As-Salam Al-Amiri

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Khalid refused to sleep. He spent the whole night watching coverage of the parade on Al Rayyan Television. He imagined standing with his family watching the horses and camels and the parachuters. Watching the military march past with perfect percision always gave him a sense of security. These were fellow Qataris who would fight and die to keep the little peninsula of paradise safe.

The celebrations lasted a whole two weeks starting officially on 8 December and ending on 20 December. However, it was impossible not to get in the spirit of things a little early. At Al Maqtar, there were falconry demonstrations, stories about Beduin life, and a chance to hear the rababa. Al Bidaa had dama competitions, food, and some trivia. Al Nasa was a staple part of the celebrations to learn or brush up on marksmanship with either a rifle or a bow and arrow. The Doha Tent was a collection of various groups and lectures on a whole range of topics. New in 2015 was the appearance of the National Service which offered military training for youth and demonstrations for the public. Al Ezba was dedicated to camels, once a necessity for transportation in the Gulf. However, Khalid's favorite activity was spending time at Al Shaqab watching the horses. He loved watching the Arabians perform and giving them treats after the massive celebration.

To class, he wore his whitest thobe and wore his ghutra in the cobra style. The white triangular cloth was bleached and starched to make a sharp crease and hold its position. His cuff links were made of eighteen karat gold and bore the Qatari flag enameled into the flat surface. For the day, he swapped out his usual Bvlgari watch for a gold Rolex with diamonds around the bezel and a black dial. He set an elegant black and gold Parker fountain pen in the breast pocket, and completed the ensemble with black Ray Ban Aviators. To mark the special ocassion, Khalid wore a black wool bisht with embroidered gold trim. He could have been a sheikh. All that was missing was his sword.

By evening, he still didn't feel exhausted. Khalid retired to the rec center, turning the empty lounge into a makeshift majlis complete with strong tea. He saw absolutely no problem with blasting the Qatari national anthem over the sound system and singing along. Even in America, Khalid wasn't going to forget Qatar National Day. It was the one day a year when he could really show off his pride for his country and the emir and no one could complain. Qatar in my heart.

Tag: Liana Mars

[Liana Mars]

Sure, Liana hated having to attend most of her classes, since they just took away time from working with Dyrim or other fun things, but it was a part of coming to this school, and there was no way that she would take anything less than an A in her classes. Her father would hear about it if that happened, and grades, like most things, were a competition. Why would Liana content herself with anything less than the best? So, that afternoon could find her in the academic center of the recreational center, trying to find the peace to study without being bothered. Her room was a place of refuge, not a place to study, and so this room would suffice.

After she'd finished reading through the chapter for the second time, the girl rose and stretched carefully, before she left her book and bag laying and headed towards the door. She'd been here for long enough to be able to justify a soda, and if she recalled correctly, the lounge should have a fridge filled with such things. As she approached the room, she could hear strains of strange music, stately sounding, although she couldn't understand the words. As she walked in, she spotted Khalid, and guessed that she was listening to something in Arabic, although she still had no idea of what exactly was going on.

Khalid himself was dressed very opulently today, which she'd already noticed during their classes, although she hadn't gotten a chance to ask him about it. Curious about what had the boy singing along to this song, Liana grabbed the soda she'd come for, then waited for the song to end before she spoke, "You look very regal today. May I ask what the special occasion is?"

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

"Qaṭarun satbaqá x.auratan tasmū birux.i l-aufieʾ!"

Qatar will always be free by the spirit of the loyal. Khalid took a drink of karak before answering. It would be wasted if he let it get too cold.

"Today is Qatar National Day, Al-Yaoum al-Watani in Arabic. I was playing our national anthem, As-Salam al-Amiri, Peace to the Emir."

With it being Friday, he skipped some of his classes to go to masjid and was silently grateful that he didn't have to ride. Thobes were hard enough to keep clean and a pain to get dry cleaned all the time, and horses were notorious as getting white things dirty. He was fairly sure his Arabian mare thought she was a chameleon considering the various shades of brown and green that were impossible to remove permanently.

"Would you like some karak? It's um, sweet tea with milk and cardamom. One of my friends prefers ginger and saffron, so the spices can change."

