Al-Qaeda and regional affiliate al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) both published messages this weekend condemning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, accusing the Islamist nation of attracting immoral people, homosexuals, sowers of corruption and atheism to the Middle East.
Both messages, one from the regional entity and one from the greater organization, omitted any specific threat to attack the soccer tournament, considered one of the most popular and prestigious sporting events in the world. The al-Qaeda statement, according to some translations, suggested Muslims in Qatar should stoneharam visitors.
Al-Qaeda is a Sunni jihadist terrorist organization most famous for its role in the execution of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the American homeland. While for some time working under the shadow of the Islamic State, a former affiliate, its wing on the Arabian Peninsula has greatly benefited from the nearly eight-year-old civil war in Yemen.
The lack of direct threat to infrastructure or populated events in Qatar may be the result of that countrys longstanding friendships with Sunni jihadist organizations. American officials have long accused Qatari officials of protecting al-Qaeda terrorists, including some implicated in the September 11 attacks. The Taliban, currently the de facto government of Afghanistan, maintained a political office in Qatar throughout the 20-year Afghan War that it used to negotiate with America. Qatar has also supported the Muslim Brotherhood, a jihadist political party with a militant wing, and faced legal claims in response to allegations that it supported al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria the Nusra Front.
While, for much of the world, FIFA granting Qatar authority to host the 2022 World Cup was met with outrage over its Islamist legal code and rampant documented human rights abuses, particularly against women and people the regime identifies as LGBT, al-Qaeda complained that Qatar was inviting too many immoral people into the Middle East by hosting the event.
We warn our Muslim brothers from following this event or attending it, a statement published this weekend before the event began on Sunday read, attributed to AQAP. The message complained that Qatar had attracted immoral people, homosexuals, sowers of corruption and atheism into the Arabian Peninsula.
On Sunday, multiple sources including the SITE Intelligence Group monitor and France 24 journalist Wassim Nasr reported that the greater al-Qaeda organization had published another statement claiming the soccer tournament was a pornographic campaign against the peninsula of Mohammed.
The statement, according to an unverified translation by the BritishDaily Star, claimed that Zionist-Crusaders were using soccer to launch an invasion of the Arabian Peninsula.
Their acts are alien to our conservative societies and our Muslim peoples. Only they [Muslims] can do their jobs by stoning them, the terrorists allegedly advised.
Jihadists attacking Qatar for not conducting a sufficiently fundamentalist World Cup is the latest in years of criticisms of the country as an inappropriate venue for the soccer tournament, beginning with widespread concerns that Qatar was abusing, and in some cases killing, migrant workers to meet the deadlines for constructing necessary venues by 2022. In 2016, one study estimated that as many as 60 percent of people in Qatar lived in highly monitored labor camps, many of them foreigners lured into the country from impoverished areas of Southeast Asia and then trapped by the confiscation of their passports. Human rights organizations have compiled complaints from workers who say employers do not pay their salaries and threatened to deport them if they complain. A report published last year by the British newspaper theGuardianfound that at least 6,500 people died building World Cup stadiums and other facilities.
Qatar is also notoriously abusive towards gay people, suspected LGBT people, and women generally. In a report published this month, interviews with victims of the Qatari criminal system revealed beatings, abuse, and even gang rape at the hands of Qatari police officers for attempting to meet up with same-sex partners for dates. No reports indicate that al-Qaeda issued any statements of approval or addressed Qatars abuse against gay people in its rants about the World Cup inviting homosexuality to the region.
Western free governments have warned fans and tourists traveling to the World Cup that a wide variety of legal behavior in their home countries such as drinking alcohol, eating pork, or possessing sex toys could result in their arrest in Qatar. Religious books, presumably non-Islamic materials, could also result in arrest.
Qatar has alsofaced longstanding accusations, including formal criminal investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, that it bribed FIFA for hosting rights.
Qatari leaders have responded to global disgust with its government by accusing detractors of racism. Labor Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri used the word racism directly in response to the criticism in an interview with the AFP this month.
They dont want to allow a small country, an Arab country, an Islamic country, to organize the World Cup, he said.
Then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter also accused a great deal of discrimination and racism for the criticism and accusations of bribery in 2015, but he has since called allowing Qatar to host a mistake.
