The Message of Tradition from Bahrain to the World

Culture, which involves knowledge and creative experiences, is one of the most effective instruments of national distinctiveness. The culture of any society represents its accumulative intellectual and innovative activity and matrix of its achievements which distinguish it from other societies. As for the Arab nation, folk culture must be part and parcel of this huge store of the Arabic culture in general over time. Although due attention has been paid to its tradition, Arabic folk culture has been ignored under false allegations which display narrow mindedness and blurred vision. At the same time, other nations have done their best to maintain and develop their folk culture by establishing specialized institutes and research centers in addition to documentation archives which have recorded and kept intact all information relevant to their folk culture. Despite constant appeals in the Arab world towards the end of the 20th century to arouse the interest of governments, universities, and intellectuals in Arab folk culture, the responses, unfortunately, still fall short of the challenges facing this art. However, there have been some sporadic individual and national efforts which have lived up to the dream. However, His Majesty King Hamad Bin Issa al-Khalifa shows his kind and profound interest in folk culture by supporting issuance of a specialized magazine which would be a bridge of communication between the Kingdom of Bahrain, a country which is small in area but big in its civilization, tradition and citizens, and other cultures worldwide. One aspect of His Majesty’s concern evidences in the tradition of holding an annual national festival for folk culture which has been in effect for the last sixteen years, hence consolidating folk culture as a constituent component of the Arab culture at large. His Majesty’s support also maintains our national identify which can aptly interact with the other and protect our Arab identity against erosion. This puts us in a face-to-face challenge to render our folk culture a real message of tradition from Bahrain to the entire world. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to this Leader and to the Kingdom of Bahrain which is making the necessary arrangements for celebrating its National Day under His Majesty’s prosperous rule.

Ali Abdulla Khalifa
Editor-in-Chief