A background to present day Qatari society

These notes were begun over thirty years ago and have been added to piecemeal since then – as has much of this site. The majority of notes have been made based on experience I have had in Qatar over a long period of time, and also from research made later. But I am less at ease with some of the aspects I have written about here as I can see there are a number of areas that need expanding for better understanding, others requiring introduction, and some of which I am a little unsure of but have left in as I wish to clarify them. There has been change in the region which has affected some issues, and I suspect there will be disagreement with some of the points I have made. The notes are placed here so that I will be encouraged to continue working on them and not let them sit in my papers unable to see the light of day.

I should also add that there are likely to be notes on other pages of this site that duplicate the notes here. At some time I will attempt to re-structure them. My main concern is that I don’t write conflicting versions of the same subject.

Present Qatari society is based upon the traditional systems that have been described elsewhere. Essentially, the society represents an evolved tribal form that owes much to structures that have been imposed upon it through a number of influences relating mostly to Britain and its administration of the foreign territories under its control or persuasion. This can be seen particularly in its developed administrative and institutional frameworks, either directly or indirectly.

The traditional society referred to dates back to pre-Islamic times and applies not just to the Qatar peninsula but to the whole of the Arabian peninsula. Many of the families in Qatar are related to families in other parts of the area and the families, or tribes, are the largest social institution remaining in the area. The importance of this is that many of the traditional rights and customs still obtain in Qatar and, or course, elsewhere in the region.

Societies develop their initial institutions as a result of internal and external pressures developing within or placed upon them. However, there are a number of difficulties in examining the various elements of the developed society as the extent to which each element develops does not necessarily reflect the factors which affect it in degree or type. For instance, Westerners can see in Qatar what appear to be the relatively normal administrative systems they might recognise at home. These are obviously imported, yet experience with the systems demonstrates that they do not necessarily operate in the manner that Westerners fully comprehend. For this reason I have elected to look here at characteristic elements of the society taking benefit from socio-cultural studies made some time ago together with my experiences in Qatar.

One of the great difficulties relating to reviewing societies other than our own is that of cultural appropriation. This affects not only the way we perceive other cultures, but also how we identify issues and define actions to pursue which we consider might benefit them. Much has been written about this issue, and it is not my intention to make recommendations here, but to try to identify some of the characteristics that might interest or benefit a Western reader.

Qatari society is under pressure from many influences, and it is to their credit that changes have not been more dramatic. The rate of change has been fast bearing in mind that the development of oil and the beginning of Qatar’s real exposure to the West only began in the late nineteen thirties, effectively the late fifties. It seems to me that the greatest pressure has been exerted on the cohesion of the family as the institutions that are now established, particularly government, administration and the environmental setting of society are replicas in many respects of systems that exist in the West, none of which replicate any of the institutions established under or before Islam. Qatari society has had to develop a series of responses to deal with the day-by-day changes imposed upon it by the adoption of foreign socio-economic and socio-cultural systems and their concomitant influences and effects. These are not always successful.

Society is in a perpetual state of developmental flux with a complex set of problems to be faced on a daily basis affecting and moderating behaviour. In particular it appears that Qataris, having begun an exciting period of exposure to wealth in the seventies, are now realising that despite this wealth they are not in complete command of their own fortunes. A daily reminder of this is the large and visible percentage of expatriates upon whom the State is dependent. Their presence and behaviour also creates potential conflict with the rôle of Islam over Qataris bearing in mind that many of the expatriates are not followers of the character of Islam followed by most Qataris. How they will reconcile themselves to the new apportioning of wealth created within this short period of development is uncertain, but it is evident that there have been decisions to develop an infrastructure and facilities that will benefit the majority of Qataris while expanding the State’s profile into the new tourism and leisure market. Not only this, but Qataris are also extremely aware of the influence they are now wielding internationally.

Ironically, exposure to the influences and the concomitant benefits and disbenefits of the West contributes to reinforcing Western concepts such as democracy within Qatari society, but has also served to strengthen the practice and controls of Islam. A more visible example can be seen in Turkey where Kamal Ataturk’s initiatives are now coming under examination, if not attack, by those who believe the State should turn towards Islam, his concept of a secular society coming under pressure from its Muslim population and, particularly, those who have taken it upon themselves to speak for it. Ramifications of this view are likely to be seen in a variety of issues, perhaps most visible the role of women and freedoms generally, not just in Turkey but also within other parts of the Arab world including, of course, the Gulf.

It is also worth noting that the Arab Spring of 2010 has had little or no overt reflection in Qatar, though nearby Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have both felt the pressures of changes in the region.

There are a large number of issues that should be understood in considering the population of the country, but a specific one to note is the preponderance of non-Qataris in Qatar. It is probable that around an eighth of the population is Qatari. A large proportion of these Qataris are young, and even though Qatari women are increasingly seen outside their homes, male Qataris carry out their private and public duties in relative privacy. These are, perhaps, some of the reasons why foreigners believe that the proportion of Qataris to non-Qataris is even lower than it is.

Issues such as this are now relatively freely discussed as the present Ruler and his wife have introduced the beginnings of many democratic principles, doing away with the Ministry of Information, abolishing censorship and introducing Al Jazeera, the television station that has changed the perceptions of many round the world by their broadcasting news and issues that were not previously seen in the West. While these may seem to be positive introductions, they have created unease in some parts of the world.

Related to this, a few more notes have been made relating to emancipation and voting changes on the page dealing with pressures on the society.

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Neighbourhood and community

Before moving on to notes relating to Qatari society, it might be useful to comment here on the meaning of community in Qatar, particularly in its relationship with neighbourhood. Its importance here lies not so much in the traditional physical grouping of the neighbourhood, but with its new forms resulting from tabula rasa development. Additionally it is necessary to understand a little more of how community is seen in Qatar compared with our understanding of it in the West.

Traditionally many Qataris might be considered, simplistically, to having lived in a hierarchical set of proximities relating to family and occupation. These proximities came about through natural expansion of families, the neighbourhoods generally being associated with a single family group or qabila such as the al-Hitmi, al-Salata qabaa’il who lived on the coast to the east of the centre of Doha and south of the palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani. The qabila might be thought of in similar terms to a Scottish clan.

The point of this is that neighbourhood and community were coincident, the families having grown up in the same area which expanded to include their increasing numbers. There was no need for families to move away from the neighbourhood in which they grew up, and the character of marriage choices ensured that inter-family links were strengthened within the same geographical location. Thus the neighbourhood contained a community with shared values underwritten by its roots in Islam.

A neighbourhood can be thought to be a physical area with definable boundaries in which people share common practices. These practices are generally complementary and enable those living there to do so with a degree of psychological and physical assurance with which can come benefits of familiarity, ease and safety, but can also develop strong feelings of identity and territoriality.

The developing of the country to higher physical standards can be considered to have begun in the 1950s with the introduction of new road patterns and the concomitant installation of utility systems and improved building standards onto an enlarging urban footprint. The burgeoning population – both expatriates and nationals – required more housing and this was taken to mean that the old building structures with their associated movement corridors were demolished and the inhabitants moved to new neighbourhoods on the periphery of the existing conurbations.

Here new neighbourhoods were established but not always with the geographic relationships which had previously existed, though there were some exceptions. The al-Sulaiti family, for instance, were moved to a new site where they selected the physical relationships between their new houses, albeit within the framework of the plan laid out for them. In many ways this process of resettlement reflected the issues relating to upward mobility and communication noted in classic studies, but there are at least two crucial differences, and those are the shared common heritage of the peninsula and the over-arching imperative of religion.

While there are a number of arguments put forward in various parts of these notes for maintaining socio-cultural links, these are generally assumed to be physical or related to proximity. However, it may be that anonymous urban areas may well suit many, particularly those who are expatriates and anticipate being in the country only a relatively short time before wanting, or having, to move on. Their social links may depend more on the location of their work place, the character of work in which they are involved, and a variety of factors relating to their cultural heritage such as nationality, religion, education and age. There is a feeling of rootlessness which characterises these new neighbourhoods where expatriates live, some of these areas also including nationals. This feeling may seem to fit well with the character of the shopping malls and other areas used not just for shopping, but also for passive recreation.

It is important to understand that Qatar, and the Gulf States generally, have an unusual socio-cultural mix, with their residents having a different range of hopes and expectations than many in the West might understand.

more to be written…

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The development of Qatari society

There are notes elsewhere on this site which relate to the origins of Qatari society which it might be useful to read along with these notes. In particular that which sets out something of the manner in which the tribes were organised. It is important to understand the basic divisions within which Qataris settled the peninsula as this continues to have an effect on the way they see themselves and, in varying degrees, how decisions are made. As mentioned above, present Qatari society has evolved from these traditional systems which have their origins in the regions around the peninsula.

The qabila is the name given to the family groups or tribes who, in the main, arrived from the Saudi hinterland. It is the name by which the main families distinguish themselves, and that which ranks them both against other qabaa’il and against those whose origins lie elsewhere.

