Am I Qatari enough?

My late great paternal grandfather, Hussein Al-Naama, was an esteemed and powerful man. He was a pearl merchant at the advent of the 20th century (or what we in Qatar call a Tawash). He was also in charge of Qatar’s customs authority and port long before the discovery of oil—positions that undoubtedly yielded him a lot of power since they were Qatar’s most valued resources.

His role involved him overseeing the country's imports and exports, as well as the accompanying taxes, and because at the time he was Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim’s right hand man, he was entrusted with the responsibility of issuing passports to Qatari citizens, among other things. 

The company house museum, one of the four historic heritage houses in the heart of Msheireb Downtown Doha, was originally his house. His son Mohammed (my grandfather) was one of the first Qataris to work in the petroleum industry, and was in fact present in Zikreet when oil came pumping out of one of the rigs. Out of excitement, he was instructed to drive to the Sheikh’s house to inform him of the discovery by his Western superior, making him the first Qatari to drive a car.

My father’s maternal grandfather, Yousef Ahmed Saleh Al-Baker, was the first Qatari moneychanger, and his house was located behind the iconic Bismillah hotel in Souq Waqif. 

On my maternal side, my grandfather Ibrahim Fakhroo was also a prominent merchant. Among many things, he was one of the stakeholders of the first joint stock company that imported wheat and flour, ground them, and distributed them to bakeries domestically.

 My grandmother, Maqdeem Fakhroo, was his first cousin and they both hailed from the coastal city of Al-Khor.

As you can discern, I’m neither half-something-else, nor originally-from-somewhere-else, and I didn't grow up abroad. I'm as full blooded Qatari as one can get, with a family network so extensive that it’s hard to keep up sometimes! But, is my lineage sufficient to me feeling like I belong in my culture?

Let me explain—culture, by definition, is the social behavior and norms found in human societies, and therefore, it is never static. In my nearly three decades of existence, I have seen firsthand how much Qatari culture has changed and evolved, rather rapidly too. However, whereas certain things may have changed, other things have remained constant and withstood the frenetic pace of development still taking place to this day. 

From a young age, despite my relatively unremarkable upbringing, I did not conform to the social mores that often dictate Qatari culture. Specifically, I did not like wearing the thobe, and if I did, I opted to forego wearing the head dress; I did not go to Majlises, and I never really get invited to any today. I did not go to many formal family functions, be it weddings or funerals, and I can count the number of times on one hand that I did. I was not in to football, or any sports for that matter, and I would always draw up a blank when someone asked me what my favorite local team was. I was quite liberal socially, and I would not constrain my social circle to guys only, but to girls and non-Qatari's too. 

For all intents and purposes, being non-conformist in a homogenous and collective society, meant that I was effectively an outlier. My childhood, adolescence and young adult years felt very isolated and I could not quite figure out where I fit in; it was like having one foot in the door, and one out.

That dichotomy was made all the more difficult as I was often scrutinized and, later in life, ostracized entirely for being so different, and so unusual. It’s not as if I consciously tried to "stand out", I was just myself, in a society that emphasizes conformity and compliance. 

Interestingly, I have seen numerous first generation Qataris, or Qataris that have only moved to Qatar as adults after living their entire childhood abroad, being more accepted, and welcomed into the community, because they conform and acquiesce to the status quo. 

As I inch closer to my 30's, I still struggle greatly with my own sense of identity in a culture where the collective and the individual are inextricably linked, and how to balance the two.

Thoughts? 

Author Bio: 

An unorthodox Qatari millennial with an entrepreneurial spirit and incurable case of wanderlust. 

Phot Credit: Doha News