The FIFA World Cup 2022 is well underway and many of its fans are watching the “Beautiful Game.” As many know, this year the World Cup is being held in Qatar and began two days ago.
Fans traveling to Qatar were surprised that, after years of assurances, just 48 hours before the beginning of the first game in Doha, Qatar announced a reversal of its decision about alcohol, banning beer at the eight stadiums that host World Cup games. The sale and consumption of alcohol is tightly regulated in deference to Islamic law. It is illegal to be drunk in public in Qatar with fines of around $800 (USD) along with a possible 6-month prison sentence.
To be fair, some countries like France, Spain, and Portugal limit beer sales in stadiums as well.
Lusial Stadium via FIFA World Cup [Facebook]
But beer access is far from the most serious of issues. The Qatari human rights record is.
The Guardian reported an analysis last year suggesting that 6,500 migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have died to bring the World Cup to Qatar. The New York Times reports, “At least 2,100 Nepali workers have died in Qatar since 2010, the year it won the World Cup hosting rights, according to data collated by Nepal’s labor ministry.”
In Germany, a vigil was held yesterday in Herne with 20,000 candles and 6,500 footballs filled with sand to remember the migrant workers who have died in Qatar.
“The soccer world championship has cost the lives of many thousands of people. They were treated like slaves and died of heat, exhaustion, or because of deficient safety precautions,” said Volker-Johannes Trieb, the artist organizing the vigil.
“The life of migrant workers is more important than any profit. With our action, we want to appeal to the conscience of the football world and remind it of the atrocities that have occurred in the run-up to the world championship,” added Michael Scheffler, the chairman of the local workers’ welfare agency that helped co-organize the remembrance.
“Sports events must never again be handed to hosts that violate fundamental rights,” said Scheffler.
The conservative Muslim Qatari government disputes the claims. It also insists that it is an inclusive nation and that everyone is welcome. In a statement, it said “Everyone is welcome in Qatar,” adding that “Our track record has shown that we have warmly welcomed all people regardless of background.”
Perhaps, but the evidence is to the contrary, and certainly members of the Pagan community traveling to Qatar for the World Cup or other reasons should be aware of important restrictions.
First, any public displays of affection between men and women can result in arrest. Holding hands is ok, but not kissing or hugging in public. It doesn’t matter if you are married. FIFA says otherwise.
Second, male homosexuality, or perhaps better stated, acts of male homosexuality are illegal in Qatar. The punishment can be up to three years in prison and a fine. The possibility of a death penalty exists under sharia law for Muslims; however, there are no known cases where the death penalty has been enforced. Cross-dressing is viewed negatively and has been referred to as a “serious menace to society.”
FIFA, the governing sports body of the event, has also been asserting its rules in a manner consistent with Qatari concerns. Just a few hours before players took the field with “One Love” armbands to rebuke the host nation’s human rights record, World Cup teams were told by FIFA that their use would result in players receiving a yellow card, two of which would mean expulsion from the games.
Sports journalist, and CBS soccer analyst, Grant Wahl who is also the host of “Fútbol with Grant Wahl” was detained while wearing a rainbow flag t-shirt and he was immediately detained by security at the entrance of a stadium. Wahl says he was told the rainbow flag is a political statement and they demanded that he remove his shirt before entering the statement.
According to Qatar’s Tourism Authority, visitors to the country should not wear clothing that would expose shoulders or knees, being shirtless would be such a violation.
Wahl reports his phone was confiscated for 30 minutes and then made to stand facing the front of a CCTV camera. Wahls says that after 30 minutes a commander did appear and allow him to enter the stadium. Wahl says the commander apologized as did FIFA.
Wahl says he plans to wear his shirt again. He said speaking with CNN, “I was thinking the entire time, like, if I am being treated this way during the World Cup when the attention of the world is on Qatar and I’m an American who has a pretty prominent media following. Imagine how gay people in Qatar outside of World Cups must feel or what they must endure.”
He added, “that’s a lot to think about.”
Free to read: What happened when Qatar World Cup security detained me for 25 minutes for wearing a t-shirt supporting LGBTQ rights, forcibly took my phone and angrily demanded that I remove my t-shirt to enter the stadium. (I refused.) Story: https://t.co/JKpXXETDkH pic.twitter.com/HEjr0xzxU5
— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) November 21, 2022
Third, many drugs, even medicinal ones, are illegal. That includes his includes possession of marijuana/THC, CBD products, and vape products according to the U.S. State Department. There are also significant restrictions on medications such as stimulants, anxiety treatments, and strong pain management medications. The U.S. State Department advises travelers to Qatar to check the list of banned substances before arriving there.
Qatar’s neighbor, Saudi Arabia, which just upset Argentina in the World Cup, has a religious police department that enforces its penal code with severe consequences for the practice of Witchcraft which includes the death penalty. It has executed 4 people in the last ten years for suspicion of Witchcraft. Since the Word Cup began in Qatar and with the world’s attention on soccer, Saudi Arabia has also executed by beheading 17 men on drug offenses sparking condemnation from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Fourth, Qatar offers no legal guarantee of press freedom or freedom of expression. The U.S. State Department notes that anyone convicted of “defaming, desecrating, or committing blasphemy” against Islam, Christianity, or Judaism could face a prison sentence of up to seven years, and public worship by non-Islamic faiths and atheism are illegal. That includes all traditions within Paganism, evoking the historical forced Islamization of native Arabian Pagans during the spread of the Muslim faith.
As for Witchcraft, the Qatari penal code includes a provision that punishes witchcraft with a prison sentence of three to 15 years and/or a maximum fine of QR200,000 (QAR) about $55,000 (USD).
The State Department also adds that Islam and Christianity are the only religions officially registered in Qatar that are allowed to have their own places of worship. Others experience varying levels of discrimination.
The Baha’i International Community, for example, said earlier this year that it was “extremely concerned” by “systematic attempts over many years” by the government to blacklist and deport Baha’is. Nevertheless, Christians- and other faiths sharing their traditions- are admonished that proselytizing away from Islam can result in imprisonment, deportation, and death.
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