The importance of the main tribes are not to be underestimated. They are ranked, not just in Qatar, but along at least the eastern seaboard of Saudi Arabia, by the purity of their origins, a characteristic derived from their patrilineal descent and intermarriage within the qabila. That is not to say that marriage does not occur outside the qabila but, when it does, it will be to a partner from a similarly placed qabila, many of these marriages being political in its wider sense. It should be understood from this that marriage outside the qabila is not encouraged, and that those who are not fortunate enough to belong to a qabila can be thought to be at a social disadvantage. According to some sources people falling into this category are grouped together under the pejorative term bayaasira, a collective noun whose origin is difficult to determine.

The hierarchical nature of society was based on the mainland tribes though, in the areas of ports, there was another character of status established along different lines, notably commercial, but still influenced by the qabaa’il whose life was centred around their camels. But by the eighteenth century, a series of droughts created a more permanent relationship between these tribes and the Qatar peninsula, in turn influencing to a greater extent the social hierarchies existing in the ports. The creation of the State and its associated bureaucracies has influenced this further.

The bayaasira are said to include a variety of people whose origins are not as ‘pure’ as those who can trace their roots to the main tribes of the hinterland. This includes those who may have originated in Persia together with people who travelled between the two sides of the Gulf, as well as others whose roots are unknown. Those with an interest in the complexities of this area of the society might like to investigate the terms hawwalah and baharnah and their relationships with sunni and shi’ite strands of Islam. There is a further brief note on the page looking at the history of the area.

The moral values which have come down to the present are based on the relationships between the strong and the weak. In this sense the warriors were seen to be the protectors of the weak, the latter being characterised as protected and forbidden from fighting, and upon whom taxes were levied by the qabaa’il. Although much of what is known by the people themselves has come down as verbal narrative within each qabila, this became a more common history in the nineteenth century where the waves of settlement became more involved with the increasingly valuable pearl industry, and the mounting pressures to settle reduced the conceptual importance of the traditional badawi warrior.

It is not easy to untangle the different strands which have made up the social framework of Qatar society. As an example, two qabaa’il, the al-Sulaiti and al-Muhannadi were argued to be hawwalah but associated with the ruling family and, in fact, fought on their side in the tribal coalitions of 1938. But the al-Muhannidi are linked to the Bani Hajri, and the al-Sulaiti to the Bani Malik, respectively of eastern and central Saudi Arabia.

One distinction between families of the hawwalah and those of the major qabaa’il is that the former value the introduction of foreign wives into the families, a characteristic of families of Iranian origin. Otherwise their values were very similar to those of the qabaa’il, relying on marriage within their own group, hospitality, solidarity and a code of honour.

The above relates mainly to those coming from the two sides of the Gulf, but other nationalities were drawn into the peninsula. In particular, Arab merchants consolidated their trade links by taking wives from the Indian sub-continent. In contrast with this, few Indians settled in the peninsula, despite the protection they would have received under the British protectorate. This may have been the result of the antipathy with which they were treated by certain qabaa’il, but conversely, foreigners would have been able to claim the protection of one of the shyuwkh governing the area in which he settled, in this case, the peninsula. The importance of nationality grew with the oil companies introducing a requirement for a statement of nationality, this bringing in rules for determining whether or not an individual was a national. Increasingly, the issue of nationality became bound up with commercial interests.

According to the value system of the qabaa’il, trading as a merchant was dishonourable or shameful. Nevertheless some of the qabaa’il derived wealth from commerce, in the first instance from the pearl trade, slaves and weapons with the trade being managed in their majaalis in order to distinguish that activity from those being carried out in the dukaakeen of the suq by traders. But external crises had a severe impact on the peninsula. The international crisis of 1929 was followed by the impact of cultured Japanese pearls and then the Second World War. These difficulties resulted in mass emigration from Qatar. Although oil was discovered in 1939, it was not until 1947 that it came on stream.

The involvement in business was also governed by differences in social values between those in the qabaa’il and the merchant class. The latter were concerned to run efficient businesses, make money and both save and invest to ensure greater returns. But the traditional values of the desert saw the appropriation of wealth as a resource from which to be able to distribute to others, a central tenet of badu life. Nevertheless there was a close interaction between the al-Thani and two merchant families who owed their success to this relationship, the Darwish and al-Mana, respectively related to those known as the Bani Khadir and hawwalah. Despite this, it is notable that there was no intermarriage between the al-Thani and the merchants. This interdependence lasted until foreign partnerships became an increasing reality in the peninsula.

It should be noted that the al-Thani generally marry within their own qabila and it is only the from the al-Attiyah and al-Misnad qabaa’il that they will otherwise take wives in marriage, a practice which strongly binds those two qabaa’il politically to them.

Commerce was increasingly important in the reduced circumstances of the Second World War and saw an increase in the reporting of smuggling through the peninsula. Not only was there to be money made through these activities but the prominent merchants had become involved, first with the oil industry in Iran, and then with that in Qatar, these activities forming stronger bonds between the traditional and merchant societies, as well as greater returns. Originally the Gulf Arab merchants operated in urban areas as pearl merchants, smugglers and traders, but this developed into areas such as banking, automobile and produce sales, property and publication.

The changing situation brought about by the commercial activities saw, in 1950, the increased politicising of the al-Thani family, all male members adopting the title ‘shaikh’, a title previously confirmed upon the head of a qabila. At the same time they were accorded a monthly stipend. These initiatives had the effect of creating a political élite that was a significant change from the socio-cultural traditions of the peninsula.

In 1949, at the beginning of the oil industry’s activities in Qatar, strikes were initiated by staff living in al-Bida’ and Doha who wanted to improve their wages. It was felt that hawwalah Qataris were only employed as clerks, tea boys, labourers or guards, the latter being of badu stock. This distinction was argued to be a result of the lack of education, but it was keenly resented that foreigners should be taking up valuable positions. The al-Thani family supported the strike in order for Qataris to obtain both training as well as better wages. In 1955 it was agreed to give jobs by preference to Qataris and, in 1956 it was confirmed that foreigners would not be allowed to start businesses without prior permission.

These issues had the effect of creating a nationalist movement within the country. Although there was an anti-British element, it appeared not to call for their withdrawal. At the same time there were nationalist movements in other Arab states, notably Egypt with, probably, some interaction between them. In 1961 the concept of national identity became a reality with a law enacted and, in the following year another law confirmed preference to be given to nationals, but the nationalist movement died out in 1963 with the emigration of its leading members. In 1962, slavery was abolished in Qatar as the country continued to move its socio-political organisations forward.

In 1970, a consultative council was established, the majlis al-shura, its purpose being to have representative members of society make recommendations to the Ministerial Cabinet on proposed legislation, approval of the national budget, and monitoring the performance of ministers. It is probable that being a merchant is a requirement for admission to the majlis al-shura, but it is notable that the preponderance of members belong to qabaa’il.

While the innovations and changes mentioned above have helped to develop the society into something very different from its socio-cultural traditions, change continues. One of the chief mechanisms for this is education. Members of the hawwalah were most likely to recognise the importance of education and the resulting opportunities for employment. Much of this would have been in their own organisations, but they would have recognised the increasing opportunities for working with government as the institutions of government were introduced and developed.

The 1950s and 1960s saw the first appearance of printing presses, libraries and the founding of clubs, al-Jasra being the first. But all these institutions introduced socio-political problems that had to be resolved in a manner which would maintain the status quo. The increasing numbers of graduates now saw more from the qabaa’il replacing those from the hawwalah who had been able to enjoy promotion from their earlier education. In a sense, this reflected a development of the traditional social order.

What has been written above describes something of the natural consequences of state formation and the rise of nationalism. The differences between the people of qabaa’il and hawwalah origins matches what some ascribe to be the scale of rivalry between the larger influences on the region, Saudi Arabia and Persia, now Iran, and this is argued to continue into the present day. Bear in mind that the Gulf States have been formed over a relatively short period and that there were significant difficulties faced by those attempting to create a national identity within a region where the boundaries were and are sometimes difficult to understand. Linguistic, religious, mercantile and migratory patterns all link people within the region, and this holds true despite the apparent differences and enmities.

On a couple of socio-cultural aspects of the above, a socio- anthropologist has suggested that there are two elements which are important in distinguishing the people of the peninsula. The first is the shisha or guidu, the water pipe smoked in the suq. The guidu is made of earthenware and is imported from Iran and can be compared with the jraq, a tall water pipe originating in southern Arabia, a metal version of it being smoked in Doha’s suq in this first photograph taken in April 1972. It is suggested that the people of the baharnah are more likely to have in their homes a guidu, and that this would also be commonly found in the suq. The latter was certainly the case, most often seen in the older part of the suq, the lower photograph showing one of the merchants in Doha’s old suq sitting and smoking one in November 1972.

The second item held as being characteristic of the divide between those of the baharna and qabaa’il, is the iqal, the coiled black rope used to hold down the qutra, and which is stated as not being used by people of the baharna. My observation is that the qutra is worn loose draped over the head without an iqal, or wound tight around the head as is shown on this photograph, taken in the fish market in April 1977. It is suggested that the reason for not wearing the iqal is that that the iqal represents a value of the honour systems of the qabaa’il who would wear it as a mark of distinction.

more to be written…

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Regulation of society

As I’ve discussed elsewhere, Muslim society is informed by and dependent upon the Holy Quran. It is a guide to the way Muslims live in its widest meaning and is the single source that can be relied upon for guidance and direction on any issue that presents itself. It is both the basis for religious belief as well as the social code upon which all individuals’ actions are based and governed. It is important to understand that it is very different from the Christian Bible and the Jewish Tanakh, in that it is considered by Muslims to be the literal word of God.

