STAGING a festival as comprehensive and culturally relevant as Souq Okaz has highlighted key attributes of Arab culture including tolerance, acceptance and brotherhood. These attributes were emphasized by intellectuals and key personalities at the launch of Souq Okaz on Tuesday with an appreciation of the cultural necessity of such a festival. The original Souq Okaz was an annual fair held in the picturesque city of Taif more than a thousand years ago, in an essentially pre-Islamic era. The ancient fair or market was a gathering ground for poets and literature lovers from across the Arabian Peninsula. Dr. Fahd Bin Abdullah Al-Sammari is the Secretary General of King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) - the organizers of this event - and he said: “Souq Okaz is both one of the important cultural markets in the history of literature and poetry in the Arabian Peninsula as well as the most famous one.” He added that the ‘market' was an “open university for the graduation of new poets that had made an impact on the Arabic language”, and were responsible for “bringing out its literary treasures.” As important to these poets of Arabia as it was to the Greek philosophers, this market-like environment hosted recitals and competitions between the acclaimed poets of that era whose poems have “become eternal” according to Dr. Al-Sammari. He also remarked that the reconstruction of Souq Okaz - following either the original form of one adapted to present day - is throwing light on the numerous intellectual feats of the Arabian Peninsula and recalling deep-roted cultural values that are desperately needed in the present. “This Souq, whose revival we are following up, is but a (form of support) for the cultural advancement in our country, and among its most prominent attributes is the intellectual diversity - within an Islamic framework - that will control the cultural movement,” explained Dr. Al-Sammari. The Souq's epic history Commenting on the Islamic perspective of the Souq, Sheikh Saad Bin Abdullah Al-Melaiss, the former Chairman of the Baha Literary Club, said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) utilized Souq Okaz during his boyhood as a trader and after the revelation, to call people to Islam. It was said that for ten years he attended Souq Okaz as well as Souq Maheenah and Souq Dhee Majaaz, where he led the prayers in the three markets and called people to Islam.” He added that the Souq's cultural heritage was carefully nurtured during this period. “It was necessary to preserve this heritage and the characteristics that form this Arab identity in the history of the nation (Ummah),” he concluded. Dr. Saleh Ziyad Al-Ghamdi, an academic, and Misfir Al-Ghamdi, a poet and writer, both stressed the importance of reviving the souq as a cultural and intellectual festival. “Okaz is a cultural historical landmark that cannot be ignored except by one who is ignorant of Arab history. The awarding of the Souq Okaz prizes is the biggest event in the Souq, serving creativity and bringing the Souq back to its glorious era,” they said. Saudi women also stressed the importance of preserving the Souq as a cultural movement. Wafa Khankar, a member of the Women's Committee in Taif Literary Club, and poetess Sara Al-Safi both consider Souq Okaz to be prominent due to its special characteristics that have contributed to preserving Arab culture. They added that the idea of reviving the ‘market' was important in promoting the notion that Arab civilization forms an independent identity as it has assimilated pre-Islamic poetry and based its culture on that. Because the Souq is essentially regarded as forming a part of Arab culture more than anything else, the revival is also of particular relevance to the rest of the Arab world. Much of festival centers on poetry recitals and artwork, stressing the need to preserve the cultural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula. The main purpose of the revival is to shed some light on an era that predates much of what is generally perceived as modern Arab culture, focusing extensively on essential values and tradition.
