Challenges of National Identity in Qatar

Abstract

The debate over identity in general and national identity in particular, has become a cornerstone of private and public debates in Qatar recently. Identity is a topic related to culture, economics, politics, language, education, and many other civic, formal, and informal spheres. Most private or public discussions refer to Qatari national identity as a fixed form of reference that replaces spatial and temporal changes. It is represented as a homogeneous structure that reflects the social and cultural cohesion and the unified society on which the stability and continuity of society depend. The importance of the research lies in defining the components of the national identity in Qatar. As well as identifying several factors that are considered threats to this "imagined" form of identity; These include globalization and multiculturalism which involves a degree of openness to world cultures, possibly adaptation to and appropriation of foreign new values and ways of living, as well as increasing numbers of immigrants, mixed marriages, and Western education among other factors.