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Religion

Islam is the official religion of the Arabian peninsula, which comprises the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, the latter of which contains the most holy places of the Muslim world, Mecca and Medina. Although some religious tolerance is shown towards the practitioners of other religions, this really applies only to those who are said to be ‘people of the book’ – those who share a common pre-history with Islam – Jews and Christians.

It is difficult to over-emphasise the importance of Islam to those dealing with development or anything else, for that matter, within the region. The differences between the generally Christian West and Islam are immense and perhaps impossible for non-Muslims in the West to comprehend fully. From birth all aspects of life for a Muslim are defined, guided and constrained by the Holy Quran. This applies not only to the individual but to the collective society in all its groupings, formal and informal. In this sense the Holy Quran represents a social code, but one which is itself expanded by the sunnah and hadith or traditions of the Prophet on the one hand, and those who take it upon themselves to interpret the Quran and the hadith.

Islam is generally taken to mean the submission of the individual to God, and is focussed on the concept of tawheed, the unity of God. This refers to a unique identity, one which encompasses everything and which is both the creator and sustainer of everything, known and unknown, and requires and deserves sole obedience and worship. In this relationship Muslims accept obligations which must be constantly borne in mind and which they must strive to fulfil. In relationship to physical and environmental development, as well as in terms of creativity, this means total compliance with and in the service of God.

The sunnah and hadith are very similar and often confused. At its simplest the sunnah is the tradition of the Prophet, the codes of conduct and practices established by the Prophet for Muslims to follow. It is the second primary source of the doctrine of Islam. The hadith are a narration of how the Prophet lived, or what he permitted either by acceptance or by not disapproving.

The code of conduct which governs the manner in which Muslims live is known as shari’a and applies individually and collectively. It covers all areas cultural, social, legal, economic and political which must be established and operate in accordance with the guidance delivered by the Quran and sunnah.

The Holy Quran

The Holy Quran was established in the badawi society of fourteen hundred years ago, and it must be a consideration that the manner in which society regulates itself is based upon codes that go back centuries and, in many of its essentials, appears to have changed little. Of course, this is a generalisation for which many exceptions can be argued. But, here, it is imperative to understand both the strength of the relationship between Muslims and the Holy Quran as well as take notice of a number of other factors that apply in this part of the world.

Incidentally, the above photograph illustrates a page of the Holy Quran, and shows the heading of the eighteenth Sura, Al Kahf, from which the English word ‘cave’ is derived.

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Five basic tenets of Islam

Muslims hold that there are five basic tenets of Islam stemming from the tawheed, the belief in the unity of God and His creation.

The first is the affirmation of Muslim belief, the shahada, the statement of the unity of God, and the identification of His prophet.

Following from this is the duty of prayer, salat, which must be carried out five times a day, preferably with others, particularly on Fridays.

During the holy month of Ramadhan Muslims fast, sawm, an exercise in self-control, abstinence and concentration. It is a time of purification of the mind and body characterised by reflection on the essence of Islam.

Everything that a Muslim owns is considered to belong to God and, therefore, those with need may share in this through the system of tax or zakaat, which is a sum set aside for their benefit. Usually it is paid annually and should not be confused with alms which are a voluntary gift to those in need. zakaat is both a duty and a social obligation.

Finally there is the duty of the hajj, a pilgrimage which is to be made once in a Muslim’s lifetime to the holy city of Mecca. It symbolises both a physical surrender to God as well as a demonstration of equality and unity.

These five religious pillars should be seen to be the practical tenets of Islam, but it should be understood that there are theological tenets as well, also flowing from the tawheed.

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Theological tenets of Islam

The first of these is the tawheed itself, the belief in the unity of God and His creation.

Flowing from this is the taqwa, an attitude of reverence and care for everything, as everything and everybody have been created for a purpose. It requires Muslims not to harm anything wantonly.

The concept of rahma, compassion, is similar to this and requires Muslims to care for everything and carry out beneficial works.

Relating to the hadith of Gabriel, ihsaan expects everybody to pray as if they can see God, in the understanding that He can see them.

Having the meaning of governance or stewardship, khilafah has been taken to have the concept of man having stewardship of the world and its resources, with the implication that they should be used wisely.

Described elsewhere, waqf is a charitable endowment used for the benefit of a variety of uses.

One of these, harim, is used to describe land set proscribed from building upon. They can be considered to be green belts or easements upon which no individual may build.

In a similar manner, hima describes areas of wild nature which is owned by, and protected by, the community.

Justice, adl, is a central value of Islam, describing the need to produce justice on earth with all behaving properly to each other.

Knowledge, ilm, is required in order for adl to be applied or obtained and, as such, ilm is a social obligation on all men and women.

There are two other important areas I should add here, with a brief attempt to distinguish between them, shari’a and fiqh.

shari’a is generally taken to be Islamic law but is really a set of principles from which Islamic law is promulgated. The distinction is that while shari’a is a continuum, Islamic law changes in step with Islamic society and its requirements.

The sources for shari’a are the quran, sunnah, ijma, and qiyas. These have been supplemented by Muslim jurists by istislah and ’urf, the former representing public interest, the latter local custom and usage.

On the other hand, fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence and covers all areas of religious, political and civil life. There are a number of different schools of fiqh, each covering a geographical area. That covering the Arabian peninsula is the hanbali school.

This brief description of the tenets of Islam is not meant to be complete and, from experience, the descriptions may not be as accurate as some would like. Although I have said it before, I’ll repeat it here – all these areas flow from the quran and hadith, and must be read and understood in their original Arabic, not in translation.

I hope in setting these out that it will give a better understanding of how Muslims see themselves within the world, and perhaps demonstrate how Islam considers natural resources, particularly oil and gas.

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The main divisions of Islam

There are two main divisions of Islam to be found in the Gulf – sunni and shi’a – though there are, in addition, a number of smaller sects and sub-sects. The two main divisions equate to a large extent with, respectively, the Ottoman and Safavid empires. When the Prophet, Muhammad, died he left no male heir to continue his work. Upon his death a majority of his companions preferred to resolve the leadership problem by electing an individual they believed best qualified for the task, this becoming the sunni. A minority, the shi’a, preferred the principle of heredity and supported Ali, the cousin and husband of Muhammad’s daughter. sunni Muslims are mainly based in Saudi Arabia where the holy places of Islam are located in the towns where Muhammad lived and worked – Mecca and Medina. The Gulf States are also led by sunni Muslims although some have a majority of shi’ite Muslims living in them, such as Kuwait, Bahrein and the United Arab Emirates. shi’ite Muslims are based in Iran, but have a following elsewhere, chiefly in Iraq and Pakistan.

Three of the four immediate successors of the Prophet were murdered and the strength of Islam diluted by warring factions. Legitimacy was claimed by leaders in Damascus, then Baghdad and Cairo. Under Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottomans defeated their sunni rivals, the Mamelukes of Egypt in 1517, and conquered all Arab lands apart from those of their shi’ite rivals, the Safavids of Persia. Christendom was alarmed by the power of Islam and took a variety of actions attempting to defeat or accommodate it, but it was only with the failure of the Ottoman Empire’s attempt to take Vienna and then Malta, that perceptions in the West began to change.

There are a number of differences between sunni and shi’ite Muslims. One of the more important is that shi’ites are more organised, whereas the sunni eschew an organised clergy.

Islam contains a number of sects who view their religion differently in certain respects. sunni are the majority sect of the Qataris with shi’ite the Muslim minority. Generally the shi’ite have settled into the country from Iran or Bahrein, whereas the sunni have come from the Saudi hinterland. It is important to note that the Al Thani of Qatar are wahhabi sunni – followers of a devout sect based in Saudi Arabia who follow and espouse a strict way of living, itself based on salafism, an early-established order of creed and tenets of Islam.

Within the Gulf it is apparent that there are increasing tensions between the sunni and shi’ite leaderships and communities. In a crude sense the rivalries can be seen as typified by the regimes of, respectively, Saudi Arabia and Iran, the former holding that the revolutionary initiatives of Iran are spilling out and influencing shi’ite Muslims in countries outside Iran, a process that is also affecting sunni in those countries, as well as the stability of those countries. It is noticeable that there is increasing rhetoric from both sides of the Gulf, particularly from the more fundamentalist elements, that serves to increase tension in the different communities. Pressure from Jewish fundamentalism in the north also adds to these tensions which some commentators believe needs countering not so much as by a Western presence but by the influence of religious leaders in Egypt and Iraq.

There are also traditionally smaller groups such as those who amalgamate their religion with the following of Zar – a traditional African cult or religion that has come to be assimilated into the poorer Qatari traditions and is no longer held to be in conflict with Islam.

But expatriates comprise the majority of the population, and although many of them are Muslims they often understand and practise their religion differently from Qataris. The State is also host to large communities of Hindus and Christians both from the Indian sub-continent, north America and Europe.