The Emir of QatarSheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani called concerns about human rights in his country an unprecedented campaign to tarnish the image of his country in October.
Since we won the honour of hosting the World Cup, Qatar has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign that no host country has ever faced, the emir said. We initially dealt with the matter in good faith, and even considered that some criticism was positive and useful, helping us to develop aspects of ours that need to be developed.
But it soon became clear to us, he concluded, that the campaign continues, expands and includes fabrication and double standards, until it reached a level of ferocity that made many question, unfortunately, about the real reasons and motives behind this campaign.
Follow Frances Martel onFacebookandTwitter.
Read more from the original source:
Al-Qaeda: Islamist Qatar Bringing 'Homosexuals,' 'Atheism' to Middle ...
- Richard Dawkins has some regrets - Washington Examiner - April 2nd, 2024 [April 2nd, 2024]
- Keeping the faith: These religious groups are flourishing as atheism takes hold - The Age - April 2nd, 2024 [April 2nd, 2024]
- Pew study paints a picture of the average US atheist - Aleteia - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- 'There's No Science Behind That': Actor Rob Schneider Passionately Checkmates 'Bleak' Worldview Within Atheism - CBN.com - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Atheists Find God at the Latin Mass: A Review of Mass of the Ages - CatholicCitizens.org - Catholic Citizens of Illinois - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Is atheism destroying the moral fabric of society? - Big Think - July 21st, 2023 [July 21st, 2023]
- The Logic of Faith - Adventist Review - July 21st, 2023 [July 21st, 2023]
- Change of plans - USC News & Events - University of South Carolina - July 21st, 2023 [July 21st, 2023]
- 71 Years Later, The Weirdest Religion in Sci-Fi History Is Back - Inverse - July 21st, 2023 [July 21st, 2023]
- Twitter taught Microsofts AI chatbot to be a racist asshole in less ... - January 2nd, 2023 [January 2nd, 2023]
- His View: Fear not the atheist; they just might be right - Moscow-Pullman Daily News - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Vatican II and the Rise of Atheism - National Catholic Register - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Atheists who believe in ghosts - OnlySky - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Religion at the Chinese Communist Party Congress: Christians Told They Should Become More Marxist - Bitter Winter - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- The Rise And Fall Of Sexual Sanity In Western Civilization - The Federalist - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Duchess of York, Sarah Fergie Ferguson, is 63 - iHeart - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- On the short life and sudden death of Soviet atheism - OnlySky - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Darwin and the New Atheists - Discovery Institute - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Researchers to explore why atheism is growing across the world - Newswise - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Census Northern Ireland: Academic gives warning over figures showing rise in atheism - Belfast News Letter - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- The Rise of the Evangelical Heretic - ChristianityToday.com - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Antitheism - Wikipedia - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Biden's global initiative to replace Christianity with atheism faces ... - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Researchers to explore why atheism is growing across the world - Brunel University News - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Functional atheism: Popular pastor delivers gut-check on what worry really reveals - The Christian Post - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Why did Britney Spears turn to atheism and Shia LaBeouf to faith? | Opinion - Deseret News - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Someone who seeks the truth finds God Catholic World Report - Catholic World Report - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- On Religion: The faith questions that haunted the life of Gorbachev - GoDanRiver.com - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Atheism and Recovery What if I didn't have a mental illness? - Freethought Blogs - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Whatever Happened to Atheists? | Gene Veith - Patheos - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Four Very Short Introductions podcast episodes to get you thinking | OUPblog - OUPblog - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- BookLash: Are the cold, hard realities found within Bridge to Terabithia not for young, innocent minds? - The Wood Word - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- ABS to consult on religious classifications - The Mandarin - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- In defense of the Bible - iHeartRadio - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Mubarak Bala: Atheist Activism And Liberation From Religious Oppression In Nigeria By Leo Igwe - SaharaReporters.com - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Between Grace and Nature - The American Conservative - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Religious and spiritual practices may improve mental