It was the drink of choice for any Qatari looking to unwind after a long day. The creamy and flavorful taste and strong aroma were perfect for relaxing. It was easy to share among a group of people and paired perfectly with biscuits. He enjoyed Li's company and wanted to share a bit of his culture with her. Chai latte was the closest drink he could find to karak in America when he didn't feel like brewing his own, but for Qatar National Day, there was no reason not to make tea according to his own traditions. If karak was the national drink, then cardamom was the national spice.

[Liana Mars]

Liana listened to Khalid's explanation with interest, "That's really cool. I'm glad you still made the chance to celebrate." She looked around at the lounge, realizing just how deep Khalid's love for his country went. She probably wouldn't have been quite comfortable celebrating something so out of the norm in the open, but he did it unapologetically, and she could find nothing but new respect for the boy.

As Khalid offered her some sort of tea, Liana nodded, "I'd like to try it, I've never heard of it before." She stepped away to return her soda to the fridge, deciding that she could always grab it again later if she went back to studying, but for now, she welcomed the distraction. After shutting the door again she returned to where she'd been standing, noticing the aroma in the air again and guessing that this was from the karak that Khalid had been talking about.

"I had noticed you weren't in hunter class today, were you celebrating all afternoon?" She wouldn't blame the boy if he had, and he hadn't missed much that he wouldn't catch up on again soon enough. It was probably something like the fourth of July in the states, she figured, from what he had said. A national holiday, just not one transferrable to another country's schooling system.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

It felt like absolutely nothing could get Khalid off cloud nine. Sure, the Corniche was packed and the city was going wild for the festivities, but he still loved the parade and spending time with his family and friends. Even in America, he wasn't about to forget his nationality and loyalty to Qatar. His view of Qatar was tinted by the fact that he was a national and didn't have to think twice about some of the difficulties of being an expat or migrant worker, but he was certainly glad that the Emir made his country into a little slice of heaven for the quarter of a million nationals.

He nodded and went over to the small kitchenette area to boil some hot water and prepare the tea. His bisht billowed out behind him, warm by Qatari standards, but still not nearly warm enough to survive an American winter. Against the black fabric, his white thobe appeared even whiter. The agal and ghutra stayed perfectly positioned on his head thanks to the taqiya.

"No, I was at masjid today. I think the word is mosque in English. In the Qur'an, we are called to attend communal prayer on Friday, yawm al-jum'ah. It's like how Christians go to church on Sundays. Most of the celebration was early this morning. There is always a wonderful military parade along the Corniche, one of the main streets in Doha."

He added the tea bag, a couple tablespoons of sugar, and seeds from a couple cardamom pods into a mug before addind the hot water. After letting the tea steep for several minutes, he poured in condensed milk until it was a dark opaque brown color.

"I won't be offended if you don't like it, promise. But, it's a lot like a chai latte."

He offered her the mug. Khalid did grow up spoiled, but everyone knew how to make karak chai. Little shops around Doha sold it to those who weren't in the mood for making tea themselves. The shops were also a good place to hang out with friends or meet new people. He was also mindful to offer her the mug with his right hand to show respect.

[Liana Mars]

Liana followed Khalid as he moved towards the kitchen area, leaving him some space but negating the need to shout across the entire room, because she was interested in his answer. As he spoke about the communal prayer, Liana blushed red, feeling silly. Score one for not even knowing what was probably a basic part of his religion, “I'm sorry.” She tucked a strand of her loose hair behind her ear, “I don't know much about Islam.” Was that the proper word? She always managed to get Muslim and Islam mixed up, although she knew there was some technical difference.

She watched Khalid preparing the tea, smelling the spices as it steeped, before he poured in the milk and then handed it to her. She reached out to take it, using her dominant hand instinctively, although once she'd taken it she supported the other side of the mug with her left hand. After taking a whiff of the tea, she smiled, “It smells really good.” She took a tentative sip, gauging the temperature of the tea before she took another, “And it tastes better than it smells.” She smiled at Khalid, “Thank you for sharing.”

