Hassan Rasheed

Dr Hassan Abdullah Rasheed is a broadcaster, academic, short-story writer and theatre critic. Qatar’s first national radio announcer and one of the first Qatari television newsreaders, he earned a doctorate in the philosophy of arts, specialising in theatre literature and criticism, with distinction and honours, and held posts across broadcasting, education and cultural life.

He grew up in the simplicity of Old Al Ghanim, where his father and uncles owned a building beside Bu Al-Qubaib Mosque, near buildings belonging to Mubarak bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi, Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi, Al-Dulaimi and the late Ahmed Youssef Al-Jaber. The neighbourhood was open and closely connected: doors remained open, mothers cared for all the children and families shared food, responsibility and respect despite the hardships of the period.

At the old primary school near his home, his classmates included His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, alongside many other boys from the neighbourhood. Their teacher, Ahmed Ali Mansour, treated his pupils like sons and gave them close personal attention.

Football and the nearby sea filled much of his childhood, but theatre and literature were already present in family life. His maternal grandfather and elder uncle were keen readers, and his father allowed each child to choose a field of study. His brother, the artist Mohammed Rasheed, pursued music in Cairo, while he chose theatre at a time when it was an uncommon specialisation.

Ahmed Ali Mansour’s school magazine first directed his curiosity towards literature and criticism. Other teachers—including Mohammed Morsi, Mohammed Ali Al Mahmoud, Bin Ghabash and Rafiq Al-Natsha—encouraged knowledge, competition and independence. At university, Ibrahim Hamada and Samir Sarhan continued that support; later, he extended the same guidance to younger writers and artists such as Ali Abdullah Al-Ansari, Mohammed Ali Al-Marzouqi and Ahmed Abdulrahman Muftah.

He studied at the old Doha Primary School under Ali Shehata and consistently ranked first. Reading became a lifelong discipline, and over the years he built a substantial library of major works in Arabic and world literature.

Choosing theatre criticism widened his intellectual range and taught him to distinguish analysis from personal impression. He regards criticism as a foundation for free thought and still sees himself as a lifelong student, adding to his knowledge through every reading, study and experience.

The state’s support for education—school supplies, meals, clothing and allowances—gave his generation the means to continue learning. That investment helped move their aspirations forward.

Broadcasting became the decisive turn in his career. He was the first Qatari voice to say, “Qatar Radio from Doha”, the first to announce Qatar’s independence and the voice that announced the Corrective Movement. In 1969, a broadcasting course in Cairo introduced him to pioneers including Abdul Hamid Al-Hadidi, Mohammed Mahmoud Shaaban, known as Baba Sharo, the poet Mahmoud Hassan Ismail, Youssef Al-Hattab, Dr Hussein Fawzi and Dr Kamal Bishr.

He later joined the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, following Mohammed Abu Jassum, Musa Abdulrahman, Salem Majid and Marzouq Bashir, and studying alongside Ghanem Al-Sulaiti after his move from Kuwait to Cairo. His professors included Rashaad Rushdi, Ibrahim Hamada, Fawzi Fahmi, Abdulaziz Hamouda, Samir Sarhan, Mohammed Enani and Saad Ardash.

Master’s and doctoral study under Fawzi Fahmi and Samir Sarhan deepened that practical experience. His doctorate in the philosophy of arts, specialising in theatre literature and criticism, became part of a wider commitment to developing theatre as both an art and an intellectual discipline.

He served Qatar through radio, cultural administration and participation in Arab events. His personal achievements also include helping his generation shape the country’s artistic and intellectual life and mentoring a new one: his son Ali contributed to Qatari poetry and song, his son Faisal to theatre and his daughter Sara to radio.

His research and writing span short fiction, plays and theatre studies. Works include “Voices from the Short Story in Qatar”, a historical and artistic study of the development of theatre criticism in the Gulf states, an analysis of social issues in Qatari drama, the story collection “The Cold Embrace”, a study of women in Gulf theatre, the dramatic texts collected as “The Shadow and the Heat”, and studies on theatre and drama published by Katara Publishing House.

His bibliography also includes “Directed Broadcasting and Directed Arab Radio Stations”; “Studies in Qatari Theatre”, co-authored with Dr Mohammed Abdulrahim Kafoud and Dr Marzouq Bashir; “The Dialectic of Incapacity and Reason in the Qatari Short Story”, co-authored with Dr Murad Mabrouk; “Lights from the Short Story”; “The Development of the Critical Movement in the GCC States, 1990–1995”; “Social Issues in Qatari Drama, 1970–1987”; the collection “The Dead Do Not Visit Graves”; and the plays “The Shadow and the Heat” and “The Voice and the Echo”.

He regards his success as inseparable from the founding generation that built Qatar’s cultural institutions. He remembers Abdulrahman Al-Maadadi, Mohammed Jassim Al-Maadadi, Ghazi Hussein, Aisha Malallah, Abdulrahman Al-Mannai, Abdulaziz Nasser, Mahmoud Al-Sharif and Hani Snobar, as well as His Excellency Dr Issa bin Ghanem Al-Kuwari, His Excellency Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari, Mubarak Jaham Al-Kuwari, Elham Badr and Abdulaziz Mohammed.

That generation also helped younger creators carry the work forward, among them Mohammed Ali Al-Marzouqi, Ali Abdullah Al-Ansari, Ahmed Abdulrahman Muftah, Fahad Al-Kubaisi and Faisal he.

He represented Qatar at regional and international gatherings, including the Arab States Broadcasting Union conference in Amman in 1970. In 2014, the Rabat Youth Theatre Festival honoured his contribution to theatre in the Gulf and the Arab world. He has served on juries including the first Alexandria Song Festival and is Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Arab Theatre Authority.