The controversy surrounding Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup, arising in relation to the country’s alleged violations of human rights, and specifically migrant worker rights, persisted from 2010 until the conclusion of the tournament in 2022. Yet, this discussion incorporated a variety of other issues, including women’s rights, alcohol consumption, and the rights of the LGBTQ community, which ultimately became the most prominent issue discussed in the Western media. The focus on this issue prompted a strong reaction at the official and individual levels from Qataris and observers in the broader Arab and Muslim worlds, who considered the goal of this focus to be thwarting the success of the first World Cup championship hosted by an Arab or Muslim country. Indeed, while the Western media considered the banning of alcohol and the refusal to display the slogan “OneLove” to be violations of the individual’s freedom of expression, many members of the Arab and Muslim audiences considered these same things to represent a firm commitment to their religious beliefs and cultural values.
In this debate, Sada presents two articles. The first offers a Qatari perspective on the Qatari response to criticism that surrounded the World Cup. Abdulrahman Al Marri argues that although Qatar has, of course, not fulfilled all human rights requirements, it did institute substantial legislative reforms after being announced as the host of the tournament. Al Marri adds that the hosting of the World Cup fostered increased local awareness regarding the state’s commitment to enacting legislation that respects human rights and prevents violations.
In the second article, Hind Al Ansari considers another topic that attracted much attention during the run of the World Cup: the refusal of Arabic spectators and other supporters of the Palestinian cause to speak to the Israeli media platforms that traveled to Doha to cover the event. She argues that this firm position against Israel on display during the tournament casts serious doubt on the feasibility of recent normalization agreements that a number of Arab states concluded with Israel. In the context of the human rights controversy, Al Ansari also points out that the Western media did not cover this issue to the same extent that it discussed other human rights issues.
Western Claims and Human Rights Controversy
Abdulrahman Al Marri
This article presents a Qatari perspective that examines the Western media campaign on human rights in Qatar before and during the 2022 World Cup.
Prior to winning the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, doubts regarding Qatar’s ability to organize and host this major event were prevalent at home and abroad. Yet, soon after the bid was secured, the country quickly began planning and preparing for the tournament. In April 2011, a government decree established the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) to oversee the construction of the required infrastructure such as sports stadiums, public facilities, residential facilities, roads, tunnels, and bridges.
Western Media Campaign
The campaign that the Western media launched to criticize human rights conditions in Qatar was not unprecedented, and like previous activism, it focused on weak labor law legislation and the lack of governmental action on what was termed the “exploitation of migrant workers.” It targeted what campaigners perceived to be inhumane work conditions resulting from a harsh working environment that led to a number of casualties. The campaign was launched the moment Qatar officially announced its candidacy to host the World Cup, and as time passed, the criticism acquired a permanent, systematic, and confrontational character, with only a few moderate voices here and there.
Newspaper articles and media reports were published during the twelve years preceding the event which called for an improvement in the human rights situation in Qatar, even demanding the withdrawal of the World Cup from the small emirate. Yet, some of these reports were of questionable credibility. A report published by The Guardian, the prominent British newspaper, is perhaps emblematic of the critical rhetoric that was directed against Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup. The newspaper reported that 6,500 migrant workers employed on infrastructure projects associated with the World Cup had died since 2010. The weakness of this claim later emerged when it became known that, in fact, this was the total number of migrants who died during this period for any reason, yet the newspaper categorized all these deaths as work-related accidents.
The Qatari Response to Western Human Rights Discourse
In Qatar, and in many Arab countries, the Western human rights discourse that advocated for more just, humane, and pluralistic policies was seen as purely ideological and lacking in fundamental balance. Qataris, especially the young and educated, felt that the campaign was aggressive on so many levels as it emphasized negative individual points without context and amplified them instead of seeking out the comprehensive picture.
