that the art of caricature in Qatar is successful because it is practised by native Qataris who carry within them the spirit and the soul of the local community. The print media is mostly in the hands of non-Qataris, which is why it is removed from issues that concern the man on the street, from the local environment and the hearts and minds of the local community.
Fares Al Hajaj said that although Qatari artists were talented, they had not yet got the chance to reach out to the masses. “As you know, the Qatari press is not widespread, not even in the Arab world, although it could be in future as it has all the necessary human and material potential.”
While some Qatari caricaturists believe they have enough freedom, others disagree. Satirical artist Ghanem Al Sulaiti believes that caricature as a satirical journalistic act needs more freedom than is currently accorded to the press. The cartoonist remains tied up with the press.
“In Qatar, I don’t really see the editorial cartoon as adding anything new; it is only an artistic variation on the written article, only another colourful artistic façade. All that is said about education and traffic jams in the written press is being reiterated in editorial cartoons.”
“Not much difference, really, which is a serious flaw in the Qatari art of caricature. It does not have an independent character of its own. Most Qatari editorial cartoonists have no identity, no signature, no character. It is a highly derivative art, with very rare exceptions,” Sulaiti added.
More freedom, more powerful cartoons
Qatari society has always been used to satire. “A Qatari man is a critic by nature. Caricature was, in fact, common in the traditional Qatari Majales a long time ago, always sarcastic and criticising prevalent social conditions,” said Malek.
“Among the many factors that contributed to the flourishing of caricature in Qatar was the era of freedom of speech and expression in which we have lived since the nineties, when Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani took over. He was even called ‘the freedom of expression prince,’ Malek added.
He said freedom of expression provided cartoonists an opportunity and many Qatari caricaturists were born then.
In the 1980s, Qatar had an official body for censoring publications. The censor would go over the ‘dummy’ paper, banning and permitting things at will, according to Malek.
“The first thing he would ask about was the political cartoon. I used to think of endless ways to deceive him and wiggle my drawing through. When all schemes would fail, and the censor would ban the cartoon, I would hang it in my office. I called them the hangings.”
He said that with the new climate of freedom ushered in by Sheikh Hamad, he published more critical cartoons.
Sadek also said that journalism in Qatar had developed a great deal in its design, the level of freedom and the absence of censorship.
“In the last few years the cartoonist has had no censor. He had to rely on his maturity. When there was a censor, I enjoyed tricking and eluding him. He was the one responsible before the law. Now I’m directly involved. I am the one responsible before a judge and, of course, responsibility requires a higher degree of maturity,” said Malek.
According Hajaj, the variety of issues in Qatar provides fertile ground to cartoonists. The issues include population density, limited geographic space, and the pressures of daily life.
Sadek said some cartoonists portrayed administrative mismanagement and corruption; others politics, sports or social concerns. Some focus on specific topics that become a sort of obsession. “I, for instance, am always fixated on the traffic and traffic jams,” he said.
There are also seasonal cartoons, such as those that appear during Eid and other holidays.
Between caricature and the print media
“Until now, Qatar does not have professional local journalists who can shoulder the burden of the job. As for columnists, they only practise what is called luxury or bourgeois writing,” Malek said.
Editorial cartoonist Hajaj said the more rooted he was in his environment, the better could the artist express its hopes and concerns and reach out to the public.
Ordinary citizens are more inclined to read what Qatari journalists write, because they are closer to them socially and temperamentally. This is even more so with editorial cartoons, which use local Qatari characters and a distinctly local dialect.
The cartoonist can convey his message to the reader more quickly and more easily, said Hajaj.
“Cartoons spread faster, too. Because, in journalism, there’s always a time lag between reading an article and thoroughly understanding its meaning and coming to terms with all its wider implications. But there are only a few seconds between reading and understanding a political cartoon,” he said.
Local artists also said that caricaturists had helped solve a number of issues, or at least brought them to public attention with their satirical drawings. This underscores the reformist spirit behind the criticism and cynicism, they said.
For Malek, the Qatari media scene will remain lacking and deficient so long as there are no satirical Qatari journalists.
“I wish we could have satirical Qatari writers like Mahmud Al Sa’dani and others. We need that kind of people and that kind of journalism.”
Every cartoonist has work conditions to accommodate and cope with. He has to adapt himself to the social norms of the community he lives in, taking into good account what is and is not acceptable.
Speaking about the different social norms, Hajaj said he once did a cartoon of Lakhdar Brahimi hanging upside down that was accepted.
“This is normal. He’s a world figure, a figurehead, rather, an institution. Now you can’t draw a local Qatari official in the same farcical way. Not all societies, even Arab societies, are the same. A satirical cartoon of a local official can be acceptable in some Arab societies but not in others. The social norms differ, which is not a fatal flaw really, and can be an advantage sometimes for cartoonists. It sharpens their eyes and gives them perspective.”
A different viewpoint
Artist Ghanem Al Sulaiti argues that cartoons abide by the level of freedom accorded to the print media.
This is in so far as the content is concerned. As for professionalism, artistic talent and the necessary tools and skills, Qatari caricaturists are in no way below their world-class counterparts, he said.
“Arab journalism is still in the hands of despotic regimes and governments, which fund, support, censor, direct, and boss the Arab media about. The Arab press has never really played the role of the fourth estate. Whether we like it or not, this is the truth,” said Sulaiti.
“What I’d like to point out here is that regrettably, the Qatari press cannot function within the present levels and parameters of freedom. The press magnates are far more governmental and authoritarian than the government itself,” he added.
He said there were many Qataris, including him, who believed that the Qatari press had more freedom during the time of the censor than it has today.
“I have referred to this in one of my dramatic works, Fayez Al Toush 2000. The editor in chief used to go to the print room and read every word in the paper himself before it was published because he was responsible. Now censorship comes from within.”
Al Sulaiti said there was a missing chain in the Qatari press scene today.
“Most of the people working in Qatari papers today are brother Arabs and resident journalists who came over here to make a living. They are not professional enough or courageous enough to enter the debate about the pressing social issues of this community. You simply cannot ask a person in shackles to be, or to help others be, free.”
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