The Outback in Qatar

I recently found out that an Outback Steakhouse opened up here in Qatar. My parents decided to take us there, having been there during the opening and trying out the food. When I asked, dubiously, if it was any good compared to the franchise in Canada, the first answer I got was "It's in Lagoona!" As if that answered my question, but to them it did. Having recently learned about authenticity and what it means to different people of different social groups and classes, we also learned through Grazian's research that authenticity is linked to location. The next answer I got was "They have the same menu and everything, the food isn't AS good as the one in Canada but almost." So by replying that "It's in Lagoona," and relating it to the experience in Canada in a positive way, it implied that because of the location and the atmosphere it was going to be as authentic an experience as it could get outside of Canada. Grazian's readings also emphasize situational authenticity, which comes when an outsider makes a claim to realness that emphasizes certain characteristics while under-emphasizing others. In this case, the owners of the Middle Eastern franchise have made the claim by blurring certain distinctions, such as the fact that rather than being in North America, where the steakhouse experience is somehow more "authentic," it is in Lagoona, which, being surrounded by the Pearl, Grand Hyatt, the Diplomatic Club, and other hubs of Western cultural activity, represents a chunk of the West transplanted into and shaped by the local experience and context. In addition, although the Steakhouse is American, it is Australian-themed, and in addition to attempting to emulate the authentic "Australian" experience, it is owned by a company called Bloomin' Brands (the word "bloomin'" and its spelling is colloquial Australian), which is also American. However, the company attempts to downplay the fact that it is American by employing colloquial Australian in their language and offering Austrlian food and steaks imported from, you guessed it, Australia.

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Risk Management Strategies

          Today in class, I had to analyse the risk management strategies of Sidra supermarket in the Student Centre. I was extremely interested in this project and examining the way the store was set up and thus decided to do the same when I went to shop for make up today at 51 East. While I was walking around trying to find all of my favourite items, I was paying close attention to the conventions used by the store and how they appealed to their customers.
          I tried to answer the first question from the worksheet with this new scenario I was in. The standard items I would find in this section was obviously makeup, perfumes, body soap and face creams. I also expected to see organized stands that divide all of the different products, and a colourful displays for every different brand available.

          The second question on the worksheet involved pointing out different risk management techniques used by the business. The first was having well known brands and companies that are known internationally and locally. Their brands included both successful high-end companies and regular ones. Some high end brands also used celebrities as the face of their products. For example, Charlize Theron models for Dior make up and her photo was blown up on the wall of that section. This is considered to be a risk management strategy as Dior hired a prominent figure to be a part of their campaign.

Each brand also sold every make up product they have available. For example, the Chanel stand included eye shadow, blush, lipstick, mascara, perfumes, creams, soaps, nail polish and much more. This is called overproduction where you create more cultural products than the market can sustain in hopes that a few big hits will cover the numerous losses. This concept applied with every brand in the make up section.

Another technique was the use of product placement. At the entrance of the store, the first thing you would see in this section was a massive perfume display for Guerlain. It was a small-elevated stage by the escalator and was designed beautifully. One could not help and stare at the stand if they pass by it. This was intentionally done by the brand in order to promote their latest collection. If one likes it, they’re most likely to look at the other products by the same brand.

Lastly, they included a small coffee shop in the middle of the make up department. This was clever and appealing, especially towards men, as they now get to enjoy a cup of coffee while their wife shops for new make up.
          The last question on the worksheet asked if we saw any examples of glocalization. This is when a product imported from another country has been customized to appeal to the local audience. I personally did not see any examples of glocalization as you cannot modify a lipstick number or blush shade. As this may be inconvenient for the locals who do not speak English, many of the saleswomen spoke Arabic and therefore were taught to deal with this dilemma.

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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 any standard! My social network or a group of people I am connected with in one way or another is extremely diverse. Interacting with these groups of people allows for our habits, hobbies, cultures or even tastes to converge into this beautiful melting pot of civilizations which makes Doha today. It's amazing to me how culture diffuses and adopts parts of other cultures to incorporate it into a unique blend.

I will tell the tale of introducing my father to ritual of Karak in Doha. Rituals enable groups to gather collectively and reinforce collective identity, or in this case, converge with a part of a different culture. We had a conversation last night while having tea about Karak and he told me he's heard of it but that he's never tried it. To provide some background, he is a diplomat living in Doha for three years now. His interaction is limited to other diplomats or businessmen; the venues he visits are mostly hotels, malls, restaurants, diplomatic receptions etc. He has visited Qatari majlises and interacted with Qataris, but the way they treat him his very flattering simply because of the nature of "His Excelencly's" tittle. So, I decided to be the one to show him one of the most "Doha" things to do in Doha.

