What is Qatar’s claim to football-fame for it to be the host of one of the biggest international sporting events, the FIFA World Cup? One win in an Asia Cup tournament in 2019 out of ten such appearances? As it became apparent at Sunday’s inaugural match, the Qataris were no competition to the Ecuadorians, who defeated them convincingly with a 2-0 margin. Not surprising, given Qatar doesn’t have a culture of football, which became obvious during Sunday night’s match, when the Qatari audience started to leave the stadium much before the match ended. There are anyway allegations that Qatar bribed top FIFA officials to get the hosting rights of the World Cup. But even if such allegations are discounted, the least that Qatar could have done during the World Cup was to put its best foot forward to showcase its culture and history, and promote itself as one of the top tourist destinations of the world, the way that the UAE has done, especially in Dubai and in the other emirates. Instead, Qatar is parading the most in-your-face conservatism that the rest of the world has seen. This will not only drive away future tourists, but also give a bad name to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries as a whole. While a country’s culture must be respected by visitors, what is unfathomable is why Qatar stopped the sale of beer even inside stadiums, thus depriving the fans of a drink that is intrinsic to the game of football. Many Gulf countries allow tourists, including non-Muslims, to consume alcohol in designated areas, even though it is banned for Muslims. But not in Qatar, which was contract-bound to serve beer in the stadiums, but reneged on it. Then it put pressure on FIFA to stop players from wearing their “One Love” armband, which they were going to, as a mark of protest against Qatar’s hardline policy on homosexuality. There are dressing restrictions too for women in particular, with revealing clothes not allowed.
The fundamental problem is that Qatar wants the rest of the world to respect its religious beliefs and customs, but is not ready to return that courtesy, and has gone to the extent of banning kosher food, which the Jewish people have for religious reasons, apart from disallowing them to perform sabbath and other prayers. As a result, reports say, thousands of Jewish football fans, particularly from the United States, have cancelled their trip to Qatar. But then Qatar will say that it doesn’t need the “meagre” income from these tourists, considering its expenditure in this World Cup is in the range of $220 billion, which is apparently twice the total amount of what eight previous World Cups spent.
Such is the arrogance of this oil-rich Gulf country—with a population of a meagre 3 million, the sole reason why it has the world’s highest per capita income—that it is not averse to making a religio-political statement by inviting radical Islamist cleric and preacher of hate, Zakir Naik, to watch football and deliver religious sermons during the tournament’s duration. One of India’s “most wanted” and a fugitive, Zakir Naik is a terror instigator and money launderer, who is guilty of brainwashing the young and pushing them to the path of terrorism. He is banned even in the UK, where Naik not only praised Osama Bin Laden, but also urged “all Muslims to be terrorists”. Naik was given refuge in Malaysia, which has consistently refused to send him back to India, apart from backing him publicly during the rule of Mahathir Mohamed, which nearly derailed Malaysia’s relations with India. It was only when India stopped importing palm oil from Malaysia, one of the mainstays of its economy, and Mahathir Mohamed had to leave power, that Kuala Lumpur stopped its public endorsement of Zakir Naik. For Qatar to pick up that man and showcase him as an upholder of Islam amounts to sending a message to India. This also has to be seen in the context of Qatar being in the forefront of the protests in the Gulf over Nupur Sharma’s derogatory comments as it tried to be the leader of the Muslim world. Doha had the gall to call the Indian ambassador and chide him. It’s time New Delhi repaid it in the same coin on the Zakir Naik issue. India has been managing its differences with Qatar primarily because it is one of India’s main gas suppliers; as well as to ensure that no harm comes to the huge diaspora working in that country. But a message must be given. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has already visited Qatar for the opening ceremony. It is hoped that no other official visit will take place during the World Cup, even if our ministers or other officials are invited to watch the final or other matches. India also needs to be more persistent about taking up the cause of the Indian labourers working in Qatar in sub-human conditions. Qatar is puny, with its economy the size of Mumbai’s economy at around $274 billion, and needs a rap on the knuckles for being so badly behaved.
Qatar cannot hide its grave failings under the cover of Islamophobia. Criticising its inhuman policies does not amount to Islamophobia. It’s a legitimate criticism of a country that still lives in the dark ages, however modern and glittering it may appear from the outside. If Qatar is hosting the World Cup because it wants prestige on the world stage, it will never get that. Just imagine, 1.2 million football fans visiting Qatar and then spreading the message to the world how regressive Qatar is, where the threat of incarceration hangs on everyone’s head for perceived insults to local customs. But then Qatar deserves this for trying to divide the sport that unites the world.
Joyeeta Basu