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Behaviour

Firstly, it is argued that the opposing concepts of shame and honour are crucial to understanding not only the behaviour of individuals – or, in fact, whole groups of the society – but for a comprehension of the failure of the Arab States to progress. Whether or not there has been a failure to progress is debatable, the argument revolving to a large extent around the manner in which success, failure and progress are concepts mainly understood in their European definition; but there does appear to be a concerned body of Arab opinion that asks why there has been failure, and why there has not been progress.

The reason I began with that statement is because it appears to have much to do with the way individuals behave on a personal and group level as well as at the level of national strategy. Understanding this, or not, has great significance now to those in the West. It’s important to realise this when considering individual and group behaviour. At its simplest it is imperative to understand that, when there is conflict against one Muslim group by a non-Muslim group, then all Muslims will automatically side with the Muslim group, regarding it as a shaqiqa. This also applies at an individual level.

Secondly, it should be borne in mind that the ranking of an individual within the society relates directly to the manner in which he is perceived to carry out the duties of his position.

Thirdly, within Qatar there is a hierarchy relating to families in Qatar. This has two basic elements,

• the first composed of those of badu stock,
• the second comprising others who have settled, mainly on the littoral and, generally, being of Iranian origins.

Qatar’s Ruling Family come from one of the badu tribes, the Maadhid who were a branch of the Bani Tamim. For the most part they are intermarried with other badu families, often for political reasons. The merchant class tends to be of Iranian stock based on pearling and trade, though this has changed dramatically with the increase in revenue to the state from oil and gas.

The importance of this is that the character of society in the state depends very much on badu values, no matter what the casual Western visitor thinks from conversation and observation. The difficulty with this is that much of the writing and comment was based on concepts that were different from those obtaining in the Arab world.

For instance, European officials, with their preconceived cultural attitudes and over-respect for hierarchies, assumed that tribal structures were permanent. In fact, structures varied constantly with the ever-changing relationship between shaikh and tribe. Elements of tribes might become independent tribes when a centralised authority was perceived to be weak, and confederations turned into single units under strong leadership.

It is contended that most Europeans who visited Arabia were unable to penetrate the true tribal society. Those who were travellers and explorers were more interested in places than people, and those who policed or adminstered sought to impose their preconceptions and hierarchies on the tribes.

A concomitant difficulty for the Europeans was their lack of understanding of where true power lay. Administrators and businessmen often dealt with individuals appointed to deal with them, not realising that they were treating with agents rather than those holding power. From a political point of view this meant that it was extremely difficult for Westerners to make a true assessment of the situation in which they found themselves. The corollary to this is that we should be extremely circumspect when reviewing early writings.

Prior to the 1950s very few Qataris could read and write, and most of the information we have on the area is based on the observations and records of Europeans. To the best of my knowledge, the first serious work attempting to understand the manner in which the society operated was not carried out until 1972. It was then that a planning team employed socio-anthropologists in order to be able to understand the society better and to establish sensible and sensitive planning policies.

With regards to badu society it is common to think of the tribes as coherent and cohesive units, each with its distinctive name. This is not really the case. The individual badawi is, in theory, free of constraint or responsibility and there still exists a romantic feeling for the concept of the individual and his life in the harsh extremes of the desert. However, it is common sense that each person aligns himself with a tribe – usually the one into which he is born – in order to enjoy its protection. In reality it may be difficult to distance himself from the tribe. This photograph typifies to me the feeling of the individualism enjoyed by badu even today, with a badawi walking while holding his old Lee-Enfield .303 over his shoulder.

As a member of a tribe the badawi must obey its rules though, as a member of the tribe, he will participate in its deliberations and work to the general benefit of the tribe. But if he feels marginalised or that his independence is constrained, he will be free to leave. The onus is on him to align his interests with the tribe and work to its benefit, his position within the tribe being dependent on and achieved through his own efforts.

The system of tribal government is simple. Each tribe or section of a tribe is nominally ruled by a shaikh, elected by consensus. There is no qualification required either from the electors or the elected. Generally this results in power being entrusted to members of certain families from whom the shaikh is elected.

It is difficult to know how such elections takes place but, from observation and talking with individuals, it is evident that there will be a very strong feeling for who is electable, and who is the best person for the job. It seems to be a case of primus inter pares, and obviously this varies with time and circumstance.

The shaikh rules absolutely but takes advice both from his peers as well as, more formally, from his majlis. Having said that, the majlis was not the formalised body it now is in the Gulf states – in both cases a group representing the more important elements of the tribe. Access to the shaikh is imperative as it is the mechanism for receiving petitions, listening to and dealing with individuals’ problems, and obtaining an understanding of the problems of the tribe.

The shaikh needs to be relatively wealthy as he will be responsible for hospitality, an extremely important characteristic of the badu life and one which continues in both rural and urban settlements. Generosity is measured in a number of ways, most commonly in terms of time, accommodation and meals but can also be in terms of funding or assistance as discussed below. To many it is associated with food. This photograph is of a traditional Qatari meal known as machboos. Traditionally a guest would be fed a meal similar to this of camel or sheep served on a bed of rice, and often with chicken round the rim of the dish. Near the coast, fish would be served in a similar way, machboos referring to a style of cooking.

Wealth is accrued through a variety of operations, some of them derived from zakaat, some from subsidies paid by tribes acknowledging his authority, and some from trade, particularly pearling. But it was a common mechanism that shyuwkh would associate themselves with leading merchants to the advantage of both.

In return for the loyalty of the individual, the shaikh provides prestige, security and direction for badawi as well as the tribe in general. In the past he would also pay for the resolution of many of the individuals’ problems brought to him. Nowadays there is the tendency, if not the rule, that this is devolved upon the State. This move from personal involvement to the state’s action is important and will be discussed later as it has an effect within a number of areas of society.

Traditionally, you might consider each tribe as a separate nation with its own conceptual rights relating to space, peace and war, and with its own political independence. This, then, is the setting for the individual within a society developed from badu roots.

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The behaviour of women

There are notes in other parts of this site relating to the behaviour of women, including those associated with women in education. As with many of the subjects of these notes, it is difficult to draw together in a sensible manner all the issues in a single place. Here I just wish to add a note that represents one of the issues that are beginning to surface in the public realm, and that would have been rare to see and impossible to read about only a few years ago. Please bear in mind that this may not represent as much as it imports; it may well be another issue brought to light by journalists searching for material to fill a television programme. Certainly, Qataris I have spoken with say they know nothing about it.

A recent article reported on a local television programme, laqum al qaraar, where issues relating to women’s dress was discussed. Specifically, the subject of women dressing as men was aired. For this to be openly talked about, it must represent or reflect a number of problems within the society though, as noted above, it is not possible to determine its extent.

Apparently a number of women – presumably young, as the reference is to schools and university – are dressing in a masculine way with baggy trousers and cropped hair. Just as bad, or even worse, they are harassing the more traditional students. The introduction of these fashions are blamed on the West and its influence through the media. But it is also not surprising, with so many traveling abroad – and, when abroad, often adopting the local habits and clothes – that some of those fashions are continued in their home country – despite the traditional socio-religious constraints.

These constraints are extremely strong, so it is notable when young women are able to demonstrate this behaviour outside the house. By the same token is is surprising that their fathers and brothers have not been able to influence them as there are social ramifications that reflect on the family in general and the men in particular. In addition to this, the behaviour seems not to have attracted the attention of religious leaders or, if it has done, has not come to the attention of the English-speaking media.

From a Western perspective it might be thought that these women, who refer to themselves as ‘boyat’, reflect a relatively normal phenomenon in wishing to exhibit themselves to be distinct from their mainstream peers and, particularly, their parents and the values they hold and represent. That behaviour is likely to be understood and, though not liked, be tolerated as relatively normal in the West. But, in Qatar, the response appears to fall between those wishing to see the death penalty imposed to those believing medical treatment is needed. Westerners may feel that this range of response is at least unfortunate if not illogical and certainly not appropriate, but that view would fail to respect the strong religious component that governs social norms. So what is really unusual is the open manner in which this phenomenon is being discussed as well as there apparently being no way of dealing with it.

Whereas Western observers might characterise this behaviour as being relatively normal and a generational issue reflecting difficulties young people have with their parents, there is at least one other possibility. This behaviour may have more or much to do with the concern many women in the region have for the dominance of men in general, and their fathers and brothers in particular. The perceived problem may well have a very different root from that seen by casual observers.

Perhaps there are a parallels with the arguments women use in either adopting or rejecting the hijab. Some wear it in order to demonstrate their religious belief, some to conform to wishes of their families and some to demonstrate a freedom they find in its cover. But this freedom is also said to be expressed by those who deliberately go unmasked or even wear Western dress. In this the ‘boyat’ may be thought similar. Qatar is not alone in having this problem; it has been noted and commented on elsewhere in the area and policies are being adopted to deal with the perceived problem.

The introduction of Western university colleges to Qatar has brought with it not only Western faculty staff, their relations and value systems, but also increased links and a greater interchange of students with the home universities. This has reinforced the concepts previously seen only on television and film of fellow students, their normal dress and behaviour – in the West. More than this there are a larger number of Westerners in administrative and and educational positions who bring to Qatar their Western cultural viewpoints.