It was almost dusk and we had finished our family dinner so I told him that instead of tea, tonight we should head to get some Karak. He complied with a dose of skepticism simply because of the age gap and i don't think he knew what to expect; I had previously told him I go there with my friends in the late night hours so I can understand his reaction. Whilst driving to Bandar which is a place that serves Karak near the Corniche, i witnessed culture diffuse in traffic where he took his Balkan temper and driving etiquette and applied it in Doha traffic. I tried explain my fascination to my father but the response was "What Balkan temper?" so i decided to switch the topic. We reached Bandar and he unfastened his seat-belt and tried to get out of the car. I told him to stay and honk the horn; he looked at me doubtfully and asked me why. I just told him to do it so he did. Seconds later, a man knocked on our window and asked us what we wanted. My father looked confused and in awe that a man would come and serve us simply by honking the horn. I quickly responded "Etneyen karak, please" which means "Two karak, please" in English; the man nodded and walked off. I spent some time explaining the process to my father who found it unacceptable and disrespectful to honk in front of a store. The epilogue of such an action in the Balkans would have been quite different, but culture is relative after all!



While we talked about this whole ordeal, the gentleman came back with our karak. I took the karak, payed the man and we drove away to find a spot to enjoy our oriental chai. We found a spot which faced upon the beautiful Doha skyline. I asked him what he thinks of it so far, he responded he likes the view of our Charshija which is the equivalent of the Souq in Skopje and that our traditional Turkish tea tastes better than the karak. We laughed about it and I told him that this could be a modern substitute of his former favorite place. He suggested that one day we play tavla or backgammon some day while drinking karak. That is one of the traditional games people in the Skopje Charshija play while enjoying a small glass of Turkish tea . We just made a plan to glocalize a domestic ritual with what we have in Doha. The process of glocalization is adapting a particular aspect of a culture to a certain locality or culture. We were going to participate in cultural diffusion! I was proud to say that next week inshallah, I will be participating in the process that makes Doha amazing!

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I just sat back and reflected on the blend of culture that I participated in. Simply drinking the traditional karak while gazing upon the colossal skyscrapers that made Doha what it is, i thought of the magical blend of tradition and modernity and how globalization and glocalization occurred at the same time. I was going to participate into this process and bring our traditional game to our tea time; perhaps that will catch on and people will be going for karak and a game of backgammon or tavla soon. If you ever see that at Bandar, you know who started it! Selam Aleykum!

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Heavy Metal in Pakistan - Final Class Project

Heavy Metal in Pakistan - Final Project from Hassan Asif on Vimeo.

This video features three of the active underground heavy metal acts in Pakistan: Dionysus (Lahore, Death/Doom Metal), Takatak (Lahore, Groove Metal) and BlackHour (Islamabad, Thrash Metal). The video includes small extracts from the in-depth interviews conducted over a period of one year. In addition to these three bands various other heavy metal performers and online bloggers were interviewed to give this study a well-rounded approach. I also attended various performances and jam sessions of these bands. This research aims at studying how heavy metal is re-contextualized in Pakistan as a genre and as a social phenomenon. The analysis that is conducted in the written paper shows that, heavy metal music in Pakistan is essentially elitist in character and these musicians adopt/prefer this genre over other available options primarily because of its foreign-ness. These performers treat heavy metal as a labor of love, with no possible economic, or even cultural gains. The distinctly non-local nature of this kind of music allows the Pakistani youth, both performers as well as the audience, a means to craft and perform temporary alternate identities in the highly polarized Pakistani culture. In case of heavy metal, “foreign-ness” first restricts the access to the genre to a particular social class on the one hand, and re-contextualizes and transforms it during reproduction in an alien land on the other hand.

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Cheb Khaled and Pitbull: Rai and the World

Cheb Khaled’s latest studio album, C’est la vie, was released in September this year. The album features signature Khaled songs such as Wili Wili that are slow and catchy, reminiscent of hits like Aicha and also songs like Hiya Hiya which are upbeat dance tracks similar to previous chart toppers, Didi Didi.