Many believed that the motives for such bias stemmed from a traditional orientalist mentality, which views Eastern peoples as inferior. Some officials, such as Nasser al-Khater, echoed this sentiment and said that the West is unable to accept the idea that an Arab Muslim country is capable of organizing such a high-profile global event.
In the decade since Qatar was awarded the World Cup, mounting pressure from Human Rights Watch was placed on the Qatari government to address and mitigate human rights violations, especially those regarding women. The organization called for the alleviation of “discriminatory restrictions that affect women's independence in marriage, study, work, and travel.” Although other countries that have previously hosted the World Cup have been criticized for human rights violations, never has the criticism been so harsh.
Yet, global criticism resulted in a growing awareness inside Qatar that there are legal problems that must be recognized and addressed. But this awareness of the importance of reform did not overlook the domestic complexities or the external factors that may hinder such reform. Indeed, the state has never before found itself compelled to justify the status quo, let alone attempt to alter it because of external pressure. The truth is that the historical sheikhdom model of legitimacy has shaped society in the state of Qatar and concentrated power in the hands of the political elite, thus making the process of legislation institutionally sovereign and separated from the will of the people, although it intersects with this will in many cases.
However, there was another level of local awareness that called for separating internal legal problems from Western views. There were calls for rejecting the Western human rights discourse, arguing that it is duplicitous and self-serving, especially when it comes to LGBTQ rights. A narrow segment of Qataris recognized the relevance of the Western media discourse and supported it in principle, but they refrained from expressing their opinions because the general mood in the country was focused on the success of the tournament. Any criticism during the preparation period would have been treated as hostile and unpatriotic, which is why there was a general consensus that the nation must be united against foreign media forces regardless of critical positions at the personal level. It was time to distinguish between enemy and friend.
Human Rights in Western Discourse
The Western campaign was centered around two main issues: migrant workers and the LGBTQ community. The country's stance on the LGBTQ issue was clear and direct. In September 2022, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, assured the international community that football fans from the LGBTQ community would not face discrimination by the Qatari authorities, and during his visit to Germany in May 2022, he further stated that everyone is welcome in Qatar and that he expected fans and visitors to respect the country’s culture, principles, and values.
Unfortunately, the Western pressure on Qatar was not lifted because of these positive promises. When FIFA prohibited players from wearing LGBTQ support slogans, particularly the “OneLove” armband, and threatened players who did so with punishment, there was an international uproar. The German players covered their mouths for their team photo in their first match with Japan in an apparent rebuke of FIFA’s decision. A few days later, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, had to reiterate Qatar’s stance on this matter in an interview with the German newspaper Bild, in which he said that “LGBTQ people are not acceptable in our religion” and that homosexuality cannot be practiced publicly, as it contradicts religious beliefs and is alien to the country's culture, customs, and traditions.
Legal Reforms
As for the issue of workers, the population of migrant workers grew by one million in the period between 2010-2022, with an average increase of ninety thousand workers annually. However, the five years between 2012 and 2017 witnessed a greater influx of workers compared to other years. In fact, this extraordinary increase has placed a heavy burden on the Qatari government, given pressure in the legal context related to gaps in regulatory laws, and in the environmental context because of the effects of increased construction.
But the government was keen to remedy the significant repercussions that resulted from this pressure and was prompted to introduce a set of legal reforms aimed at improving working conditions and establishing guarantees for workers’ rights. These reforms included issuing laws regulating the entry, exit, and residence of expatriates in 2015, establishing the Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund in 2018, and adopting a minimum wage of 1,000 riyals in 2021. Furthermore, the Shura Council approved mandatory health insurance for all residents and visitors in 2021. However, it can be said that the country was not fully prepared to receive such a large number of workers and meet its responsibilities towards them in the very tight margin of time that was available.