One of the reasons for starting this site was the premise that few expatriates understand enough of the country in which they are now living. In practice it is noticeable that critical comment about nationals is common, and that criticism is not confined just to normal inter-personal commentary within expatriate communities, but also spills out into the public domain through the press. It also appears through the educational system both within courses at university as well as in a number of special fora that bring experts into the country and provide a setting for their views. Those in the Gulf who blame the West and its influences seem neither to criticise the institutions that have been introduced and the values they bring, nor the criticisms that increasingly appear in the local press and at these events.

It appears that the perceived problem or problems reflected by the ‘boyat’ may have serious ramifications within the society; in fact this may already be happening. Elsewhere I have written about the disparities demonstrated through the different secondary and tertiary educations received by the sexes, and it must follow that this will be reflected in marriage and divorce and, more generally, the relationships between the sexes and, from these, family life. Traditionalists may possibly have something to worry about.

A final point to make in support of the demonstration of the above thinking, comes from a schoolgirl in the above-mentioned ‘Syrian School’ series. The disparity between the freedoms enjoyed by boys and by girls appears to be a continuing source of irritation to those girls who wish to expand their activities into areas that are considered socio-religiously to be the province of boys. Speaking about her being prevented from pursuing a musical career of her choosing, she said:

Girls suffer a lot while looking on at boys enjoying a lot of freedom and going out. So a lot of girls wish they were boys…

The attitude is understandable, particularly in the Gulf where the West exerts a much stronger influence upon the national societies through the introduction of educational systems and their values from the West, through the cultural pressures of the media, and through the imbalance between national and expatriate communities. So it may not be surprising that some young women express their disquiet not just through their poetry and discussion with their peers, but through their dress and changing behaviour.

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Family

Although Islam means the submission of an individual to God, the family is the fundamental unit of Islamic society. Its importance in this sense should not be underestimated. The society relies on the stability which family life brings and the harmony this establishes in the social structure. However, in recent years, this structure is being threatened.

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Extended and nuclear families

But the term ‘family’ has a slightly different meaning in its Islamic context than it does in its Western one. At its simplest the Islamic family is assumed to be an extended family as opposed to the nuclear family common in the West, and this type of family is much preferred to the nuclear type. There are psychological, social, economic and political reasons for this as I have mentioned previously.

Psychologically there is strength and steadiness to be gained from living in the larger number and wider age range of an extended family. The collective experience within the family brings stability through the knowledge, advice and support its individuals can provide. It is not unusual for a number of generations to live in the same building or building complex and, where this is not possible, to maintain the close links through visiting and the telephone – all this to a greater extent than in the West.

The social value of this is significant. The extended family encourages, if not demands, the participation of its members which, as well as promoting the positive psychological values of the last paragraph, reinforces the social links. The latter is particularly dependent upon the Holy Quran. Among other things, the Quran establishes responsibilities for the extended family by specifying requirements for a number of issues including relationships and inheritance. For instance, here is one of the verses of the Holy Quran dealing with inheritance – 4.176:

They ask you for a decision of the law. Say: Allah gives you a decision concerning the person who has neither parents nor offspring; if a man dies (and) he has no son and he has a sister, she shall have half of what he leaves, and he shall be her heir she has no son; but if there be two (sisters), they shall have two-thirds of what he leaves; and if there are brethren, men and women, then the male shall have the like of the portion of two females; Allah makes clear to you, lest you err; and Allah knows all things.

It bears repeating that the Holy Quran is the basis on which Muslims live their lives.

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Socio-economic benefit

The wider grouping of the family produces a substantial influence on the perceived and actual economic coherence of the family. Under Islam men and women have different roles in life. At its crudest it can be characterised as the men providing economic input, the women dealing with the child rearing aspects. This, by the way, is codified in the Holy Quran. It is possible for one man to have the responsiblity of looking after a large, extended family, but it is also possible for there to be a number of men having an economic input into the family. It is evident that the number of men providing this input will differ over time in any one extended family, but the possibility of more than a single person providing economic benefit is great. In addition to this, the character of Islam and the links with the wider family or even the qabila encourages economic support where needed. In this aspect the head of the tribe is responsible for ensuring the economic health of the tribe and, by extension, the families within it.

Within the tribe you can see that there is political advantage to working for the economic and social health of the tribe. At a smaller scale this also applies to the family. The stronger and more cohesive the family is, the more power they are likely to have within the society. Marriage within the family and the occasional marriage outside it to strengthen links will create a stronger power base for the family, one that will bring it increased benefit within the tribe and, to some extent, outside it.

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Roles of the sexes

Islam is criticised in the West for the manner in which it is thought it subjugates women to a lesser role than men. The Holy Quran establishes the basis for family life and, in this, men have the role – actually, the duty – of providing economically for the family, while the women, due to their natural characteristics, produce and rear children. These two roles are both duties and priviledges and embraced naturally within the family. It is this that is at the root of the prescriptions for inheritance and the like.

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Marriage

One of the significant areas in which Islamic social values are strong is that relating to marriage. As in the West families are organised through patrilineal descent, though it is interesting to note that Qatari families are matrifocal. Marriage outside the family is rare and actively discouraged though, as I noted above, there is a tradition of families inter-marrying in order to maintain and strengthen political alliances.

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Tradition in marriage

By convention, a Qatari, as in traditional tribal society, should marry his first cousin – il bint il wald amha. In Qatar, this is true for approximately a third of women. This is not always managed for a number of reasons. In Qatar, particularly, families confine social events to the immediate family and there is little cross-family visiting. Women are required to stay at home and few work as it is believed that this might bring their families into disrepute. There is rarely the possibility for men to meet Qatari women and develop relationships that are likely to lead to marriage. However, times are changing, particularly with the possibility of tertiary education being readily available and the government’s policies of encouraging women in the workplace.

The changes this is making to society reflect on the way in which a number of issues are being identified. Generally on these pages I write about Qataris being a cohesive social group though, of course, they are not. Above there is a note on the differences between those of badu stock and those who came from outside the peninsula, often traders. This distinction continues to be important, especially to some of the families who do not wish their children to marry outside a limited group of qabaa’l. Although this comment may seem unusual, I have heard it, or something like it, mentioned a number of times. There apparently continues to be a real concern. Why this should be so, I’m unsure as there may be a number of possible explanations. One reason may be the transference of a personal antipathy to a more general demonstration of disquiet; but it may also be a reflection of unease at the way in which it is felt society is changing, and how little control individuals feel they have. Holding onto the past with its old traditions and beliefs, may well be an expression of this. It certainly is one way in which individuals may feel they continue to exercise some control over their, and their family’s, lives.

I mentioned the criticism of Islam with regard to the perceived inferior status accorded to women, but argued that this is not the case. One of the reasons for this criticism has been the trend in the West for women to move into the economic areas that men traditionally have taken. Arguments revolve around the right that women have to work at the same jobs as men, and the difficulties this brings with regard to equal pay, child rearing and so on. Western governments have introduced a range of policies to encourage and enable women to work, have children and see them looked after. This is inimical to the requirments of the Holy Quran. Islam holds both roles of men and women to be of equal merit and, in their different activities being followed, creates successful families. In particular you should understand that men have a legal duty to look after women, but women do not have this duty. Their roles are distinct and different.

Having said that there is certainly considerable feeling among some who see their lives governed, cradle to grave, by men. A young Saudi woman has written this on her blog:

I am born
A man chooses my name
I am taught
To appreciate
That he did not bury me alive
I learn
What he wants me to know
I live
What he wants me to live
I marry
Who he wants me to marry
I eat
What he wants me to eat
If he dies
Another man controls my life
A Father
A Brother
A Husband
A Son
A Man
Then
Then
They tell me when I die
I am going to be judged on my man-made life.
I can’t be judged
I’ll never be judged…
It is just another rant
buried in the Kingdom of Sand

For those wishing to read more in the Quran on marriage, this listing is taken from the index to the USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim texts:

• Marriage, 25:54
  • adultery, 17:32
    • evidence required (four witnesses), 24:4
    • false accusers punishment, 24:4, 24:19, 24:23
    • forbidden, 17:32, 25:68
    • if there aren’t four witnesses, 24:6-9
    • marriage after, 24:3
    • punishment for, 24:2
  • appoint arbiter from among you when fearing a breach, 4:35
  • complaints, 58:1
  • don’t hold wives against their will, 4:19
  • dowry, 4:4, 4:19-21, 4:24, 4:25, 5:5, 60:10, 60:11
    • other mutually agreed arrangements, 4:24
    • woman may return it, 4:4
  • forbidden
    • to certain kin, 4:22-24
    • to non-believers, 2:221, 5:5, 60:10
  • fornication forbidden, 4:24, 4:25, 4:27, 5:5
  • if unable, 24:33
  • if woman fears mistreatment from her husband, 4:128
  • love and tenderness, 30:21
  • polygamy, 4:3
    • restrictions about, 4:3
    • warning against, 4:129
  • recline with spouses in Paradise, 36:56, 40:8, 43:70
  • spouses are raiment for each other, 2:187
  • to adopted son’s ex-wife is permitted, 33:37
  • to orphans, 4:3
  • to single woman only, 4:24
  • to slave
    • and among slaves, 24:32
    • woman if need arises, 4:3, 4:25
      • better if men don’t marry, 4:25
      • even if she’s married before being captured, 4:24
      • punishment only half of free women’s if immoral, 4:25
    • to unmarried only, 24:32

The above are, of course, translations. The Holy Quran has to be applied in the original Arabic, supported by the hadith.

