Culture clash? Conservative Qatar preps for FIFA World Cup party
The Hindu
Qataris have gone online to vent their anger about what they call a dangerous and depraved revelry, saying it threatened Qatar's traditional values ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup
On the Instagram accounts of fashion models and superstars last month, the sheikhdom of Qatar looked like one glittering party. High-heeled designers descended on exhibition openings and fashion shows in downtown Doha. Celebrities, including a prominent gay rights campaigner, snapped selfies on a pulsing dance floor.
“As-salaam 'alykum Doha!” Dutch model Marpessa Hennink proclaimed on Instagram, using the traditional Muslim salutation.
The backlash was swift. Qataris went online to vent their anger about what they called a dangerous and depraved revelry, saying it threatened Qatar's traditional values ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Arabic hashtag, Stop the Destruction of Our Values, trended for days.
The episode underscores the tensions tearing at Qatar, a conservative Muslim emirate that restricts alcohol, bans drugs and suppresses free speech, as it prepares to welcome possibly rowdy crowds for the first World Cup in the Middle East.
“Our religion and customs prohibit indecent clothing and behavior,” Moheba Al Kheer, a Qatari citizen, said of the avant-garde artists and flamboyant models who mingled with Qatari socialites in late October.
“It's normal for us to worry when we see these kinds of people."
World Cup organizers say everyone is welcome during the tournament. Already, foreigners outnumber citizens 10 to one in Qatar. Some Qataris are liberal and open to mixing with foreigners. Many are thrilled about the tournament. But human rights groups have raised concerns over how police will deal with foreign fans' violations of the Islamic laws criminalizing public drunkenness, sex outside of marriage and homosexuality.
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