Most of the songs on the album consist of the quarter-tone notes (Langlois pg.265). These are a rather rare feature in Rai music considering the element of fusion with Western instrumentation. The use of the derbukka (goblet drum) is also prominent in some of the songs on the album.

Khaled has followed the trend of merging the local and global and ‘East’ and ‘West’ (Langlois, pg. 259) in this album. This sort of musical style is not new in the Rai musical scene where previous experiments by artists like Cheb Mami and Sting have proved to be very successful in the form of hits like Desert Rose. This particular type of collaborative art between the different regions has elevated the status of the Rai music scene in the ‘World Music’ business. Khaled’s song Hiya Hiya in this new album, is in line with the tradition mentioned above. The song features Pitbull, who is a hip name in the world dance music scene. Pitbull’s musical affiliations and marketing strategies are interesting to note here because he uses various alcoholic beverages as elements of product placement in his videos. The implications of this kind of collaboration with an international artist like Pitbull on Rai music will be an interesting subject to study. Previously collaborations between the Rai music producers and the ‘West’ have also been seen as having certain political connotations. An example is Rachid Taha’s song Barra Barra that was featured in Ridley Scott’s film, Black Hawk Down (Swedenburg pg. 183). Critics comment that this application has relevance to the political contexts of that time, that is, the Iraq war. These kinds of examples are recalled as the ‘cultural resistance’ feature notably present in the original Rai music forms. The joint production with Pitbull can also be regarded as a return to the roots of the Rai music that goes with its association with spaces such as nightclubs (Langlois pg. 260). However, such premature conclusions are inadequate, as a confluence of forces such as globalization, glocalization and cultural hybridity are at work here. This album presents a unique situation in terms of the merging of East with the West. But this phenomenon is not entirely new as pointed out above. It is a definite recommendation for those who want to get a sense of the typical Rai dance tunes sprinkled with English verses sung by Pitbull at different points, leading the music to be relevant across different cultures.

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Souq Waqif - The Kebabization Experience

As a CDA for the dorms on campus I am required to program events each month that engage the residents with the local culture. Last weekend I took the residents on my floor to Souq Waqif for a program titled “Kebabization”. Initially, I intended this program title to be a pun on the various terms in academia that are created with the “ization” standard. However, visiting Souq Waqif was a different experience this time around because I actually had those terms (that I used to come up with “kebabization”) at the back of my head. This allowed me to look at this experience from a relatively new lens.

Souq Waqif, with its fascinating streets filled with budging tourists and locals was as lively as ever. The bus dropped us off in front of a falcon shop. The falcons in the shop were pretty expensive but the falcon shop and other similar “performances” of the local culture reminded me of Cole’s notion of performance in “Bedouiness”. I regard this as a performance, as this is similar to the attempts for the “revival of tradition” in Petra and part of the quest for “authentic” presentation of the local culture. These performances are visible all over Souq Waqif in forms of the many Arab restaurants whose hosts are dressed up in elegant traditional dresses, allowing the visitor to “buy hospitality” as suggested by Cole in the same article.

I have always noticed a particular group of elderly men with carts around Souq Waqif. This time around I found out that they are called the “Hamali”. In sociological terms I would regard this group as a subculture. This is because this group shares unique instruments (their carts), uniforms and space. This aspect helps them stand out in the crowd at Souq Waqif. I have not seen them anywhere else in Doha so far.

Walking around Souq Waqif and noticing global brands like Baskin & Robins present along with the Shujja Iranian Kebab place that we visited hints towards glocalization to an extent. Souq Waqif, as previously mentioned is an attempt to revive Qatari tradition. Cole also describes this as the change from “the Bedouin into wealthy entrepreneurs of international tourism”. This is a confluence of various sociological and modern communications phenomenon presenting a very interesting situation. The architecture of Souq Waqif has always fascinated me. It reminds me of the Prince of Persia games that I played during my childhood. This time, however, with the set of academic inventory with me I observed a certain bricolage in Souq Waqif’s architecture. This is a consequence of the fusion of the modern with the traditional. The traditional, however, in this case is the general Arab tradition because many critics regard the Qatari culture as still in the process of development. The modern, for one, in Souq Waqif’s architecture can be seen in the form of beautiful lighting across the traditional alleyways.

Souq Waqif at first may seem chaotic as any marketplace because there is a lot happening at a point in time. A closer look enabled me to apply the concept of homology, which helped me consider the myriad of micro organisations in the large marketplace. One such organisation is the act of trade. Almost every entity at Souq Waqif engages in some kind of trade; whether you are the buyer or the seller or just a simple visitor, you are definitely taking or giving something either in terms of material and non-material culture.

