On Tuesday, Qatar which is all set to host this year’s Football World Cup slammed a cartoon published by a French satirical newspaper showing Qatari football players as terrorists. The caricature has sparked outrage on social media with many Qatari users calling it ‘racist and Islamophobic’.
According to the reports, the cartoon was published by a French newspaper named Le Canard enchainé in its October issue. The image specifically focused on Qatar and its role as the host of the FIFA World Cup 2022. The Qatari users on social media slammed the cartoon and also questioned the ethics of the publication for illustrating a derogatory depiction of racism, supremacy, and Islamophobia.
The image published by the French newspaper shows seven bearded men with “Qatar” emblazoned across their shirts above large numerals. They appear to be playing football through the dunes, armed with machetes, rifles, and rocket launchers. One can also be seen wearing an explosive belt. Five are dressed in blue robes, while the other two are dressed in black shirts and trousers with black masks concealing their faces, resembling ISIS terrorists. Five guys in white robes stand on the sidelines, watching the game.
One of the enraged users criticized the publication and said, “Le Canard Enchaîné published a despicable cartoon showing its blatant racism and hatred of Islam. They describe Qatar as an authoritarian emirate and its national team as terrorists”.
One of the enraged users criticized the publication and said, “Le Canard Enchaîné published a despicable cartoon showing its blatant racism and hatred of Islam. They describe Qatar as an authoritarian emirate and its national team as terrorists”.
“A special issue issued by the French newspaper Cannar Enchaine about Qatar. You cannot imagine the extent of the hidden French hatred, contempt and insult to Qatar, its people, its government and its symbols. I wonder why the Qatari ambassador is still in Paris”, another user tweeted.
Meanwhile, Hamad Al-Kawari, a minister of state and the president of Qatar’s National Library also took cognizance of the incident and asked France to show some sportsmanship. “Even caustic satire is welcome!!! But the Canard Enchaîné decided to resort to lies, hatred and grudges to attack Qatar and denigrate it,” he tweeted.
Earlier last month, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had criticizedan ‘unprecedented campaign’ of criticisms against the country ahead of the World Cup. “It became clear to us that the campaign continues, expands, and includes fabrication and double standards until it reached a level of ferocity that made many questions, unfortunately, the real reasons and motives behind this campaign”, he had said. He also added that no other country had faced this level of criticism in the past.
He also slammed several Western countries like Germany on November 8 after they called for a boycott of the upcoming event in the Arab country for its position on LGBTQ+ rights and use of ‘slave labor’. “It is ironic when this tone is struck in countries in Europe that call themselves liberal democracies. It honestly sounds very arrogant and very racist,” the minister was quoted as saying to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Reports mention that several cities in France, including the capital Paris, will not broadcast World Cup matches, citing concerns about migrant workers’ rights and the game’s impact on the environment. Qatar’s management of migrant workers and human rights record have been under question since the country has been given the privilege to organize the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Recently, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused Germany of ‘double standards’over the reports of criticism for the country being allowed to host the World Cup. He also reminded the people that the European countries have no problem with Qatar when it comes to energy partnerships or investments.
Qatar won the right to host the summer World Cup in December 2010 against all odds in 50 degrees celsius temperature, before FIFA moved the World Cup to winter for the first time in history to protect players from that heat. The tournament will now be held in the small Arabian country and about 1.2 million international visitors are expected in Qatar during the Nov 20- Dec 18 tournament.
It is notable here that Qatar has been linked with Islamic terrorism and has been accused of spreading Wahabism by many sources. Its links to numerous organisations that fund the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Al Qaeda etc have been highlighted in recent times.