Qatar’s Loudest Fans Aren’t from Qatar
This is a difficult question to answer succinctly. Some readers may see this as a question about the “culture” of Qatar, but really it’s more a question of audience.
If you are going to build a community, you’ve got to reach out to people from across the world. To do this, you have to build bridges. In recent years, the international media have been portraying Qatar as an important and influential force in the Middle East and beyond, even as a hub for terrorism. They have also described Qatari citizens as “angry young men”, and as having “no shame.” They have portrayed Qataris as having “a love for the spotlight”, and as having “an obsession with winning a World Cup.”
The problem with this is that Qataris are not like these media images. Qataris aren’t “angry young men”, nor have they been “seduced” by the media, nor do they “love the spotlight”, nor do they have an “obsession with winning a World Cup.” Instead, Qataris are ordinary people who love their country, and who like many other citizens of the Muslim world love to watch, and take pride in what they do well.
Qataris love to watch Qataris.
Qatar has a healthy media ecosystem, and Qatari media stars dominate the airwaves. But many Qatari citizens have a great love for the good things in life that they do well. For them, the airwaves and the world beyond do not exist, and do not exist only to build their brands. If we do not build bridges, how will we ever get past a few generations of Qataris who love the good things they do well, and who want to build bridges?
Qatari citizens are ordinary people who love their country, and like many other citizens of the Muslim world love to watch, and take pride in what they do well.
The truth of the matter is that Qatar is doing everything it
