Qatar and their Betrayal of Islam

This year, the Football World Cup is being hosted by Qatar. This news, and the start of the world cup, was followed by a slew of tales aimed at making Qatar seem like a very strict Islamic country. Muslims were happy, even as Qatar’s apparent unattachment to the Capitalist system’s liberal values garnered criticism from the West.

What everyone seems to ignore, or conveniently forget, is that Qatar is a staunch supporter of the Capitalist system and happily complicit in the actions of the Western Nations, not an example of an Islamic Country who abides by Allah’s laws and fears His Judgement. They have made their choice; to give their loyalty over to the Capitalist system, betraying the Muslim Ummah and stealing their resources in the process.

Qatar’s Place in the International System

“Unless fifa wants the tournament to rotate among Finland, Norway and Sweden, it cannot always hold it in a blameless spot. The idea of bringing the World Cup to the world is only right...If the World Cup is ever to be held in such a place, Qatar is a perfectly good choice.

Western criticism of the decision to award the games to Qatar fails to distinguish between truly repugnant regimes and merely flawed ones.” (Source: The Economist)

Qatar is an accepted state within the current international system. It’s a member of multiple international organizations, including the United Nations, the IMF and the World Trade Organizations and it has hosted an array of international events – both sports and political ones.

The Constitution affirms the States loyalty to the international system, stating that its foreign policy principles include the decision to “preserve sovereignty and independence, defend the identity of the Arab and Islamic countries, respecting international covenants and conventions, consolidating international peace and security, defending public and private freedoms and human rights”.

The History of its Loyalty to the Current System.

Before becoming an independent state, Qatar was a protectorate under Great Britain, with the relationship between the two countries dating back to the 1800s and the rise of the current Qatari ruling family – the Al-Thani family.

The British had a hegemonic and stabilizing presence in the Gulf region. So, in 1868, Muhammad Bin Thani signed a treaty with Britain’s Colonel Pelly to become the ‘official’ ruler of Qatar. By signing the treaty, the British were able to replace the Islamic State with the British monarchical model that set the foundation for the current state of Qatar. This also meant his termination of Qatar’s loyalty to the Khalifah. This betrayal continued when in 1892, Muhammad bin Thani’s son Jassim repelled an Ottoman attempt to re-establish their presence in the region and in 1983, Jassim even took on the Ottomans, defeating them in a locally famous battle east of Doha. An action that meant that Ottoman power in Qatar would remain restricted to their fort in Doha.

The State of Qatar, as we know it today, is a product of the collaboration between the al- Thani emirs and British naval officers who sought the pacification and cooperation of coastal tribes in order to clear naval routes to India. And today, the flexibility of Qatari foreign policy is a consequence of al-Thani political strategy, which maintains power through diplomacy as leaders negotiate with and leverage others’ competing territorial and strategic interests in the peninsula. These actions show a direct betrayal of Allah and His Messenger and a clear decision, on the part of the Al-Thani family, to ally themselves with the British, which they continue to do so now. When Qatar declared their independence in 1971, the earlier agreements between the British and the Qatari royal family were replaced by a ‘Treaty of Friendship’. So, their relationship with the British continues as Qatar supports British political plan in the region. They have taken part in implementing, hosting and organizing Britain’s political plans in the Middle East and beyond, upsetting the US allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the process.

“Qatar’s approach to regional affairs can be described as a multi-directional balancing act. To the chagrin of Saudi Arabia and other regional powers, Qatar has sought in recent years to mediate regional conflicts and political disputes by engaging a wide range of parties in Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan, Libya, Egypt, and Gaza, some of whom are hostile to the United States.” (Source: A report by Christopher M. Blanchard, titled “Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations”)

These political divisions between the USA and its allies, and Qatar and the UK are just a reality that exists within the international system, and should not be seen as evidence for a lack of support to the Capitalist system. Qatar’s current ruling family is a very obedient proponent of its ideas, and paying lip service to Islam or choosing a few Islamic laws to follow when it suits them will not change that fact.