In conclusion, it can be said that a place like Souq Waqif helps us experience the modern and the traditional in one place. It is a highly recommended place for first time visitors and a definite recommendation for locals who want to relive what Arab culture is all about.

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My Residency Experience – Grayling UK

As a journalism student at Northwestern University in Qatar, I was required to go on a student residency abroad. This was one of the best experiences of my life, because I was able to gain work experience from a top-notch PR firm, as well as immerse in four different fun departments - Internal Marketing, Corporate and Finance, Digital Media, Consumerism. Moreover, this experience helped me realize the importance of globalization to global firms and how the various tools of communication have helped make that happen.

First off, I was working with the internal marketing team. Our job was to make sure the firm, GRAYLING, was on track with its clients, and maintained a good image on the global and local scale. Grayling employs more than 1000 people around the globe. As an intern, I had to research the top players in Public Relations, and create an in-depth presentation comparing Grayling’s standard against theirs. In doing so, I had to study the social networks, web design, number of offices, client names and much more. My findings proved that each of the competing firms was trying to grow a larger global empire and gain top clients. In CAPITALISM, success comes from making more profit every year than the one before, and to do so the firms need to win more clients. Another interesting fact was that Grayling had several different versions of its website in different languages to reach the maximum number of people. This is a form of GLOCALIZATION, whereby a company is making itself more accessible and easy to use so that it can grow and reach more people. Although the headquarters are in the UK, the firm had established offices in many different regions including the USA, Australia, Ireland, Spain, Dubai and their latest addition, Doha. I got to sit in on meetings with BRITISH AIRWAYS members, brainstorm ideas with other departments, make phone calls to local agencies and had to present my findings to the department I worked at. The most interesting part of my stay was when I moved to their Soho office and worked with the digital team. They were working on a top-secret proposal on a project for HRH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser. This was a dream for any intern. I was the perfect asset because, a) I was the only Arabic speakers, b) I grew up in QATAR and am a student at QATAR FOUNDATION. They extended my stay at the office an extra week to make sure I was there the entire time they worked on that project. There were several procedures we had to do including, monitor the Internet for any news, publicity or negative feedback of her. We had to translate some articles from Arabic to English. We measured her reach globally and compared it in different regions. We also found out how many times people search her name. Having an experienced Arabic-speaking team member made the process much faster, and allowed me to share general knowledge that is not usually available online. Our main goal was to make her a GLOBAL FIGURE, and increase her outreach as much as possible.

I witnessed the power of the internet and globalization at its fullest, because here I was in an office full of people who had never been to Qatar, working on a project that requires familiarity with the culture, history and current situation in Qatar. It was very exciting for me to see how quickly information could be gathered and understood. Also, it was scary that so much information was available with the click of a button! I don’t know if Grayling ended up working on this project, however when I returned to Qatar I was offered a summer internship with their local office here. By WORD OF MOUTH, the local team heard positive feedback about my internship and thought I would make a good addition to the team. PUBLIC RELATIONS is all about spreading the message, maintaining a positive image and monitoring feedback. Whether for the company itself, a client, or even an individual, communication methods play an important role in providing us with information. We need to be aware of where this information came from and who we share it with. Knowing that I was able to survive a three-month-internship with a high standard, demanding firm, I am now much more confident with myself and feel proud of my accomplishments!

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ArabBucks

There are nine Starbucks coffee shops in Doha, and surprisingly enough there are two that are located in the same mall, City Center, one on each floor. Every mall in Doha has a Starbucks and there will probably be a Starbucks (or two) located in the malls that are going to be built in the future. Starbucks has a unique marketing strategy that relies mostly on word of mouth and social media, as you can rarely find a Starbucks ad on television. Starbucks came to the Middle East as a result of globalization. Globalization is the flow of goods, services, money, people, information and culture across political boarders.