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Matrifocal society

So, with the different roles established, with restricted contact outside the family, and with the need to continue the tradition of extended families, how is this managed? Anybody visiting a Qatari household will see that there is a strong matrifocal atmosphere. There will be women of different ages, young children of both sexes and servants. There may be one or two male servants who will be expatriates, but there will generally be no Qatari men in sight for most of the day though younger sons tend to visit from time to time. Some of the women there will be visiting as is the custom during the day.

The women meet, generally in the home of the most senior, and drink tea and coffee, eat biscuits, chocolates and cake, apply henna, discuss issues of the day – and make plans, particularly for the younger, unmarried members of their family, both boys and girls. It is these relations and friends who will effectively find a wife for a young Qatari when it is thought by the family that it is time for him to marry, and plans for these events are made years in advance as they are essentially political alliances.

This implies that a bride is only sought when it is time for marriage. This isn’t really so as the process starts a long time before that. Families keep a constant eye on the opportunities for making suitable matches. There is constant discussion about the suitability of, preferably, cousins. Women visit and check out young girls as possible matches for the boys in their family.

Interaction

Interaction between the sexes is strongly constrained by the Holy Quran and ahaadith. At its simplest, it is forbidden for a man to touch a woman unless they are related, and even then there are limits. Those who may touch are defined precisely in the Holy Quran but there is concern created by the loosening of traditional ties and the increasing influence of Western moraes. I have added this photograph as it illustrates an important socio-religious point. Here, Sheikha Moza, wife of the Ruler of Qatar, seen in the background, is shaking hands with Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the most important religious figures not just in Qatar but in the Islamic world. This created something of a stir with traditionalists but the Sheikh, writing in response to a question posed to him by a correspondent, laid down the conditions under which this was allowed. Essentially the action has much to do with respect, which moves the action towards the permissible.

With the exception of those who are mahram, is not permitted for one sex to touch another. If there is any possibility of temptation or sexual desire, touching is not permitted though it is permitted for a man to shake hands with an old woman or a young child, assuming again that there is no temptation or desire in the action. This is also the case for those who are mahram when the action would be haraam. Having said that, it is considered preferable to avoid touching, if at all possible.

While these attitudes are still considered important, the increasing visibility of Qatari women in the public arena gives rise to conflicting feelings. There are still Qataris – both women and men – who would prefer to see their womenfolk maintain a more discrete profile, while others have no difficulty with women appearing in public, though with the proviso that there is a degree of chaperoning and that their behaviour is ‘proper’. In this photograph a group of adolescent women are enjoying a walk along Doha’s Corniche. There is a degree of horseplay indicating their young age, but it is a sight that would be unnoticed and unremarked in the West. In Qatar it would be thought to draw attention and, therefore, censure from some. It is probable that the older woman on the left of the photograph is chaperoning this group.

But this is one of the ways in which young women can put themselves on display. It marks a dramatic change from a generation ago when a young woman would be considered brazen if she allowed herself to be seen at her gate. It is not uncommon for such groups to be followed by young men, usually in a car, as it would still not be considered ‘proper’ for them to meet face to face in public. As I have noted elsewhere, there is increasing contact between such groups by mobile, telephone and Internet, something that causes concern as it does in the West, with the lack of parental control or, even, knowledge.

This behaviour also contributes to the increasing freedom felt by both sexes, though one that is constrained by religion. Interestingly there is a strong romantic ideal in the Arab world and young Qataris of both sexes push the boundaries of social behaviour, as do the young in many other societies. Generally, however, marriage is within families – traditionally between first cousins – and the unity of the extended family is deliberately maintained. If marriage is not within the family then it is for political reasons, drawing together families of similar character and interests, often reinforcing previous alliances. It is very rare that marriages are made for love in the manner understood in the West. It is, however, far easier to see more of the opposite sex than was previously possible. Visits to the hospitals and clinics, shopping trips, or drives along the Doha Corniche are all opportunities to see or be seen as is illustrated above. With the exposure of individuals through the mechanisms of the television and telephone, flirtations can easily be pursued though the stigma to the family, particularly that of the woman, should the romance be discovered, can be significant. Traditionally the father and brothers would be responsible for dealing with the shame brought on the family by a wayward daughter. More particularly, telephones, mobiles and the Internet have become the methods of contact and communication.

Members of the older generations are uncomfortable with these latter developments as they conflict directly with religious and cultural views of behaviour. The difficulty is that they do not know how to deal with it other than use their traditionally strong family bonds in an attempt to impose whatever control is feasible.

As noted above, young men and women use technologies openly to contact and communicate with each other, though this introduces a paradox in an Islamic society. Men will openly state that they want to meet young women, an operation which obviously has to be carried out in a clandestine manner; but they also state that they anticipate marrying a woman they will not have met before. More than this, they will tell you that they would have nothing to do with any woman who would previously have met other young men. Young Qataris talk of women whom it is relatively easy to speak with or even meet, but there is obvious reluctance to marry them and, as you might anticipate, a degree of derision targeted at the young men who eventually marry them, as well as degree of social opprobrium.

In one of the BBC’s ‘Syrian School’ series, a young woman spoke about her finding a young man to speak to on the telephone. This went on for some time until they were able arrange a place where they could see each other for the first time, when the young man abruptly stopped the association. The young woman talked about her love for the young man, and his subsequent cruelty to her by the manner of his breaking the relationship, going on to say how it had broken her heart and how she would never trust men again. While we may only guess why the young man broke off the relationship, it is highly likely that she and he had very different understandings of the relationship as well as differing expectations. It was a sad insight into the manner in which the sexes are kept apart and how it reflects on them: a traditional society is able to break some of its taboos with Western technologies, but the inability to meet initially has allowed at least one of the parties to develop feelings not shared with the other. In this case the young woman found an outlet for her emotions in poetry in a similar manner to the young Saudi woman who wrote above of her oppression by men, in this case her poetry blaming the young man for his behaviour. It might be considered unfair to allocate a portion of blame to her, but her poetry certainly did not recognise her own part in the relationship. While this can be readily understood in the context of the degree of maturity of a young person, it also reflects on the manner in which maturity is achieved. Other interesting factors to a Westerner was her willingness to broadcast her poetry, and the ready acceptance of the poem by staff and family.

It is certainly one of the ways in which romantic love can be expressed even though I imagine there may be a degree of risk involved with the family discovering what has transpired. This psychologically important outlet may well be one of the reasons for the development and continuing of the tradition of poetry in the Arab world. On a related note, romantic character is also a common factor in some of the photographs placed on public websites by young Arab women, and both young men and women express themselves with photographs accompanied by poetic phrases.

The difficulties relating to the development of relationships between nationals may be some of the reasons why there has been, and continues to be a strong impulse for young men to develop relationships with foreign women in Qatar. While foreign women are relatively easy to meet due in the main to their having different cultural and moral values, the relationships can be misunderstood by both parties due to these differences and, as such, hostage to fortune.

So, while it is unusual for marriages to result from these liaisons, marriages have resulted when Qatari men have gone overseas for their tertiary education. There are a number of Qatari men with foreign wives, though this brings additional problems to the marriages and, of course, to the stability of the extended family – though the greatest strain has to be on the foreign wife. Generally these marriages have been to Westerners who have had to embrace Islam in order to marry, or to Muslims from the Indian sub-continent. In the former case there may be later difficulties when a fuller understanding of Islam and the social ramifications of marriage to a Qatari are better understood. I don’t know if there are many or any Qatari girls who have married foreign men though have been told there are. The State has had an ambivalent attitude towards Qatari men marrying foreigners, reflecting society’s difficulties with such marriages; and there are difficulties relating to women travelling abroad with their children. However, when the extended family accept the marriage – and that really means acceptance before the marriage – there is little reason for the marriage to be seen as anything other than normal, and my understanding is that the families are very supportive.

Western women who have married Qataris can have an ambivalent view of the benefits of their new life. The perils of marrying Muslims has been dramatised in the West by films such as ‘Not without my daughter’ where the law which permits foreign mothers to leave, but without their children is capitalised upon. However, there is another side to this. Qatar allows mothers to leave with their children though it is possible that, were the father to disagree, this would not be permitted. In countries such as Qatar there is considerably more safety than there is in the West, and many mothers realise that their children are not only more safe there from the prevalent Western problems of drugs and crime, but they enjoy considerable benefits in their relationships with their immediate family. Cousins, nephews and friends are, by the nature of the size of the country, only a short distance away. The extended family meets relatively often on an informal basis as I have mentioned before, and this forms a strong stabilising influence on the children.

Not all Gulf States are the same in their view and treatement of foreign wives. There is a concern in some States that their national gene pool should not be diluted and, particularly, that there should not be marriages with women from the Indian sub-continent. However, times change and pressures for democratisation on the Gulf States are likely to alter viewpoints both nationally as well as individually. Bearing in mind the changes that are happening in the region it is not possible to predict how this will develop.

