Thursday 9 December 2010

Qatar’s flawed FIFA 2022 Vision & Silly Yusuf al-Qaradawi's Silly Thoughts

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Egyptian scholar says 2022 result dealt blow to US, Qatar’s World Cup triumph victory for Islam: cleric


Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Plus*) said Qatar defeated the United States by winning the 2022 World Cup
DOHA (Iyad al-Delimi)

As Qataris celebrate their success in the 2022 World Cup bid and media outlets offer extensive coverage of the Gulf nation’s historic achievement, Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi saw this triumph as a victory for Muslims worldwide over the United States.

The FIFA announcement that Qatar is awarded hosting the 2022 World Cup represents the first time a Muslim country defeats the United States, the Doha-based Egyptian scholar and Islamic lecturer Yusuf al-Qaradawi said in his last Friday sermon.
  Qatar’s triumph is like a slap on the face of the United States and the proof is President Obama’s statements about how choosing Qatar was a mistake  
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi
“Qatar’s triumph is like a slap on the face of the United States and the proof is President Obama’s statements about how choosing Qatar was a mistake,” he told Muslim worshippers Friday.

Qaradawi explained that the United States objection to awarding Qatar the 2022 World Cup demonstrates how the superpower wants to monopolize all world renowned events and exclude the Arab world.

“The United States wants to brush Arabs aside in all fields, whether military or economic or even sports.”

He added that the determination of Qataris to win the vote encouraged him to follow the updates on the Qatari file.

“I sat in front of the screen and waited for the results like all Qataris did.”

Qaradawi expressed his admiration for Qatar’s ability to face fierce competition and the implications of this triumph for the entire region.

“This victory makes the Middle East rebel against marginalization because it is the cradle of civilizations and the place where religions started.”

Despite not being generally interested in football and believing that people should care about more important issues, Qaradawi sees the victory as a symbol of Arab and Muslim perseverance as well as the possibility of defeating superpowers.

“That is why I wanted Qatar to win and at that time I wished the United States would eventually fail,” he concluded.

Advertisement market prospers

Qataris have been celebrating since announcement of results
Qataris have been celebrating since announcement of results
Companies in Qatar, both local and international, reacted to the victory with numerous congratulations messages in several Qatari media outlets. This made newspapers and magazines increase the number of their pages as well as print extra editions to find space for all the advertisements.

According to al-Watan newspaper, all Friday issues were sold out and the number of pages for each issue reached 172, most of which were booked for congrats ads.

Al-Raya newspaper, which reached 160 pages, had the lion’s share with 100 pages of advertisements, followed by al-Sharq newspaper with 70 pages, then al-Watan and al-Arab.

For the first time in its history, al-Sharq newspaper issued a night edition on the day the World Cup vote results were announced in order to make sure the event receives full coverage.

All Qatari newspapers issued on Friday and Saturday were sold out during the early hours of the morning despite the weekend, as many Qatari tried to collect as many newspapers as possible to keep them as a souvenir.

The announcement of Qatar’s triumph coincided with preparations for the country’s National Day, which falls on December 18.

Qataris are now all the more enthusiastic to continue reveling as they celebrate the founding of their nation as well as the day they put the Middle East on the sports map. (Alarabiya)

Versus....!


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Qatar’s flawed 2022 Vision

It hasn’t been a good week if you are an Arab ruler. Wikileaks exposed the subservience of the Arab leaders to the West and their contempt for the Muslims. While Thursday’s announcement that Qatar will stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup may have brought a smile or two, the news was slightly overshadowed by England’s humiliation in losing the 2018 bid, but Qatar will be the first Muslim country to host the tournament.


Qatar beat other bids from Australia, Japan and South Korea and America to secure the tournament. The veiled xenophobia at Qatar hosting the tournament has already begun – its going to be too hot, too alcohol free and too football-yob unfriendly to warrant going anywhere near the place. One has to remember there remains 12 long years between now and the start of the tournament, Qatar still has time to sell it’s soul to appease the Western football fan. Qatar is well known already for being the home of Al-Jazeera and the Al Udeid Air Base which is used by the Americans to aid it’s global ‘War on Terror’, so who says Qatar doesn’t know how to accommodate foreigners.
Hosting the tournament won’t be cheap, millions have already been spent just to secure the tournament with reports suggesting the former French footballer Zindine Zidane was paid £15 million to front Qatar’s bid.
Qatar will build 12 stadiums, a brand new 50 million passenger airport, a high speed rail link and a satellite city capable of housing 200,000 people. High tech solar-powered cooling systems will ensure both pitch and stadium temperatures will be kept down to 27ºC. The infrastructure changes alone will cost the emirate nearly $43 Billion.
It has been hailed as victory for the whole of the Middle East, showing FIFA’s daring to gamble on taking the tournament to a new part of the world. Just like the tournament earlier this year in South Africa and the Commonwealth games in India hosting a major sporting tournament is almost seen as a rights of passage for any developing country. The abundance of oil money in the Gulf sates means they are not unnoticed in the wider world, whether it be for their mile tall Skyscrapers, their super rich elite or their bailing out of the British banks, they are firmly part of the glitterati of the world.
However the oil wealth of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which comprises Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman is matched in equally high levels of poverty in other parts of the Middle East, such as Yemen. Yemen sits on the border of the largest oil supplier in the region Saudi Arabia, however it has some of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, especially amongst the under fives. It is the old story of the haves and have nots.
No one can doubt the wealth the GCC countries have, the sheer audacity of the Qatari bid would put many struggling Western economies to shame, it is equally clear that this wealth is not always put to the best use. The Oil that is the source of this wealth, could easily become the saviour for many Muslims in the world, all that is needed is a clear vision. It must not be forgotten that this wealth is not the sole property of a ruling family or a country but it belongs to the whole ummah.
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said “Muslims are partners in three things: in water, pastures and fire”reported by Abu Dawud. This means the Billions of dollars earned every year from Oil and Gas sales in the GCC belongs to the whole Ummah.
The distribution of wealth to the most needy is a fundamental part of the Islam, The messenger of Allah (SAW) said,“The Son of Adam has no better right than that he would have a house wherein he may live, a piece of clothing whereby he may hide his nakedness and a piece of bread and some water.” [Tirmidhi]
Surely this wealth would be much better spent on the many millions of Muslims who need it more than the football fans of the world. There are numerous examples from the Islamic history as to how the Caliphs distributed the available resources for the benefit of the Muslims. The Caliph Umar Bin Abdul Aziz ensured that the needy did not go without food by distributing wealth and abolishing unjust taxes. His methods were such a success that when it came to time to distribute the Zakat, the state could not find anyone in need of it.
The rule of the Muslim world under the Islamic Khilafah is littered with examples of the alleviation of suffering a just system can produce. The Muslims of Qatar and the world need to just look beyond organised distractions and use the abundant wealth and resources at their disposal to be the standard bearers to the rest of the world, not only in football stadia but in every aspect of life. (HTB)
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