Criticism directed by various Western media outlets towards Qatar has remained constant since it won the right to host the 2022 World Cup. It was uneven throughout the years preceding the organization of the tournament, but it sharply intensified during the few months leading up to the event despite the legislative reforms enacted by the state. Qatari, Arab, and even Western opinions on the motives for these criticisms ranged, but it seemed—among Qataris and Arabs—to stem from an attempt to prove Western superiority and civilizational centrality, along with the legacy of the Orientalist viewpoint. Yet, there is local awareness of the need to enact further legislative reforms in the country, along with local demands for such action.
Abdulrahman Al Marri is a research assistant at Ibn Khaldun Center in Qatar University. His research focuses on socio-political issues and historical and cultural anthropology in the Arabian Gulf.
The World Cup and Normalization: A Reality Check
Hind Al Ansari
The support for Palestine exhibited during the 2022 World Cup indicates that the Abraham Accords have not led to changes in Arab public opinion on Israel.
Following the decision of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain—and subsequently Sudan and Morocco—to pursue normalization with Israel through the US-brokered Abraham Accords, supporters of the treaty hoped that popular perceptions about Israel would be improved in signatory and non-signatory states across the Arab world. Yet, even as the US continues to encourage other Arab states to pursue friendly relations with Israel, Arab public opinion about Palestine and Israel remains largely unchanged. Thus, the Abraham Accords have exhibited scant impact at the grassroots level, where support for the Palestinian cause is robust. Such support was on full display during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—an event which provided an unprecedented opportunity for Arab players and fans alike to express their views on Palestine and Israel following the signing of the Accords.
Shortly before the World Cup kicked off, news of direct flights from Tel Aviv to Doha sparked both delight and controversy. In Ben Gurion Airport, some people welcomed the news with a cake decorated with a boarding pass that read “TLV-DOH,” along with the Israeli, Qatari, and Cypriot flags. Furthermore, according to The Times of Israel, some Israeli officials were hopeful that this measure might promote Israel’s objective to fully integrate into the region. However, in Qatar, the same news was met with widespread opposition among nationals and residents. For example, Qatari Youth Opposed to Normalization (@QAYON) issued a public statement in which they described feeling “shocked” about the news.
Against this backdrop, since the beginning of the games, crowds carried pro-Palestine banners and the flag. This offered a chance to advocate for the Palestinian cause and educate international visitors about Palestine, but it was also an opportunity to showcase the public’s real attitude about the US-brokered accords.
The outpouring of support for Palestine comes as no surprise. Generally, Arab citizens maintain stances against Israel that are more austere than those of their governments. In fact, according to survey results, attitudes about the Abraham Accords have even worsened in countries that initially viewed the peace treaty negatively. In one clear example of a schism between a signatory state and its society, Moroccan fans and soccer players waved the Palestinian flag in a show of solidarity as they celebrated their victory over Spain. While hoisting the flag is a clear act of unity, it is also emblematic of opposition to normalization strategies.
Additionally, given the enormity of Western criticism of Qatar’s human rights record, many football fans used the Palestinian plight to highlight and denounce double standards. In a video that went viral in Qatar, a German reporter interviews a young Qatari man about LGBTQ+ rights. The Qatari asks, “Why do you support LGBTQ but not Palestine?” The reporter quickly concludes the conversation by replying, “I cannot answer that question. Thank you.” Furthermore, during the France-Tunisia match, a Tunisian man, Amin Balagha, snuck in and ran across the field with the Palestinian flag before being apprehended by security guards. MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin has highlighted Western media’s lack of reporting on this incident, along with its broader lack of reporting on solidarity with Palestine during the World Cup.
The overwhelming support for Palestine displayed by Arab crowds in Doha presents both a setback and a reality check for the US Department of State, which hoped that direct flights between Qatar and Israel would “bolster people-to-people ties and economic relations.” It remains to be seen whether this will impact Washington’s calculus moving forward, or if the message was even received—especially as much mainstream Western media coverage has ignored the issue altogether.
Hind Al Ansari is a public policy fellow at the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program. Her work focuses on social and educational reform in the Arab and Muslim world.
