Poet, writer, diplomat and the author of Qatar's National Anthem HE Sheikh Mubarak bin Saif al-Thani, affirmed that the national anthem 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 so much to defend it.
In an exclusive statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE Sheikh Mubarak 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.
He stressed that the National Day represents the sovereignty, freedom and independent free will that the Qatari citizen enjoys, underlining Qataris' dependence in their homeland and own choices. 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, the poet extended his warm and sincere congratulations to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Highness the Father Amir 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 congratulations to the people of Qatar on the occasion of the 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. HE Sheikh Mubarak explained the mixture of pride and overwhelming delight and honour that he felt upon finding out that his written 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 remain as 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 poem 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.
He indicated that poetry and other forms of art represent soft power, noting that the country usually grows with its elements and resources combined from hard power represented in industry, economy and military power, in addition to soft power represented by educational institutions, media, arts and creativity. He pointed out that sports is one of the facets of soft power, highlighting that — in this field, His Highness the Amir has presented the most distinguished achievement by hosting the World Cup 2022, which promoted the name of Qatar globally.
HE Sheikh Mubarak, who was born in 1949, 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.
