Expatriates and visitors are to be handed pamphlets detailing Qatari customs and traditions and people to show respect to local culture through the way they dress up in public during a campaign to be launched tomorrow.

There is a possibility that foreigners arriving at Hamad International Airport (HIA) and those visiting tourist sites in the country may also be targeted by the campaign at some stage. ‘Show Respect to Qatar’ campaign is being waged by the Qatar Centre for Voluntary Activities in collaboration with Al Sharq Arabic daily.

Muslim clerics and media persons are being roped in the campaign whose main aim is to tell foreigners living here and those on visit to dress up decently in public. Habis Al Huwail and Yusuf Al Khulaifi, from the Voluntary Center, said at a news conference here yesterday that the campaign will be launched at the various malls and hypermarkets targeting expatriates and foreign visitors.

They said coordination is being sought with HIA and Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) to distribute the pamphlets. The officials said, stressing the importance of preserving the local culture, that even the Qatari constitution talked of the need to preserve Qatar’s Islamic identity.

The social media, including YouTube, is to be extensively used to wage the campaign. Al Khulaifi said that even earlier, about two years ago, a group of Qatari women had launched such a campaign. He said many expatriates were not showing respect to Qatar’s culture and were dressing up in public indecently. “So there is the need to spread awareness about Qatar’s culture and traditions. You cannot put laws in place forcing people to dress up decently,” he said. “This can be done only through a campaign.”The Peninsula

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