There are five major things that are associated with Globalization; Multi-national corporations, the ideology of capitalism, governments, resistance and consequences. The multi-national corporations benefiting from Starbucks in the Middle East are, the actual franchise itself, the companies that provide the kitchen appliances, people who charge them for using the space, and furniture stores. The ideology of capitalism works on increasing profit year after year, and Starbucks achieves that by opening a new market, mostly in malls, every year. Since there is large mall culture in Doha, opening a new Starbucks in every mall built is quite strategic. There are going a lot of new malls in Doha in the next few years, so Starbucks will have many options to start a new market. The government that gives the franchise the license gets part of the profit. There could be resistance from local coffee shops, especially if a Starbucks opened next to a Karak shop, and from people who are against having western companies in Doha. The consequences are, the flow of money outside the country, loss of traditional culture and labor, as the employees get a low salary.

Some products in the coffee shop are glocalized to attract more Arabs. Glocalization occurs when a product is reconfigured to adhere to the local customs. An example of that is the new “Mediterranean” roasted vegetables brown sub or the new “Arabian” halloumi ciabatta.

There were ads on the table for both sandwiches, and they both had “Simply Delicious… Made for you” written on them. “Made for you” written in a white obvious font to show that Starbucks respects the Middle Eastern culture and included food on the menu that is just for Middle easterners. In the shelves that contained products on sale, there were mugs and a large selection of coffee packets. The mugs had Qatar written on them along with a drawing of the Oryx. All the coffee packets had the words 100% Arabica coffee written on the bottom left corner.

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Localization of a Globalized Girls’ Night In

Movies,
Make-up,
Music,
Manicures,
Facials,
Food
and
Karaoke.

Put all the above together and you’ve got the perfect ingredients to an impressive “Girls’ Night In”. So, last weekend my sister and I had our cousins over to put this event together, but not in the way you’d expect. It’s common to see girls get together to stay in for the night and basically make fools of themselves in the privacy of their own homes.

The interesting part about the night in I had with my cousins is the fact that it was a localized version of a globalized “Girls’ Night In”. Let’s try to make that sentence a little clearer. The actual social get-together of young girls is popular around in the world. The way we see girls get together in movies seems fun and so we try it out. Not only do you see girls’ nights in acted out in movies you can also find it in commercials for facial products, or even food. It’s used in advertising that encourages the use of the product during the event.

This brings me to the first point of globalization. Multi-national corporations. There are several corporations that are involved in the different aspects of the event. Take for example the movies that we watched, these movies were made by the big western production companies. Chick flicks in particular are always a favorite. It’s not only the MNCs of movie companies that benefit from this particular event so does the music industry, food chains, and the make-up industry. Events like this are what help these corporations to gain a profit from them.

The ideology of capitalism works in here as well. Now that the corporations have got us “girls” to buy these chick flicks, and indulged themselves with the profit they have made they try to come up with new ideas to make more profit off us next year! For example there are actual box sets that you can buy especially for this sort of evening. This ties into the next point, which is the government. In this case the government are actually benefiting from the corporations selling in the country. The more the companies make, the more they do.

As with everything in life there is resistance and consequences. The resistance to a Girls’ Night In would be that it could cause people to think that it isn’t necessarily healthy to stay in and lay around doing nothing every weekend. Others might resist stating that they don’t want these “foreign” events to be part of society. The consequences of having things as such aren’t severe, but there are a few. Girls’ might become enticed by these things and deviate from the social norm here in Qatar.

As mentioned earlier this event was actually localized. Localizing this social event to this region meant adapting the actual layout, or format, and making it our own. Instead of music in the English language it was in Arabic, and so was the karaoke. The food was where East met West. All of the things that a group of girls would do in say France were done at this particular event, just with a Qatari twist. All the little details of the night are what localized it, everything from the language, the dress code, and the actual relationship between the guests.



The one thing that was definitely global is that everyone had a good time.

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Glocalization: Muslim Women and Sports

Once again, here I am writing another blog post relating to what we recently discussed in Sociology class about globalization and glocalization. Globalization can be defined as the flow of goods, services, money, people, information and culture across political borders, while, glocalization is a combination of globalization and localization. In other words, glocalization is established and disseminated globally, but also recognized to remain the local customs and traditions of a particular setting.


The beauty of sociology is that whatever theory or concept we learn, we could apply it to nearly every aspect of our society. I will be applying the concept of glocalization and globalization to the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee and specifically, Qatar’s National Team of Table Tennis for women, as I am a former player.

