Ithnayn Karak Please!

When I return to my home country and people ask me what Doha is like, I just pause and non-nonchalantly say "It's simply multiculturalism on steroids!". I honestly do not think i am too far off when I say that. From my modest experience in my three year stay in Doha, I can say that culture develops in Doha in a way that it develops nowhere else. On a daily basis I interact with people from at least 4-5 different nationalities which is amazing by...

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SmartPhones: Bringing People Together or Splitting Them Apart?!

While the purpose of smartphones was to bring people together through email, chat, SMS and phone calls all on one device, the split they created among their users is getting wider each day. You would see advertisements for any newly established smartphone company that attacks the existing successful one. For example, this is an Apple mac advertisement making fun of Microsoft’s PC in 2009 even before smartphones get that popular: Then suddenly...

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Cultural Hegemony

I visited a café today known as the Aroob Tourist Coffee Shop and got into a conversation with one of the workers. Dil Mohammed is from Nepal and he has worked in this café for the past seven years. Mohammed works 18 hours a day and sleeps in a one-room accommodation with 10 of his colleagues. He is a kind of person who wouldn’t look at you when he speaks to you. What struck me the most is, Mohammed has not been paid for the past 4 months and he...

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West Bay Lagoon

          One of the most popular compounds in Qatar right now is West Bay Lagoon. It is known for its beautiful houses, large parks and international atmosphere. During class this week, we spoke about subcultures and the interaction theory, which I believe relates to this modern compound. Westbay Lagoon has a specific identity as they are portrayed as open minded individuals across Doha. They are considered a subculture...

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Identity through Covers

Today, I have been to Virgin Megastore at Landmark where all the awesome music and video games can be found. One thing that grabbed my attention was how each music genre has a way to express its music theme through CD Album covers. An example would be rock music . This type of music culture has many prominent and district features in its CD covers. The overall look of such covers is sort of gothic with skulls and people screaming and all. However,...

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Truth revealed

In the following post, the term product placement will be used a lot. Product placement is a form of advertisement where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, TV shows, or news programs.I was looking through movie trailers when I noticed the sequel Fast and Furious 6. While watching, just the trailer, contained unbelievable amounts of product placement; the movie contains that multiplied by a hundred....

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Global Citizenship

I am often confronted with the puzzling question "where are you from?" Hmm.. this seems like it should be an easy one, shouldn't it? I was born and raised in Doha, Qatar, in 1991. My dad was born in New York, moved to Canada, finished his last year of high school in Egypt, and came to Qatar, where he remains to this day. My mother was born in Qatar, and both of my grandparents have mixed national backgrounds. I went to a British kindergarten,...

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Tifo Culture

The tifosi are one of the most interesting cultural phenomena in Europe. The word tifosi has Italian roots and literally means supporter or enthusiast. These groups of people are supporters of football or basketball teams and their unconditional love and loyalty towards the club is to say the least outstandingly interesting. The tifosi or Ultras are far more than just sport spectators; they have norms, rituals, language and leaders...

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On the Cultural Significance of Sham El- Nassim

Yesterday we had an unusual banquet at our house, one that particularly smelled horrible! Yes I did say this. It was a celebration for the ancient dating feast of “Sham El Nassim”. While most Egyptians today think Sham El Nassim is an Arabic word (شم النسيم) meaning the “the smell of the Zephyr” because it is celebrated during the spring time, the word was found to be more ancient than one could think of. This feast of Sham El Nassim has ancient...

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Beyond Boundaries and the Karak Culture

When I have to write something I usually take a drive down in my car to some coffee shop in Qatar. I keep a notepad in my car so that I can jot down points on my way to the café and then develop those ideas later on. I did the same last night, after a long nap till 9 pm, in order to brainstorm ideas for an active blog post. One of the first things I asked myself was, “Dona what do you do everyday on a regular basis in Qatar? What is that one...

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Northwestern University

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Northwestern University’s main campus in Evanston, Chicago. It was my first time, and thus was curious to compare it to Qatar’s campus. I was extremely surprised with large number of students involved in extra curricular activities and clubs, and most importantly their respect towards Northwestern’s traditions and rituals. During today’s class, I thought the functionalist theory was extremely similar to the social...

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