Qatar likes to present itself as a beacon of modern Islam: pious, tolerant, and outward-looking. The reality, as proved by its introduction of a new speech ban, falls a little short.
As Human Rights Watch notes, “The new text does not define who determines what is a rumor or fake news, how to make such a determination, or what standards are to be used in doing so. It also fails to require that the information shared causes real harm to a legitimate interest.”
The law speaks to the reality of Qatar under Emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani. This is an authoritarian regime obsessed only with its own surety of power.
True, this dynamic is far from regionally unique to Qatar. Iran wantonly slaughters its own people. Readers might also point out that Qatar’s arch-Sunni competitor, Saudi Arabia, isn’t exactly an Amnesty International model.
But when he’s not hacking Jeff Bezos’s phone or hacking up dissidents, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is slowly expanding citizen rights. Salman’s interest rests in ensuring the House of Saud’s stability more than in serving human rights, but his action is welcome nonetheless. Unlike Qatar, Saudi Arabia is a generally constructive ally in counterterrorism.
Moreover, Qatar’s human rights challenges don’t begin and end with the speech restrictions. Not by a long shot.
Take the 2022 World Cup. Qatar’s hosting of soccer’s preeminent tournament was bought with bribes, and its stadiums built with slave labor. But even now, after years of international scrutiny over its detention and maltreatment of migrant workers, Qatar continues to abuse them. Qatar does so because it believes it can get away with doing so. And it is right.
The regime has learned that it only needs to pass laws defending human rights, then systemically ignore those laws. As proved by Qatar’s negotiations with former England soccer star David Beckham, its dollars abroad paper over its rights record.
But we shouldn’t delude ourselves. As the World Cup approaches, Qatar continues to view values of freedom as something to be trampled on a whim.
