Doha: Poet, Writer, Diplomat and the Author of the State of Qatar’s National Anthem Sheikh Mubarak bin Saif Al Thani affirmed that the national anthem of the state represents a renewed pledge of allegiance to the homeland and the leadership, adding that it reflects loyalty to the country and shows gratitude, pride and the willingness to sacrifice to defend it.
In exclusive statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), he explained that the anthem begins with an oath “Swearing by the one who raised the sky,” which comes to emphasise the deep and meaningful message that has been formulated in short words.
This message can be truly felt by the citizen as it is repeatedly recited — transforming into an oath and a collective pledge to preserve and defend the homeland as a place and refuge for the individual in the past, present and future, he added.
Sheikh Mubarak bin Saif Al Thani stressed that the National Day represents the sovereignty, freedom and independent free will that the Qatari citizen enjoys.
The National Day is a magnificent expression of cohesion between the citizens and leadership as well as a great occasion to renew the anthem’s oath, he added.
On this occasion, Sheikh Mubarak extended his warm and sincere congratulations to Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Father Amir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, for raising the name of Qatar and building the modern State of Qatar, pointing to the Qatari people’s pride in belonging to this country.
He also extended his sincere congratulations to the people of Qatar on the occasion of the country’s National Day, and for the country’s remarkable success in organising and hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which has outdone all the previous editions of this major tournament — making Qatar the main subject in conversations all around the globe.
Sheikh Mubarak explained the mixture of pride and overwhelming delight and honour that he felt upon finding out that his poem was chosen by the leadership of Qatar to be the country’s national anthem.
He emphasised his feelings of pride in the national anthem, which gave him a sense that he had made a small contribution to the country, expressing his hope that the impact of his work will be a legacy for the successive generations, and that those generations will pass this legacy and sense of pride and glory to their children and grandchildren after them.
On the features that distinguish the national anthem from other poems, regardless of the common features between them, he said that poetry can be patriotic depending on the words, meanings and messages that it carries, indicating that patriotic poems may be classified by the level of enthusiasm that the poet conveys to citizens through their poem.
Sheikh Mubarak bin Saif Al Thani is a Qatari poet, writer and diplomat who was born in 1949. He obtained a BA in Political Science and Economics in 1974, and worked in the diplomatic corps, where he held several positions, the most important of which are: Qatar’s representative to the Arab League, and Minister Plenipotentiary in the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is considered the first to write epic poetry in Qatar. He has published a number of books, and his works have been translated into French.