When it gets to glocalization and globalization, we should consider the multi-national corporations involved, governments, resistance and the consequences. Multi-national sports corporations such as Nike, Stiga and Adidas will benefit by increasing their markets and increase their profits from supplying the players and the teams with shoes, equipment’s and clothing. Also, governments and the Olympic committees will get involved in this matter when deciding on whether which countries should play against each other. For instance, when the Third Muslim Women’s Games was taking place in Iran in 2001, the Table tennis team had to get the approval from the Olympic Committee on whether they could participate in the games. In addition, I always had the sense of resistance while playing table tennis. The more conservative women and the more traditional locals were against playing. For example, one my friends had to stop playing because her family did not allow her to due to the societal norms and culture. On the other hand, some girls were conservative and played with their hijab on. Another form of resistance I noticed was segregation. Most of the time we were playing tournaments with only females, as most players and officials were uncomfortable in an environment with men. Lastly, consequences were evident when most parents and elder people were complaining about the loss of traditions and culture. The players spent more time in school and then playing table tennis, while barely making enough time with the family. The way the girls used to dress was westernized; the language we communicated in was English rather than Arabic. At one instance, one of the officials questioned me on why I don’t speak Arabic when I’m a Muslim and live in Qatar. All of these cases could be a representation of material and non-material cultural loss. At the end of the day, it depends on the individual and how they allow globalization influence their life and what they do.

At most times, I felt like I’m playing table tennis, but the Arabic version in respect to the Qatari and Islamic traditions and customs.

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Glocalization in a Globalized City

In a country striving for international recognition, glocalization is probably the last thing one would expect to be happening there. The country I am talking about is Qatar–the little country everybody knows as “the country near Dubai.” The glocalization I am referring to is happening in a place known as Education City, which is the education central of the country. In Education City, there are around six American Universities–Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown School of Foreign Services, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth University and Weill Cornell Medical College.

These American colleges came to Qatar as part of an attempt to globalize, resulting in them taking the form of pseudo-multi national corporations. It is interesting to see that the universities change their branding to include the word Qatar in the name. Wherever there is any sort of globalization, one can find resistance. Not the violent form, but the intellectual kind, especially from the society. The citizens of Qatar might prefer their children to study in Qatar University, which is the country’s first higher studies school which offers diplomas and Bachelors degrees.

Glocalization is a way to counter this form of undesirable resistance from the people of the country. The universities in Education City especially Northwestern University try to portray a Qatari look by using Qatari and Arab students on posters that shall be placed in public areas. The consequence of this glocalization still brings about a radical change in the society, primarily because it is still an American University, imparting an American education. My personal opinion is that this resistance is slowly but definitely reducing. This is again because of the acceptance of globalization by the people.

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Education City and Globalization

Doha is one of the fastest urbanizing cities in the world. Since the discovery of natural resources in the 1970’s, the desert city experienced a rapid transformation into skyscrapers, malls, hotels, top-notch American universities and billions of dollars into imported products. The population of Qatar is composed of mostly expatriates who travelled from all around the globe to earn a better life. Since then, it has become a melting pot of cultures, traditions, languages and nationalities; a sociologist's dream! Combined with this sudden flow of global goods, services, people, money and information came resistance. The resistance is mostly represented in the elder generation who feel that this exposition will result in a loss of culture, religious ideologies and language. One example of such resistance arose when Qatar was bidding for the Fifa 2022. Several people opposed the idea of hosting such a big event that would require a lot of ‘openness’ in a society. Their argument stated that the millions of people who plan to attend will not all be familiar with Qatar’s conservative culture or no alcohol, pork or exposed dress code. Controversy also arose from people believing that Qatar would not be ready with enough facilities and capabilities to host the World Cup because it is a new city with not enough infrastructure. This video is one of many that express anger over Qatar's winning.

Another example of resistance comes from youth who oppose Qatar’s relationship with Israel. A group, Youth against Normalization , was set up to boycott Starbucks because it donates some of its profit to Israel, as well as opposing the invitation of Israeli tennis player during Qatar open.

In this blog post I would like to discuss the most popular example of globalization in Qatar; Qatar Foundation's Education City. Education City is a part of Qatar Foundation (non-profit organization) founded by Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser to promote education in region. She had a vision of bringing branches of top educational institutes from abroad to encourage Arab students who may not have the capabilities to travel to attain world-class education. Stemming from an IB education high school, Education city is now home to more than six world-class universities from America and UK. They include Weil Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern University and the latest addition, Harvard Law.


Globalization can be defined as the flow of goods, services, money people, information and culture across political borders. It includes trade, communication and language. Obviously, it would require intensive research and time to illustrate exactly how Education city is a perfect epitome of globalization, however this blog post will address it in general. As with every capitalist organization, the main desire is to grow. Qatar was able to provide several education institutes with a new market of students. Therefore, these corporations hopped on this new geographic location because it was an opportunity to make more profit and grow influence.

 With each institution, different cultures and information, ways of studying and people were brought in. One of the main features of Education City is that it provided education in English, by professors from the main campus, and with the same education that they would receive on the US campus. In Texas A&M, the students participated in Chili cook-offs, Georgetown hosts its diplomatic balls, Northwestern students paint rocks during orientation. These customs are all imported from the USA. Moreover, students learn about American government, American politics and play American sports. Although some of this already existed prior to Qatar Foundation, the placement of these American universities increased their recurrence. To add on to the sharing of communication, some classes are coordinated on Skype calls with the home campuses, some events are reported on by newspapers back in the USA and so on. Also, some exchange programs have been installed to allow students to integrate and interact. It has also allowed Americans to come to the Middle East and learn about the culture here. This is very important because the ME has a very tarnished image in the USA, made even worse after the ‘war on terror’ launched by the Bush administration.

Therefore, it is very clear that American education has had a very ‘globalized’ effect on students. Moreover, the advancements of communication and sharing over the Internet has helped everyone become more involved in the global realm. The video below is a of a student in Qatar Academy recreating a viral dance that went viral on YouTube:

 As with any globalized institute, glocalization has also occurred. Glocalization can be defined as a cultural practice that has been globalized, but adapted to suit cultural customs of particular setting. For example, the most popular courses offered at Northwestern University deal with Middle Eastern studies, or Islam. Most schools also offer classes in Arabic. Moreover, parties and school events do not serve alcohol. Many professors who have come to teach in these branch campuses speak Arabic or have experience in Middle Eastern studies. Although Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organization, the government will benefit from its presence greatly. One of the major publicity stunts was the labeling of Barcelona shirts with Qatar Foundation. This will create a lot of publicity and knowledge about QF. Also, it will open opportunities for growth. Finally, the students that graduate from Qatar Foundation will seek jobs that will contribute to society.

The placement of American Universities in an Arab, Muslim country has defiantly stirred a lot of controversy. Resistance came from those were concerned with the “brainwashing” or students. Also, supporting our enemy financially. Some were concerned with the openness that will result. Many people were concerned with the lack of Arab professors and staff. We must also consider the resistance from America to send people here. I heard several times that some professors had difficulty coming here because their families were worried they would be living in a danger zone. Having American education has had many consequences. On a positive note, the students are well rounded and cultured. They receive high-quality education with top professors. The job opportunities for them are greater than regular students. It has helped cultures come together and learn. However, conservatives oppose having Western-influence on education, lifestyle and ideas. Many people argue that on the long-term American education will erode the Arabic language and identity.

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Just Falafel-ing the World

Glocalization is known to be the combination of the terms globalization and localization. To be taken ‘glocally’ companies must startup and diffuse globally while readjusting to the local customs of the country in which they operate. ‘Just Falafel’ would be a perfect example of glocalization. Just Falafel is a Middle Eastern fast food company. The first branch established in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2007. The fast food company has created a recent buzz across borders, with its ambitious attempt to expand the business and venture globally. Interestingly enough the company originated by a group of diverse friends all living in the UAE; they are now referred to as the management team. Mohamad Bitar and Reema Shetty cofounded Just Falafel. The aim of the company is to ‘revolutionize’ the industry by offering healthy fast food. It is stated on their website that the food is cooked with ‘0% cholesterol, sunflower oil’ which is changed daily. Also, they are somewhat involved in the communities they operate in. A part of their program offers scholarship funding for ‘promising students’ and ‘sport, fashion and film events.’

