RIYADH, 23 September 2006 — Ali Al-Hassani had a special project to commemorate Saudi Arabia’s National Day: He and a colleague, Saleh Al-Amrai, bought a ream of green fabric and sent up the pole in the front of their middle school in Riyadh one of the largest flags in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom’s national holiday, commemorating the unification of the country under King Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Saud on Sept. 23, 1932, is celebrated today.
“We bought the fabric two weeks ago and gave it to one of the tailors to make the flag,” Hassani told Arab News. “We put the flag on the front of the school so it will be easy to see from a distance.”
The flag is 18 meters long and 8 meters wide. Hassani said he wanted to express the love for his country and teach his kids about national unity.
“I wanted to send a message to my students about the love of their country because many of them do not know what the love of the country means,” said Hassani.
“The work we did raises many questions on what patriotism means. I believe that this will strengthen the love of the country in their heart. Our youth have lots of good in their hearts and it needs to be directed the right way.”
Hassani said he would see that notes his students were taking were bothersome, and that they weren’t taking care of their history textbooks. The teacher said teaching students about respect for the nation was his way of engendering respect in general.
“What would you say about these kids and our country if you see them destroying public property?” he said.
Talal Al-Ahmad, Arabic grammar teacher at the middle school, said that nationalism is about lifestyle and not just patriotic slogans. “Students must learn how to love their country from the heart,” he said. “We want to see the love of their country in their actions — on the street and inside school.”
Arab News met with students to ask them about the meaning of nationalism. Some thought of nationalism as a subject taught in the fourth grade; other students saw nationalism purely through the idea of defending the country militarily against enemies; to others nationalism meant rooting for the Saudi Arabian national football team.
Ibraheem Al-Shebr, math teacher in high school, said that clearly most of his students do not understand what National Day means. “We see flags in football matches and people cheering the name of Saudi Arabia but that is not what nationalism means,” he said, adding that it’s a day where citizens should go the extra kilometer to be on their best and most respectful behavior.
Another teacher at the school said that in the past the National Day came and went without anyone knowing. In fact, the day of Saudi unification was only officially declared a public holiday in 2005. This year it has been upgraded to a “bank holiday” when government offices and corporate institutions are closed and many employees get the day off.
Shebr said that in the past we used to hear about national days in other countries. Many people even didn’t know when was the Kingdom’s National Day. “Today it’s different,” he said. “People now express the love of their country by buying flags and carrying the picture of their king. Men, women and children are now sharing the happy occasion to express the love of their country.”
The schools have been instructed by the Ministry of Education to organize special programs to commemorate the occasion. “It’s time to change the perception that patriotism is about cheering at football games,” said Shebr. “Real love for the country must be expressed in other more meaningful actions.”
