By Mohammad El Sahliy | Staff Writer
Ever since Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup this year, a flurry of criticism has been directed at FIFA, Qatar, and almost all European teams participating. In the process of hosting the World Cup, Qatar has imposed a number of restrictions which directly affected alcohol sale and consumption, LGBT representation, and even attire for incoming participants. Never has the world cup’s audience been exposed to such restrictions, and the global outcry has led to calls for boycotting the world cup. The dominant question remains whether we ought to boycott the world cup or not.
The first main criticism towards the World Cup is Qatar’s notorious human rights record and how it dealt with the migrant workers who helped build the stadiums. Migrant workers in Qatar are subjected to the most horrendous working conditions: little to no pay, seizure of travel documents, terrible living conditions, and grueling work schedules. Thousands of workers have perished in the past few years, mostly while working. This was documented by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, as part of modern day slavery disguised by a “guardianship” system which is used to exploit cheap labor for construction in very inhumane working conditions.
Another argument stems from Qatar allowing Israelis to attend the World Cup as normal tourists, with flights going directly between Doha and Tel Aviv. Qatar has been the primary supporter of Hamas and other Islamist movements fighting Israel, and the move was seen by some as “betrayal” of this longstanding support and therefore cause for boycott. However, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign did not condemn the hosting of Israelis, and many activists instead urged Arabs to shed light on Israeli atrocities and magnify the Palestinian cause, especially by raising flags of Palestine during several matches in the tournament.
So, what should we do? Qatar is a nation with a track record of human rights violations, and the seeming tolerance of Israelis visiting is certainly hypocritical. But does this warrant a boycott? Is Qatar the only nation-in the region or elsewhere-with such practices? Of course not. Therefore, to hold Qatar solely responsible for the moral ills of the world is exaggeration and hypocrisy, whereby the exact same practices are ignored if they come from another country. France enforces a Hijab ban in public spaces and universities, which is barbaric behavior that violates women’s rights of dress and religious expression.
However, this is not to absolve Qatar of its misdeeds, nor is the World Cup a moral exemption card. As a supporter of Islamist and subversive movements around the world, Qatar wields a great deal of soft power. The Qatar-funded Al-Jazeera, and AJ+ media outlets are some of the strongest tools pushing Islamic propaganda and media to people all around the world. One cannot assume that Qatar won’t use the world cup and the global attention it’ll get from it to advance its long term goals, and try to whitewash its image in the minds of incoming Western visitors.
In summary, moral imperatives regarding the World Cup are not constructive, nor do they provide an accurate portrayal of the status quo in Qatar. If you want to send a message regarding human rights abuses, go ahead and boycott. If not, attend and cheer for your team. But neither one of these stances is morally superior to the other, nor should the choice of one stance be cause for moral pontification and shaming. Russia has hosted the previous world cup, and it was not campaigned against this ferociously. One can enjoy sports and still maintain a morally sound stance against human rights violations.