As I mentioned above, mothers and the women of the larger family are responsible for selecting a wife for their sons. Usually this has meant that the mother and her friends keep a constant eye on girls whom they believe are good matches for their sons. This process starts at an early age with the mother looking at a relatively small pool from which to find a bride. This pool was traditionally confined to family or tribe or, in the case of important families, potential political associations with other families. In Qatar there are families who traditionally marry members of another specific family by preference in order to maintain these links.

With development has come increasing exposure of families to the outside world, particularly through education. It was relatively common up to a generation ago for girls’ education to be stopped at secondary level when it became necessary for her to marry. This is still the case in some families but is certainly less so than it was. Now girls want to go on university, an activity that is promoted by the State as well as being supported by those wishing to have more of a role for women.

One particular effect of the selection of girls marrying within the family was caused when there were not enough boys to pair them with. Girls became accustomed either to make the decision to become a spinster, or to wait until later in their life when they might become a second wife to a married man. This still occurs, but I don’t know the extent. It is obviously a very personal decision.

Earlier I mentioned the strong romantic ideal that exists in the Arab world. Although not confined to women, it is certainly more evident in the work they produce in both their writings and photographs placed on the Internet. Men may also have a similar ideal, but both are constrained by custom and know from an early age that their marriage partner is almost certainly to be chosen for them. Perhaps that intensifies the romantic ideal for both of them, but it is noticeable in women’s art that there is a degree of sadness if not melancholy.

Despite the foregoing, I should also add that marriages are entered into voluntarily by both parties, though there is obviously considerable discussion within the family, including the boy and girl, before an agreement is reached between the two fathers and, particularly, before an agreement is signed. Once signed the intended marriage is binding.

An interesting side effect of the method of selecting a bride is that the University is now regarded as a place to view potential marriage partners by the mothers, even though men are often apprehensive at the possibility of obtaining a more worldly, educated wife. A University course, importantly, also raises the marriage age of women from the middle teens to the early to mid-twenties – a much later age for the marriage of women than traditionally was the case. This also has an impact on the graduate workforce. However, there are other aspects of education at the University that cause difficulties.

There is more written on the problems associated with education on the page looking at pressures on the society.

Girls traditionally have their husbands selected for them, but there is increasing evidence that they are becoming more particular in their acceptance of their mothers’ selection, and this choice is no longer automatically approved. The factors influencing this include the

• ability to view more potential husbands through increased mobility,
• the knowledge of western marriage selection,
• concepts of romance, as well as
• maturity and education.

These factors, of course, conflict with the traditional view of marriages being dynastic, drawing together more closely a single family or, more often nowadays, two related families.

There is another issue, one that is increasingly openly discussed, and that is the expense of marriage. There are considerable costs ascribed to marriage, some of them not usually mentioned but which somebody has to pay for in the end. Housing, furniture, fittings and equipment, the bride’s trousseau, gifts and a holiday are all elements of the marriage process, but it is the dowry that is being called out by men who marry. It is the man’s side of the family that pays the majority of the marriage costs and he may have to pay his dowry over a long period due to the amounts that are now being demanded, a ten year period being not unusual. This is likely to be one of the reasons that some Qataris are claiming there is now a trend to take foreign wives. It seems that the increasing value of well-educated Qatari women is reflected not only in their potential to the State, but also in their value in marriage.

Young wives generally live with their parents-in-law where the wife comes under the authority of her new Mother-in-Law unless, through the right to obtain a house and land from Government, they are able to develop a new home and live there.

Nowadays, most Qataris only take a single wife, chiefly for economic reasons, but this also reflects the Quranic requirement that a man should only take more than one wife if he is able to provide for all his wives equally. This requirement is readily translated into physical form when a man has to construct similar housing for his wives when at the least, under Islamic Law women may lay proper claim to the minimum provision of a private living room in a polygynous marriage. This is the manner in which a house is arranged where there are two or more wives, but it can prove difficult to accomplish what is considered to be an equitable sharing of spaces.

When there is space and sufficient funding for it, the preference is to have houses of equal size given to the wives. Sometimes this is not possible and the wives will live in different places as a result of circumstances at the time of the marriage. However, when it is possible, an arrangement can be made such as in this photograph where four sites are located at the west side of this development giving some form of parity for four wives.

In a sense the above photograph, shown here in its basic form, illustrates the ideal requirement for a family where there is a villa-style development with landscaping within a surrounding secure wall, containing separate houses for the man of the household and his four wives together with majlis, masjid and the concomitant service accommodation including hierarchical car parking.

Because of the power of the women in the society there are a number of difficulties faced by men in providing both the wealth thought necessary to run the household in a manner to which the family has or would like to become accustomed, and in attaining and holding the position in society thought necessary within the family group. For this reason there is often considerable conflict within families about the achievements of the husband and his activities in the society that, at the higher levels, can be followed both through the traditional majaalis of men and women, as well as through the media.

Although the society is matrifocal and the mother at the centre of her family enjoys great social power, a woman is at risk in two areas of society. The first is in producing the male children required by society;

• it is significant that Arabs will congratulate each other for the birth of boys with a standard phrase that is not that used for the birth of a girl; and
• a man is familiarly referred to by name as the father of his oldest son, for instance ‘’bu Khalid’.

A succession of daughters does not advance the status of wife in the society.

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Choice and number of wives

The number of wives that Muslims may have is also a subject of comment in the West. A Muslim may take up to four wives but he must treat them equally. Talking with Muslims you will find that it is now unusual to take more than a single wife because of the potential strain. Where a man has more than a single wife it is usually either for political reasons or for the original rationale: to look after orphans and women who require protection ̵ 4.03:

And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice (between them), then (marry) only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course.

I have been told that the original impetus for taking more than one wife was for widows and orphans to be looked after, and there is much made of the regulation of behaviour towards orphans and their estates in the Quran to support this.

Where there are political circumstances for a man to take more than one wife it is not uncommon for this to be discussed and decisions made in the majlis situation and then ratified with the women of the families involved. In this circumstance it may be that the first wife will not know about the decision to take a second wife until it is presented as a fait accompli. However, where there are family or social circumstances for a man to take more than one wife, it is not uncommon for the first wife to have a say in the choice if not direct the process along with her female family friends. In both these circumstances it can be seen that the provision for wives is directed by a greater social need of the tribe or family.

The key points to bear in mind is that wives have to be treated equally, and that society will be aware of how well the man accomplishes this.

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Divorce

Much is made in the Western world of the Islamic attitude to divorce. A number of sources suggest it is a trivial process and abusive to women. This is a simplistic position and not in accordance with the requirements of the Holy Quran.

Under Islam divorce may not be capricious, although it is has always been thought that the threat of it is used by some men. However, although there are traditional safeguards to ensure that a woman is provided for when she becomes divorced, the attitude of the State in making provision for social security benefits in such instances, as well as others, has weakened the traditional responsibilities of families and societies to protect and care for such women.

The divorce rate is, apparently, rising and has become a cause for concern. The reason for the rise in the rate within the Gulf is thought generally to revolve around the conflicts between traditional values and those imported from the West. It is interesting to note that the other reasons given are the relative youth of those embarking upon marriage and the concomitant belief of the couples’ relative immaturity and their inability to shoulder marital responsibilities – a rationale that has not changed in centuries. This is compounded by the ability for divorces to be sanctioned by the blessing of a religious Sheikh without the need for the couples to go to court. As there seems to be a distinct pattern of both men and women seeking to be married later for the reasons given above, I believe that this second reason may not be as strong an argument as that relating to the impact of Western values.

Divorce is not considered to be an appropriate course for Muslims, although provision is made for it. Both the woman and man have the right to instigate divorce: when the proposal originates with the man it is termed talaq; with the woman, khul’a. Where cruelty or desertion requires this course of action then arbiters for both parties are appointed from within the family to effect a reconciliation. When a divorce is pronounced, a waiting period, idhat, is set down during which the woman is permitted to remain within the house when it is hoped that a reconciliation can be made, and when it can be observed whether she is pregnant. Should she be so, then idhat will last until the delivery of the child, and the woman and child will be supported with food and clothing for a further period of two years.

Should divorce proceed, then the man may not take back gifts previously given to his wife whether these are marriage gifts, mahr, nor later gifts – this latter having a bearing on the characteristic shopping for gold jewellery; nor may he appropriate possessions his wife held before entering into the marriage. But there is another source of possession which the woman may take with her on divorce, and that is earnings saved from any employment she has undertaken.

It is the duty of the husband to provide adequately for his household. Conversely, there is no obligation for the wife to contribute to the running of the household, though it might be anticipated that a wife would or should do so if she has earnings from employment. The husband must organise his affairs in such a way as to provide for the adequate running of the household, and this includes the cooperation of his wife who is responsible for the day to day activities of the household and the education of the children. Herein lies a difficulty. There are notes elsewhere touching on the education of women and their role in the workplace; what is not discussed are the issues relating to their earnings.