“The claim that Qatar is a den of homophobia is also misleading. Gay sex is illegal, it is true, but so is all sex outside marriage. There are few prosecutions for violating these laws” (Source: The Economist)

It’s Wasting the Ummah’s Wealth in an Attempt to Remain Useful

“In 1935 Qatar signed a concession agreement with the Iraq Petroleum Company; four years later oil was discovered. Oil was not recovered on a commercial scale, however, until 1949. The revenues from the oil company, later named Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited and then the Qatar Petroleum Company, rose dramatically.” (Source: Britannica)

“Qatar has little political importance, but its oil and its wealth make good Anglo-Qatari Relations a matter of importance... Two oil companies (in Qatar) under British Management and predominantly British ownership are expected to produce 20 million tons or more of good quality oil in 1971, and the income of the state will amount to more than 80 million. So Qatar’s importance to us will remain undiminished.” (Source: Document by ‘Geoffrey Arthur (Britain’s Political Resident in 1973))

Today, Qatar is one of the world's richest economies in terms of per capita income, mainly due to its natural gas and oil resources. And they are one of the world's largest gas producer and producer of liquefied natural gas (110 million tons per year, according to Qatar Gas).

But when the ruling family of Qatar chose to ally themselves with Britain, and later become a member of the Capitalist system, it surrendered the Ummah’s wealth to Capitalist exploitation instead of using it for the good of the entire Muslim Ummah.

Instead, they used the wealth they garnered from the natural resources to;

“Embed itself into the UK's corporate and property landscape, cementing a relationship with the top tiers of British establishment... Purchasing landmarks including the Shard, Canary Wharf and the Shell Centre redevelopment on London's South Bank....and the luxury department store Harrods and 5* hotel Claridge's in London.... It also has significant shareholdings some of Britain’s biggest brands, including Barclays, Sainsbury’s, Heathrow airport, and Severn Trent.” (Source: BBC)

Qatar is also the home to the biggest US military base in the region, the Al-Udeid airbase, which recently underwent a multi-billion-dollar expansion by the Qataris.

And now, they have announced a major deal to send liquefied natural gas to Germany.

“Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said up to two million tons of gas a year would be sent for at least 15 years from 2026, and that state-run QatarEnergy was discussing other possible deals for Europe’s biggest economy.” (Source: The Nation)

All of this is happening in the background of their latest ‘accomplishment’ – hosting the FIFA World Cup. There are numerous articles discussing whether Qatar is a suitable host, whether there were back door deals that made this possible and how Qatar is ‘propagating Islam’ at the tournaments. But we can’t forget the basic fact that accepting, or rather making a bid to host the FIFA World Cup makes Qatar a complicit part of this system.

In Islam, the Khilafah would not have an Alliance with the Belligerent Nations

Germany, the USA, and the UK are all countries which the Islamic State would be forbidden from making a diplomatic alliance with.

Under the Islamic State diplomatic relations (economic, commercial, friendly or cultural treaties) with belligerent states (i.e. ones that have designs on the Islamic State or are at war with the Islamic State) are forbidden. This means their citizens will not have the right to enter the Islamic State as they please (if they are allowed to enter at all) and actions that would help to strengthen the belligerent states are forbidden.

“All military treaties and pacts, of any type, are absolutely forbidden. This includes political treaties and agreements covering the leasing of military bases and airfields” (source?)

And the Islamic state will be “forbidden to belong to any organisation which is based on something other than Islam or which applies non-Islamic rules. This includes international organisations like the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and regional organisations like the Arab League.” (Source: Article 189, 190 and 191 of the Draft Constitution)

Qatar is not an Islamic State; they violate the laws given to us by Allah on a regular basis. And paying lip service to Islam by making decisions to stand against the LGBT movement or ban alcohol doesn’t change that. The Qatari family made a decision to betray Allah and His Messenger so that they could secure their power in the 1800’s, and it has continued to do so ever since then. So, while it may be good that there are people being called to Islam through the actions of the Muslim Ummah within Qatar, we cannot ignore the hypocrisy of the rulers.

(أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُواْ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ يُرِيدُونَ أَن يَتَحَاكَمُواْ إِلَى الطَّاغُوتِ وَقَدْ أُمِرُواْ أَن يَكْفُرُواْ بِهِ وَيُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَن يُضِلَّهُمْ ضَلاَلاً بَعِيدًا)

“Have you seen those (hypocrites) who claim that they believe in that which has been sent down to you, and that which was sent down before you, and they wish to go for judgement (in their disputes) to the Taghut (false judges, etc), while they have been ordered to reject them. But Shaytan (satan) wishes to lead them far astray.” [TMQ 4:60]

(وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ) “And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the zaalimun (unjust, oppressors).” [TMQ 5:45]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Fatima Musab
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir