Qatar utilizes culture to control Sudanese elite

Culture is the most prominent tools of the Qatari regime to penetrate and control the Sudanese decision by “linking” the Sudanese intellectuals and elites to Doha and creating a Sudanese identity that goes in line with the plans of Doha and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Qatari cultural attaché in Sudan and the cultural and social institutions are deemed the arms of Doha and the Al Hamdeen organization to control the awareness of the elite and the Sudanese cultural street.

Qatar signed an agreement with Sudan in 2018 to establish the Sudanese National Library building. By establishing the National Library, Qatar became more able to possess the national heritage, intellectual production and historical documents of Sudan, foremost among which are the documents kept in the National Archives, which was established in 1916.

On January 2, Sudanese Minister of Culture Faisal Saleh issued a decision to form a committee to study the status of the national library in Sudan.

The decision also included proposing methods to upgrade the library as well as reshuffling its administrative structure.

Former Sudanese Ministry of Culture Hassab Al Rasoul Ahmed Al Sheikh Badr has praised during an interview with the Qatar News Agency the “efforts done by the State of Qatar to boost the cultural development in Sudan.

There are also many memoranda of understanding between Doha and the Al-Bashir regime in the cultural field. In June 2018, the Jassim and Hammad bin Jassim Charity Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sudanese Cultural Center in Doha, which includes building a multi-purpose hall for the benefit of the Sudanese community at a cost of one million Qatari riyals.

The Jassim Foundation, as well as other undercover Qatari foundations, have been organizing cultural seminars and conferences for Sudanese authors and writers.

Moreover, in October 2018, Qatar Charity (QC) has opened a four storied Library in an area of 1,000 sqm at the Great Mosque in Khartoum.

The project ‘Al Jaber Library’ was inaugurated by Mohammed Hatem Sulaiman, Deputy Governor of Khartoum State.

Also, the Katara Prize For Arabic Novel has been one of these tools that the Qatari regime uses to infiltrate the Sudanese street and control its elite and intellectuals to execute its scheme in the region.

Many believe that the Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information was subjected to dismantling and bulldozing during the regime of Omar al-Bashir, and handed over the Sudanese cultural street to Qatar and the Brotherhood.

The first undersecretary of the Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information, Rashid Saeed Yaqoub, said that they are working to dismantle the institutions of the security apparatus and restore culture to play its role in the Sudanese street.