Our 95th National Day

His Excellency Mr. Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, launched the official identity of the 95th Saudi National Day under the slogan “Our Pride Is in Our Nature.”

This slogan caught my attention as a historian who has spent many years devoted to the study of national history and its role in strengthening national identity and sense of belonging. It is well known that ṭabʿ—that is, morals, innate qualities, authentic values, customs, and social traditions—constitutes one of the most important pillars of building societies.

By recalling, reinforcing, and transmitting these qualities to younger generations, the unity of society is affirmed and its parts are bound together, thereby strengthening its national identity. This is precisely what psychologists Mark Foucault and Claire Hart affirmed in their study Social Identity as Social Glue, where they argued that values, customs, and traditions act as a kind of social glue that binds the members of a community together.

As Saudis, our history is filled with many positive values, customs, and traits that our ancestors lived by and passed down to us, and which we must now pass on to future generations. Truthfulness, honesty, generosity, readiness to help, hospitality, ambition, authenticity, defense of the homeland, unity around the leadership, unmatched loyalty, and deep attachment to the land are all qualities deeply rooted in the conscience of the Saudi citizen.

They shaped the nation’s present and lay the foundation for its bright future. To take pride in them and transmit them to future generations is to preserve not only the present but also our history—one of the most important pillars of our national identity. It is this very history that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (may God protect him), described by saying: “The ancient and modern history of this country is a great history, and therefore, who is more deserving than its sons to take care of it.

Once again, it is incumbent upon educational institutions to work along two tracks regarding these Saudi traits. The first track: to highlight these traits and their importance during the celebrations of this precious occasion this year. The second track: to develop a comprehensive plan to include these traits in educational curricula on the one hand, and to make them a priority in national research agendas so that scholars can highlight and utilize them more effectively.