health in older adults - 2 Minute Medicine - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- If You Meet Richard Dawkins On The Road... - Daily Kos - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Why the World's Religions Are Dying a Slow Death - The National Interest Online - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Atheism still not always easy in the Netherlands - DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Believing Is Bad for You: At the Museum of Russian Icons, Images of Atheism - The Boston Globe - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- If You Meet the Buddha on the Road... Kill Him. - Daily Kos - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Hart's Turn To Heterodoxy | Gerald McDermott - First Things - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- For natural theologians, proving God was beside the point - Aeon - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Patrick Berg, MD To Speak On The Origin Of Life At Los Alamos Faith & Science Forum Wednesday - Los Alamos Reporter - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Head of gold and feet of clay - Deccan Herald - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Letter to the editor: LGBTQ+ students represented in Mt. Lebanon - TribLIVE - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Supreme Court ruling leads to jokes about the Church of Satan - indy100 - June 26th, 2022 [June 26th, 2022]
- Inside Amber Heards childhood, journey to atheism and early acting career - HITC - Football, Gaming, Movies, TV, Music - May 28th, 2022 [May 28th, 2022]
- Reason and Religion Go Hand in Hand Especially Paganism - Patheos - May 28th, 2022 [May 28th, 2022]
- Letter to the Editor: Find Out for Yourself What College Students Are Learning - Centralia Chronicle - May 28th, 2022 [May 28th, 2022]
- Meyer: Theistic Implications of the Multiverse - Discovery Institute - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Denton: How Science Leads the Charge to Theism - Discovery Institute - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- The Musician Who Gave Me the City and Stars, Vangelis, Is Dead - TheStranger.com - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Gospel in Art: If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you | ICN - Independent Catholic News - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Summer reading suggestions from Baylor Family authors - Baylor University - May 21st, 2022 [May 21st, 2022]
- Tired of the Media Promoting Atheism as Science? - Discovery Institute - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- The rise of 'apatheism' and what it means for Christians and the Gospel - The Christian Post - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- Images Of Atheism: The Soviet Assault On ReligionAntiques And The Arts Weekly - Antiques and the Arts Online - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Imagine Theres No Svarga: Rediscovering Crvka, Indias 2,700-Year-Old Atheistic Tradition - Quillette - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Confucianism: Atheism or Religion? 2. In Search of Confucius - Bitter Winter - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Why Elon Musk's ambition to have Twitter authenticate all real humans will get people killed - Rest of World - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Floyd Dell's illustrious writing career started in Quincy - Herald-Whig - May 7th, 2022 [May 7th, 2022]
- Exorcisms: Giving Witness to the Resurrection - Relevant Radio - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- The Answer to Ayla's prayer - The Catholic Weekly - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- Book Review: Can Scientists Be Religious? The Wire Science - The Wire Science - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- Spain: Atheism and agnosticism on the rise in pandemic times - Evangelical Focus - April 22nd, 2022 [April 22nd, 2022]
- Atheists, spurred by growing ranks, gather for first time since start of pandemic - Religion News Service - April 22nd, 2022 [April 22nd, 2022]
- Stephen Meyer: Totalitarian Dystopias and the God Hypothesis - Discovery Institute - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- Suzanne Harrington: It's refreshing that no religion is acknowledged on the census - Irish Examiner - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- The trial of Anaxagoras: a soliloquy - TheArticle - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- Faith, Science, and Francis Collins - The New Yorker - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- EDITORIAL: On Russia, the ANC shows its moral atheism - BusinessLIVE - March 4th, 2022 [March 4th, 2022]
- Invasion of Ukraine and Russian literature III - MM News - March 4th, 2022 [March 4th, 2022]
- Percentage Of Atheists In America By State - WorldAtlas - February 28th, 2022 [February 28th, 2022]
- Atheism in China: How the Communist Party Proves that God Does Not Exist - Bitterwinter.org - February 28th, 2022 [February 28th, 2022]
- China: The 2022 Olympics and Scientific Atheism - FSSPX.Actualits - FSSPX.News - February 28th, 2022 [February 28th, 2022]
- Studying Abroad: 'Encountering God as an Atheist' | Features | valpotorch.com - The Torch - February 28th, 2022 [February 28th, 2022]
- Why I Am Catholic Will Herrmann - TheCatholicSpirit.com - The Catholic Spirit - February 28th, 2022 [February 28th, 2022]
- Conversations with Friends: plot, cast and everything you need to know - Time Out - February 28th, 2022 [February 28th, 2022]