Qatar World Cup: “Native and migrant Christians risk discrimination, harassment and police surveillance”

Oct 5, 2022 by Jill

from Evangelical Focus:

As everything gets ready for the largest football event, Christians pray to see a change in the absolutist emirate.

The 32 national teams who have won a ticket to the World Cup are ready. And Qatar celebrates being the first Arab country ever to organise the largest football event.

The FIFA World Cup 2022 (20 November-18 December) is around the corner. The stadiums are built, the fans have planned their trips to the emirate. But nobody misses a fact that is obvious: the competition will be played in an absolutist Islamic regime which openly neglects human rights.

For years now, human rights groups have denounced the deaths among foreign workers building the new stadiums. The rights of women and other social minority groups are also restricted.

The selection of Qatar as the hosting country of the quadrennial event has also been controversial. Accusations of corruption and money-laundering have been brought to the courts in Switzerland (where the FIFA has its headquarters).

But also religious freedom is very restricted in the Arabic emirate. Open Doors placed Qatar on number 18 of its World Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian (up from 29 in 2021). The persecution level is “very high” with “Islamic oppression, clan oppression and dictatorial paranoia”, the group defending Christians says.

Despite Islam being the main religion, deeply embedded in the governmental structure of this monarchy, one in ten living in Qatar is estimtated to be Christian. Most of them are migrant workers, coming from other countries in Asia.

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