One might wonder why it took the company about six years to franchise around the world. The company needed to gain popularity locally and achieve a respectable reputation before attempting to go global. Also, they needed to be profitable and strong enough to pursue such an ambition goal, which they eventually did.
Falafel is known to be a traditional dish. The origin of the falafel is assumed to have started in Egypt. The green goodness of the falafel is loved and almost celebrated in the Arab region. It is one of the few dishes that are socially acceptable to be consumed for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Today, Just Falafel operates in ten countries. They are planning on expanding the business and opening up branches in Australia, Canada and America. Operating in many countries makes it one of the most successful Middle Eastern fast food companies. They are taking something local and distributing it globally. However, the company offers an international menu, ranging from Italian to American style falafel sandwich. By incorporating international styled dishes the fast food company is partaking in global localization. The company is fulfilling local needs while developing common global goals. Glocalization has several difference definitions developed by social scientists. One of which states that glocalization is present by the ‘societal co-presence’ of similarities and differences. This suggests that a company or an atmosphere can only be glocalized by the presence of diversity and global diffusion. On their website they jokingly state that they’re hoping, for the ‘future’ to have branches all over the world. This could be an example of grobalization. The company has an ambition to take over and somewhat impose themselves geographically, which is seen by global fast food chains today (e.g. McDonalds). Promoting cultural food in different countries can be seen as increasing diversity. However, not many countries have the resources to venture globally. This creates a single world culture ruled by countries/people who are financially capable. It also raises the question if the company is strong enough to compete with big corporate names in the fast food industry. However, the future is looking quite bright for Just Falafel.

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Coke Studio

Coke Studio has not only revived the Pakistani music industry but has given the cultural aspect of the music in the country a relatively new twist. Coke Studio is a Pakistani music television series sponsored by the Coca- Cola Company under the able watch of the renowned producer Rohail Hyatt (former member of the legendary pop act, Vital Signs). The show has developed some amazing pieces of fusion music over the course of its past five seasons.

Fusion music, in my opinion, is not a new concept. Fusion of various genres, for example, the Western contemporary rock with Eastern classical has been experimented by the likes of the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brooks. Then what is Coke Studio doing differently that these previous tries in the art of fusion did not accomplish?

First, Coke Studio’s name itself is a self-fulfilling prophecy of success. The partnership or support, if you may by a global brand like Coke is a definite marker of a comfortable jump-start by the musical venture. Throughout history Coke has come up with some of the most innovative and stylish ads.

Coke in Pakistan has always endorsed the strongest forms of material culture, that have been found to be relevant throughout generations, for example, the use of the sport of cricket in many of their advertisements. This provides a great marketing strategy for Coke, which uses the undying passion (non-material culture) for cricket (material culture) in Pakistan to spearhead their product in the market. As suggested in the first reading for the class (Youth Cultures in the Middle East), there is no denying that there is a relationship or overlap between the material and non-material cultures.

So swinging back to Coke Studio, such a partnership with Coke (who are always coming up with new advertising strategies) coupled with talented artists (ranging from the greatly revered performers like Atif Aslam, who have enjoyed immense success in Bollywood and folk singers such as Ata-Ullah Khan, who bring to life the ancient poetry of the Indus) from across the board in Pakistan is the pointer for Coke Studio’s success in Pakistan.

Second, as much as I have mentioned that fusion music is not a new concept, it does need its recognition as one of the core ingredients of Coke Studio’s success. Fusion music used by Coke Studio can be classified under the umbrella of glocalization and cultural hybridity. Robertson recognizes glocalization as ‘recontextualization of global phenomenon with respect to local cultures’. This is exactly what Coke Studio is doing. It merges the Western Pop/rock with the Eastern folk/classical to form this novel genre that reminisces somewhat of the psychedelic rock movement in the 1960s. This is not to say that the fusion music developed by Coke Studio is rip off of the psychedelic music but it is to put Coke Studio in a greater framework of glocalization and cultural hybridity which hints towards borrowing various aspects of foreign cultures. One example of such a musical piece from Coke Studio I find worth mentioning is:

This song incorporates various elements of Eastern folk and soul in the form of Qawwali combined with dominant use of Western instruments (electric guitar on WaWa pedal effect).

Third, Coke Studio has somewhat blurred the boundaries between the highbrow and the lowbrow culture. I am delivering this idea from my own observations and I have witnessed that music from Coke Studio has been played in low-key music stores in relatively low-income neighbourhoods on a high volume and I have also seen it being played during family gatherings of the upper class in some of the expensive hotels in Lahore. Qawwali in the Indian subcontinent is considered as the music of the people or the lower strata of the society. Rock music on the other hand is a relatively newer concept in Pakistan and is the music of the youth and the privileged half of the society. Coke Studio has developed a ‘common culture’ in the sense that both forms of music are not only accessible but also liked by the different social classes in Pakistan.

I think there are so many sociological and communications (media theory) layers to this cultural phenomenon in Pakistan that they cannot all be covered in a limited space. I leave you with some of the remarkable pieces produced by Coke Studio over the years so that you can get a taste of what this is all about:

 

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