Dartmouth op-ed claims criticism of Qatar is 'Islamophobic'
An op-ed published in The Dartmouth claimed the criticism of Qatar during the recent World Cup was 'Islamophobic,' 'dehumanizing,' and 'Orientalist.'
Qatar was criticized leading up to and during the tournament for its record of human rights abuses.
A recent op-ed published in The Dartmouth, the student publication of the eponymous New Hampshire-based school, claimed that criticism levied against Qatar for its human rights violations is “Islamophobic.”
Ramsey Alsheikh, the author of the piece, proclaimed that “[c]enturies-old bigotries against Arabs and Muslims have resurfaced because a small Arab country found itself in a position of attention.”
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Qatar, the host country of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, was criticized leading up to and during the tournament for its record of human rights abuses.
The country has been condemned for a variety of reasons, including its treatment of migrant workers, limiting its citizens’ freedoms of expression and assembly, and its persecution of women and LGBT people.
Alsheikh recognizes that the country has some problems, but says that they are “completely misrepresented.”
He says, “In regards to sexual freedoms, in 2020 no LGBTQ Qataris suffered ‘arrests or prosecutions under the law,’” though no source is given to corroborate this claim.
Contrasting with Alsheikh’s claims are those of the Human Rights Watch, which cites documentation and interviews revealing that the country “arbitrarily arrested lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and subjected them to ill-treatment in detention” before hosting the World Cup.
Overall, Qatar was given a 25 out of 100 rating by Freedom House, an organization that researches and reports on freedom-related issues.
”While Qatari citizens are among the wealthiest in the world, most of the population consists of noncitizens with no political rights, few civil liberties, and limited access to economic opportunity,” Freedom House reports.
Alsheikh goes on to say that the West is “sitting on top of our legacies of colonialism and oppression” and needs to “treat Muslims like they’re human beings.”
However, nowhere in the piece does he mention the Qatari government’s treatment of non-Muslims, yet another issue for which the country has been criticized.
Christians in particular face harsh treatment. The World Watch List, which ranks “the 50 countries where Christians suffer very high or extreme levels of persecution,” designates Qatar at 34.
The List classifies the level of Christian persecution in Qatar as “Very High,” explaining that “Qatari believers who convert from Islam to Christianity are most vulnerable to persecution. They are considered apostates and face harassment from society and even risk being killed by their family.”
Dartmouth College, Ramsey Alsheikh, and The Dartmouth have all been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
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