She kept cradling the mug, enjoying the heat as much in her hands as while she sipped, “So you mentioned a parade, did you at least get to see it on TV?” Since he wouldn't have been able to fly down to watch it. And then, without really thinking about the fact that this was still a boy that she'd just met a few weeks ago, she asked, “Is it hard, being so far away from your family?” They'd established that families were important to both of them early on, the first time they'd met, but at least her family was in the same time zone as herself, and she could always go home if she really wanted to.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Khalid gave a sympathetic smile to her apology. It was not hard at all to find people who knew nothing about Islam and believed entirely wrong things about it as well. People who thought they knew Islam better than a Muslim annoyed him to no end. Even he didn't know everything about his faith, and that was what imams were for.

"Well, you're honest about it. A lot of people don't know anything about Islam."

It was impossible to hide his joy at her actually liking karak. He couldn't imagine tea any other way, but some expats thought it was too sweet or spicy. He couldn't really imagine how anyone drank tea without adding sugar or at least milk to it. It was too bitter otherwise. Cardamom, saffron, and ginger just gave the tea a more interesting flavor.

"Yeah, Al Rayyan Television had it live. I think it's better to watch on tv. The video is really good, and I like the announcers. I miss seeing my little sisters and friends, but I'm getting used to being here. Aisha and Fatima love seeing the parade, but it means going to the Corniche right after fajr, the morning prayer."

He went back to the table to grab his own mug of karak. He didn't mention how hard it was to get in touch with his family or the annoyances of dealing with timezones.

"I really don't mind answering questions about Islam or Qatar, if you have any. The media here isn't exactly a source of reliable information."

[Liana Mars]

When Khalid said that many people didn't know anything about Islam, Liana nodded, “It's a big problem.” She wasn't completely ignorant of the many issues surrounding the politics of the world right now, but Khalid was nice enough, and she felt that anyone that lumped all Muslims together had no idea what they were talking about. It was like saying all Americans were something or other, ignoring the fact that it was hard enough to find fifty perfectly alike people.

Li listened as Khalid talked about the parade that he'd been watching live, “So how early was that for you? There's a big time difference between Kentucky and Qatar.” She recognized the two names that he named, those of his younger sisters, and smiled at that, “I think that's the same the world over, girls loving to go to the parades. I know my father always took me to see the Fourth of July ones, we made a family outing of it.”

As Khalid offered to answer any questions she had about his culture and home or his religion, Liana smiled, “Thank you. Although it's hard to know what I don't know about it.” She didn't really have any at the moment, although it would be nice to have more of an understanding of other cultures. After all, Mars didn't just operate in the US, and even there, there were Muslims. Actually, she did have one, “So what exactly is the difference between Islam and Muslim? I know they talk about the same religion, but I'm not quite certain about the terms.”

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Growing in a Muslim majority country, it was almost hard to believe that so many people weren't familiar at least a little with Islam. Hearing adhan five times a day throughout the city everyday was just normal along with the difficulty in obtaining an alcohol license or buying pork. Life revolved around Islam, and everyone was used to it. Growing up Muslim, Khalid never gave his beliefs a second thought.

"Eight hours, so around midnight."

He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. Khalid always insisted his thobes had pockets for storing his phone, any keys, or his wallet. It was handy, and they didn't detract at all from the design and fit of the thobe. He flipped through his old Instagram photos until he found one with his two sisters during the previous year's parade. They wore maroon and white dresses and had the Qatari flag painted on their cheeks. The two girls had the same black hair as Khalid which sported little maroon and white hair clips. They posed and grinned for the camera, obviously extremely happy to be there. Khalid offered Li his phone so that she could see his sisters.

At her choice of question, he reminded himself that what was obvious to him wasn't necessarily obvious to other people. Someone who didn't grow up Muslim probably wouldn't understand the Arabic meanings. Besides, it was better to educate people than to let them turn to bad sources for information.

"Islam is the religion. I don't remember the exact translation, but it's related to the word 'peace' and means something along the lines of 'surrender'. A Muslim is a follower of Islam. Um, 'one who submits to Allah' or something. So, I'm a Muslim who practices Islam. I should also say that Arab is just the ethnic group. Not all Arabs are Muslim, and not all Muslims are Arab"

The words Islam and Muslim were both from the root S-L-M. The word Salam also carried the same root. The root's meaning is 'whole, safe, intact', and the derived meanings include 'to be safe, secure, at peace, well-being, health, to be secured, pacified, submitted'.

