By Sara Ghanawi | Staff Writer
Ever since Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, an enormous amount of criticism and doubt started circulating in the West. Football became a backup player and politics turned out to be the man of the match. Racism, orientalism, and the hypocrisy of the West started targeting the first Arab and Middle Eastern country to ever host the World Cup. To the point that people are calling out for boycotting the World Cup with racist rhetoric that has never been witnessed before.
To make things clear, Qatar is guilty of its systematic abuse of labor. Migrant workers were put in ravaging conditions while building the stadiums and infrastructure of one of, if not the most expensive World Cups ever. The whole luxurious tournament wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, with some reports estimating that around 6500 of them died in the process. That isn’t a number you can read without getting outrageous and acknowledging that this is a crime against humanity. Not to mention Qatar’s poor track record on LGBTQAI+ members and women’s rights.
However, when criticism comes from Western countries, one would naturally question if it’s about human rights or if it is just their arrogance and moral superiority speaking for them. Arguments against Qatar are rightful, but most of them ignore the history of human rights abuses in countries that seemed to get no backlash at all when hosting worldwide events.
Kicking off the examples with non-other than the settler colonialist: Israel. Despite its continuous oppression of Palestinians, ethnic cleansing, and systematic genocide, Israel got to host the Eurovision in 2019 and Miss Universe in 2022.
In 2022 as well, China hosted the Winter Olympics in Beijing despite that it has been committing a series of human rights abuses towards the minority ethnic group, the Uyghurs, most of whom are Muslims. China is accused of genocide and interning more than 1 million Uyghurs in concentration camps. Yet Western media turned a blind eye to that.
France, another country that is infamous for its Islamophobic laws will be hosting the Olympics in the summer of 2024. Islamophobia and prejudice against Muslims are casually expressed in France by public officials. Muslim women are banned, by French law, from wearing the hijab in numerous areas in society.
You can by now clearly notice a pattern of who are the groups on the oppressed side of the equation. Arabs, Muslims, and minorities have always been subjected to racism, prejudice, and discrimination. And just when an Arab country got the chance to host a prestigious event, the West didn’t leave it alone either. They perpetuated their racist rhetoric by regarding sports as merely Western-centric and refusing to accept the rules of the hosting country.
Will we see the same activism when the US hosts the 2026 World Cup? Will American journalists call for boycotting the World Cup then? Probably not, although they probably know about their country’s numerous human rights violations. From their invasion of countries like Iraq and establishment of military bases there that only serve them, to their abortion restriction laws, the US government should be dealing with its egregious problems before pointing fingers. Not to mention that around 240 bills introduced in the US during this year only clearly roll back the rights of the LGBTQ community.
Stopping rightful accusations against Qatar isn’t the aim but pointing out that Western countries aren’t setting a better example is. The outrage against this World Cup reflects the deeply rooted racism, islamophobia, and anti-Arab sentiments. Because not only is Qatar being criticized for its human rights violations, but also ridiculed for its traditions and customs. A Fox News journalist posted a video on TikTok sarcastically talking about the separate entrances for men and women in the Qatar stadiums. Another topic of outrage is the banning of alcohol in stadiums. Qatar is trying its best to balance between preserving its conservative societal norms and making fans that came from across the globe have a positive experience. Yet, it seems like Western media is intolerant of the set principles and culture of the country.
BBC news didn’t even air the opening ceremony of the World Cup, although they did broadcast that of the Olympics in China. Most of the people who watched the Qatar opening ceremony would agree that it communicated only powerful messages of unity. Qatar astoundingly gave the premiere an Arab flavor with Middle Eastern instrumentals, Quranic verses, and even the extent of bringing camels into the stadium. This must have conveyed a clear message of the pride Arabs have in their culture and how they can simultaneously be prestigious.
The World Cup is one of the few events that bring people together and makes the world interconnected. That doesn’t make it any less of an opportunity to criticize systematic racism and human rights violations that are internalized in the world’s systems. At the same time, double standards and performative activism should be always called out. Qatar is not an angel, but let’s not act as if it’s the only devil.