DUBAI // Hasan Al Hariri’s passion for the cosmos was sparked when he was a four-year-old boy listening to his grandparents’ tales of people using the stars to navigate.
Those old stories led him on a lifelong journey of learning about astronomy and promoting stargazing to others.
“I have always had a curious nature and I have been fortunate enough to have had the right encouragement at different stages in my life that allowed me to maintain that passion,” said Mr Al Hariri, the president of the Dubai Astronomy Group.
“It has been at times difficult and frustrating trying to get others involved, but from a handful of people in the group we now have more than 100 members.”
His dream of opening up astronomy to a wider audience will soon become a reality with the building of the Dh30 million Al Marsad telescope in the UAE.
The state-of-the-art observatory will be the first of its kind in the GCC and is the culmination of more than a decade of hard work by the Dubai Astronomy Group.
“My desire is for all the residents of the UAE – not just Emiratis, but also expats – to work more on the intellectual side of things now,” Mr Al Hariri said.
“We are fortunate because our basic needs in terms of having enough food to eat and a roof over our heads has been met. Now is the time to meet our intellectual needs and develop and educate our minds.”
Mr Al Hariri’s grandparents moved to Dubai from Yemen in the 1940s, and his family was given citizenship in the 1960s.
Listening to the stories of his grandparents and parents as a child inspired his curiosity. His interest grew further when, at the age of 14, his brother gave him a book about the planets.
“I was stunned by how we knew so much about the planets at the time, and that made me want to find out more,” he said.
“This was also around the same time that Nasa launched its Voyager 1 spacecraft.
“I wrote to them telling them about my interest, and to my surprise they wrote back and sent me more books and encouraged me to learn more.”
Mr Al Hariri graduated from the Scientific Islamic Institute in Dubai in 1984 and took up a career in telecommunications and IT with Etisalat.
From 1988 to 1993 he was the head of the IT department for the Dar Al Ber Society, a charity that supports orphans.
He worked for Etisalat’s engineering department before spending eight years at the Real Estate Department from 1993.
Studying the Quran and its emphasis on encouraging people to gain knowledge, as well as constant encouragement from his parents, helped to drive his ambition.
A turning point in Mr Al Hariri’s life came in 2000, when his father died.
“I had always received encouragement to do what I wanted to do from my parents, so after my father’s death I took stock of where my life was and decided to devote all of my efforts to the astronomy group,” he said.
“I quit my job, and now my only income is through the astronomy side of things.
“Through all the hard work we will soon see a space observatory built here, and it will be available for the public to go and visit and use.
“That has only come through many years of commitment, not just from myself but other members of our astronomy group.
“At every step in my life, once I learnt one thing the seed was planted in my mind to take the next step and continue the learning process.
“By getting children to become more aware of the stars and the universe, I hope that we will plant a seed in their minds so that they will continue the learning journey.”
For more information about Dubai Astronomy Group, visit www.dubaiastronomy.com.
nhanif@thenational.ae