[Liana Mars]

Liana raised an eyebrow as she heard how early the boy had been up, “Did you sleep at all last night?” If she'd had to watch something that late, she might just have pulled an all nighter, even with class all day. Perhaps lunch would have been used for a nap, though.

As Khalid offered his phone, Liana leaned forward to see it, careful not to take it because she wasn't sure about what Khalid was sure. She generally had no problem with people taking her phone to look at pictures, but some of her friends just liked to keep hold of their phones, “They look like they're having a lot of fun.” She smiled, “I can see the resemblance. Was that last year?”

When Khalid answered her question, she listened intently, realizing that now she had no excuse to get it wrong... Although it didn't seem too difficult now that he explained it, “That makes sense.” She nodded as he added that not all Arabs were Muslims, “One of my dad's coworkers is Muslim, I think, and he's about as white as they come. I didn't have much to do with my dad's work at that point, though, so I don't exactly recall.” It had only come up because the man had been over to do some sort of business thing and had had to take a break to pray.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

"Laa, no."

He looked unusually proud of the fact that he pulled an all nighter, but for Qatar National Day, there was not a moment to waste for celebrating. He made sure to send out lots of emails to the people he knew wishing them well and hoping they enjoyed the festivities. The celebration was secular and had a very different feeling from Eid celebrations. Though, getting money, toys, and candy for Eid al-Fitr was more fun than watching a parade, in his opinion.

"Yeah, they always get new hairclips for Qatar National Day. I usually got a new thobe and ghutra."

Of course, Khalid usually outgrew his old thobes each year, so they were going to have to be replaced anyway. But it was always fun to find a brand new thobe and ghutra laying neatly folded on his bed the night before. Then there were the two years when he got a new sword which were arguably the best presents ever. He couldn't wait until his eighteenth birthday to get another sword.

"There are some American converts at masjid, so I wouldn't be surprised. So, I don't really know how American celebrate their national day, but we have special events going on from December eight to twenty. And there is always a big fireworks show at night."

[Liana Mars]

Liana chuckled at Khalid's admittance, “You're just lucky that it landed on a Friday, and not a Monday.” Although wasn't there something about morning prayers? Well, even with that, classes would reduce the possibility of a nap after any obligations in the morning to almost nothing.

As Khalid talked about his sister's presents, and his own, on the national day, Liana frowned slightly, “Sorry. Thobe, ghutra? I'm going to guess clothing of some sort since your sisters got hair clips.” It was apparent that she still had a lot to learn about Khalid's culture, but that was the way of things. It was impossible to know all of the things in the world, and most information about Qatar, except the basics, had never been too relevant to her before she'd met him.

As Khalid mentioned that he didn't really know how Americans celebrated their Independence Day, Liana was relieved. At least she wasn't the only one who didn't know everything, “Sounds pretty similar, actually. Parade in the morning, fireworks at night. Some places have a sort of fair with booths and events and demonstrations going on during the day. Lots of families meet up and barbecue and have a day out in the park.” Her family had done something similar, although they'd chosen their private lands over a public park, and her father hadn't been the one barbecuing, of course, “It's only one day, so it's shorter than the celebrations you were talking about.” She considered, “Maybe you'll be here to see it, although it's over the summer break for the school.” That gave her another question, “Are you going to be going home for the winter holiday, or staying on campus?”

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Back in Qatar, not only would Friday be the start of the weekend, but December 20 was also declared a public holiday. It was kinda weird going from the work week being Sunday through Thursday to Monday through Friday. Of course, he had no idea what it meant to sleep in considering his phone was set to go off a half hour before fajr. At home, the whole family gathered for morning prayers with males in front and females behind. The prayer rug always faced Mecca, and Khalid continued the habit of spending ten minutes after fajr to read passages from the Qur'an, though he made no attempt to memorize the whole thing.

"Thobe, ghutra."

He pointed first to the garment he was wearing and then to the white cloth on his head. White was the standard color and the most popular in the summer to stay cool. In Qatar, he probably would have chosen a nice cream colored thobe and a ghutra with a pattern. Liberal use of starch helped make sure that the creases stayed sharp. The cobra style was somewhat unique to Qatar and got its name because the fabric fell like a cobra's hood behind the wearer.

It was interesting to hear all the similarities between Qatar National Day and American Independence Day. Parades, fireworks, time spent with family, various activities. Though, he wondered if America had anything like Al Nassa where anyone could go and learn how to shoot or brush up on skills. If it was over the summer, then there was a possibility he would be around to see it. Summers in Qatar could be brutal and visiting other cooler countries was always a smart move.

"We always have lunch by the Corniche after the parade, so it sounds like there's a lot that's similar. And going home. I can't wait to see my family again and go camping. You?"

[Liana Mars]

Liana watched as Khalid indicated the pieces of clothing that he wore, naming them as he did so, “That makes more sense.” She nodded slightly, then looked at each piece again, repeating its name in her head, “What's the head-scarf that women wear called?” She was merely curious, now that they were on the topic of naming pieces of clothing.

She nodded as she heard that family lunches were a thing in Qatar too to celebrate. Holidays were a time for family and bringing everyone close, it seemed, the world around. That made sense, though. As Khalid spoke about camping, Liana shivered briefly at the thought of camping, then chuckled at her own mistake, “There's snow on the ground in Vermont and it gets below zero, I wouldn't want to be camping there. Qatar is probably quite a bit nicer right about now, though.” She couldn't imagine camping, really. Her idea of nature was perhaps taking a trail ride or a walk through the forest and then heading to a hotel at the end of the day.

“I'm going to be heading home too. At least my dad changed his mind, he was considering staying on the island over the winter.” She shuddered at the thought, “He says he likes working there more than at Pheasant Hill, but I think that's because he can count on no one showing up unannounced.” Of course, that was rude to do, but it happened occasionally, “So what's your home like?”

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

In Western countries, the practice of covering one's hair and face was extremely misunderstood. Even between the different sects of Islam, there wasn't universal agreement on how much women should cover. It was supposed to be the woman's choice to cover her hair for modesty, but some countries passed laws requiring women to cover their hair. Khalid's mother wore the full abaya and niqab when out in public, and his older sister only wore the niqab when she had to. Otherwise, the shayla seemed to be her preferred form of head covering. In America, most Muslim women only wore the hijab which left the face uncovered. The shayla was similar to the hijab, but secured at the shoulder instead of closer to the face. The niqab meanwhile left only the eyes uncovered.

"Hijab."

In Arabic, hijab just meant cover or veil. On the Internet, Khalid read several people calling the hijab a burqa and using the latter term to describe all head coverings worn by Muslim women. He never saw anyone wear the full veil and outside of Taliban controlled Afghanistan couldn't think of any woman who did wear it.

Mostly, Khalid enjoyed going out camping with his friends. It was a time to unwind after the week, enjoy good food, and drink lots of hot beverages. To combat the cold desert temperatures, everyone donned a farwa, a thick robe that went over the thobe.

"In Qatar, the weather is really nice in winter. In the day, maybe around twenty-two to twenty-five degrees, and sixteen to eighteen degrees at night. Sometimes it rains a little, but most days are sunny. In November, there was a really bad rainstorm, and all the streets flooded. The airport had maybe eighty millimeters of rain. I never saw so much rain in my life. That's really rare. I've never seen snow, and temperature less than ten degrees sounds like freezing."

The idea of not showing up unannounced was a little strange. Khalid saw no problem with stopping by the home of one of his classmates if he was in the area for a cup of tea, talk about classes, or just kill time. Sometimes there were more formal majlis which did require invitations, but most times it was an informal affair.

"Do you want to sit down? It's more comfortable."

Typically, women and men had separate majalis. It was the equivalent to a parlor for receiving guests and was often furnished with comfortable couches and low tables where snacks and drinks could be placed. His home had several rooms for receiving guests depending on whether the event was formal or informal. For just hanging out with friends, Khalid liked the room with the tv and PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Wii-U and a substantial library of games. Sometimes they did homework in the majlis or collaborated on group projects.