Compared with men, women are obtaining a better education and staying in education longer. They are also moving out into the workplace in a number of Government ministries and, to a lesser extent, within the private sector, usually within family businesses. As a consequence, the Islamic family or household model is changing, bringing with it a number of novel pressures that must be accommodated by the evolving society, yet within the constraints of Islam. The ability to employ servants who will carry out household chores, drive the children to and from school, and act as nannies to look after them when the wife is unable to do so, establishes a pattern that is different from the traditional model where members of the extended family would often take these roles, maintaining a national and Arabic character to this operation. The absence from the household of a working wife complicates not only this traditional Islamic family model but has ramifications for the relationship between husband and wife with regard to the provision of funds to maintain the family. This latter issue affects divorce.

The various strains brought about by the novelty of a working wife may well be causative factors in the increasing divorce rate in Qatar, though there appears to be no empirical evidence to confirm it. Her increased educational and intellectual independence, exposure to external moraes through foreign travel, contact with expatriates and the influence of the various media, together with the ability for a wife to keep her earnings, prior possessions and mahr, give her greater financial freedom in seeking a divorce through khul’a. Yet Islam dislikes divorce and prefers reconciliation. Advice given to those seeking divorce tends to reinforce the need to stay together for the sake of the family, and may prescribe a series of actions the man should take in enforcing their marriage. Initially the two families of the husband and wife are enjoined to resolve the issues that appear to be precipitating the talaq or khul’a. The evidence of the Qatar divorce statistics suggests that this system is not working as it might. It would be interesting to learn which of the marriage partners is more likely to succeed in their determination to separate.

Following a divorce there is no responsibility for the husband to maintain his divorced wife. On her part she may not live alone but must return to a household either of her parents or a member of her family. It is the responsibility of the husband to continue to look after both the education and maintenance of the children, however, for a period of time – one governed by the different systems of jurisprudence and specifying times that differ between the ages of seven and the ages of discretion, puberty or marriage in the case of girls – children are usually in the care of their mothers.

The following may be of interest to those wishing to learn more:

• Divorce, 4:130, 65:1
  • after waiting period, dissolve or reconcile, 2:231, 65:2
    • two witnesses, 65:2
  • alimony, 2:233, 2:241
    • extends to ex-husband's heir, 2:233
  • can be revoked twice, 2:229
  • dowry status, 2:229, 2:236-237
  • find wet-nurse if necessary, 65:6
  • Man
    • divorce one woman for another – don't take back what you gave first, 4:20
    • don’t harass wife, 65:6
    • don’t hold wives against their will, 4:19
    • four months to change his mind, 2:226
    • support wife fully
      • during her pregnancy, 65:6
      • during her waiting period, 65:6
      • if she's nursing your child, 65:6
  • mother shouldn’t suffer because of her fatherless child, 2:233
  • pre-Islamic, 58:2
    • contrition to reconcile
      • fast for 2 consecutive months, 58:4
      • feed 60 needy people, 58:4
      • free a slave, 58:3
  • reconciliation attempt, 4:35
  • sinless if marriage unconsummated, 2:236
    • bride entitled to half of the dowry, 2:237
  • Woman
    • after third divorce (this one from another husband) can return to original husband, 2:229
    • entitled to maintenance, 2:241, 65:1
    • equal right to divorce, 2:228
    • fear ill treatment by husband, 4:128
    • may keep what her husband gave her, 2:229
    • not to be expelled from their homes, 65:1
    • three menstruation wait to disprove pregnancy, 2:228
    • three month wait for those free of menstruation, 65:4
      • unless marriage unconsummated, 33:49

The above index has been taken from the USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim texts.

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Inheritance

The requirements for inheritance are set out in the Holy Quran. One of the verses dealing with this is quoted above, another – 4.11 – adds:

Allah enjoins you concerning your children: The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females; then if they are more than two females, they shall have two-thirds of what the deceased has left, and if there is one, she shall have the half; and as for his parents, each of them shall have the sixth of what he has left if he has a child, but if he has no child and (only) his two parents inherit him, then his mother shall have the third; but if he has brothers, then his mother shall have the sixth after (the payment of) a bequest he may have bequeathed or a debt; your parents and your children, you know not which of them is the nearer to you in usefulness; this is an ordinance from Allah: Surely Allah is Knowing, Wise.

and 4.12:

And you shall have half of what your wives leave if they have no child, but if they have a child, then you shall have a fourth of what they leave after (payment of) any bequest they may have bequeathed or a debt; and they shall have the fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child then they shall have the eighth of what you leave after (payment of) a bequest you may have bequeathed or a debt; and if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third after (payment of) any bequest that may have been bequeathed or a debt that does not harm (others); this is an ordinance from Allah: and Allah is Knowing, Forbearing.

• Inheritance, 2:180, 4:176, 89:19
  • apportionment to
    • children and parents, 4:11
    • other kin, orphans, and the needy, 4:8
    • siblings, 4:12
    • widows and widowers, 4:12
  • don’t hold unloved wives for, 4:19
  • for men, 4:7
  • for women, 4:7
  • summary, 4:33

The above listing is taken from the index to the USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim texts.

A common criticism of this division of estate is that related to a male child receiving twice that of a female. What is not understood in the West is that men have a responsibility to look after women and children that is enforceable in law, but what a woman receives is hers and hers alone.

When a woman is divorced she returns to her family who are required to look after her. Should she have a son she may also rely upon him for support in the fullness of time. Should she have no family she will be provided for equitably by the State although, in the past, this duty would have been assumed either by the husband, or by the head of the qabila to whom she belonged. Essentially she is allowed to leave the marriage with the effects that have been given to her before and within the marriage. This is said to account for the desire of women to have jewellery with which, to some extent, they are able to safeguard their futures.

A woman will also benefit at the death of her husband by a proportion of his wealth. The broad principles are laid down in the Holy Quran, but the details are expanded within the hadith. Distribution of a man’s wealth takes place only after all legacies and debts, including the funeral expenses have been discharged. In addition to a share in the property the widow is also entitled to her maintenance and residence expenses for a year. If the man’s parents are living they will receive a sixth each, and the rest will go to the children, a male taking twice that of a female. A widow will receive a quarter of her husband’s estate if there are no children, and an eighth if there are children. A husband will receive a half of his deceased wife’s estate if there are no children, the rest going to residuaries; if she has children the husband will receive a quarter.

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Children

Much of what I want to say about children will be found in other areas of this page, mainly in the part relating to play. The most important point to make are that young children, from an early age, tend to lead lives that are designed to teach them their roles in later life. This is not something that happens artificially, it is a natural consequence of following the precepts of the Holy Quran and hadith.

Boys and girls do play together to some extent, particularly up to the age of about four or five but, beyond that, their daily pattern – out of school where they are segregated anyhow – is governed by their following the household patterns of the men and women.

Boys, from the age of about six are encouraged to take their part in society and learn the business of their father with regard to the manner in which the father presents himself to the family and society. Sons are normally brought to formal and informal events and, while not encouraged to participate actively, are listened to if they choose to speak and, of course, are educated in the customs of the society through this device. The boys of the house, in this manner, take on the attitudes and seniority required of them and, in so doing, automatically adopt positions of public and private seniority to the girls of the house. It is noticeable, for instance, within the privacy of the family life, that the younger sons automatically takes on the right to order older sisters to fulfil the society’s accepted roles as providers and sustainers of the home, as is described in the Quran.

By Western standards, Qatari children can appear to be spoiled, being given expensive presents, toys and sweets on demand, and apparently being permitted to misbehave both by parents and, particularly, by servants. Lack of control, particularly of boys, causes significant behavioural problems in younger children and, incidentally, exacerbates problems such as medical and dental due to poor eating standards. But there is another aspect of the parent/child relationship that is peculiar by European standards, and that is the extent to which fathers will not permit their children to participate in activities that are considered to be dangerous. These activities will include skateboarding, swimming and a number of other areas in which Western children normally participate with their friends and, in doing so, develop not only motor skills and hand/eye co-ordination, but inter-personal relationships with their peers. It is particularly noticeable that this attitude appears to be related to better off families, or those who believe they have an important standing in the society. The reason given for this type of protection or paternalism is love for the child and the hurt that would be felt were there to be an accident.

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Hospitality, observation and perception

One of the most pleasant experiences in Qatar is camping in the desert. Qataris generally love to take time there, particularly in the cooler months of the year when they can also take their hawks. It replicates, in some small way, the life of the badu and the traditions of hospitality, though without a lot of the hard work that typifies the life of the badu. Nowadays, as you can see from the first photograph, it can take a slightly different form but is no less enjoyable all the same. Here you can see that, in the centre of the ring of cars, an informal majlis has been organised. I have also seen generators and televisions used in this setting, but the main feature is the enjoyment of being in the open desert in the company of friends.

In the lower two photographs is shown a much more formal arrangement that replicates more accurately, though in a much more up-market manner, the real desert setting. This is not a family encampment, but one set up solely for men who meet and greet and talk in front of the khaima before moving into its shelter to enjoy the evening. In the lower photograph you can see the servants preparing the qahwa and shy with a row of polished dellaat reflecting the light of the fire.

The first four photographs to the right illustrate another aspect of life in the desert, part of a typical scene at a camp fire with a qahwa della being kept warm by the fire at night for the guests. Arabic coffee, green beans ground and roasted with cardamom, then served in small cups, is a staple drink in all social settings, the sounds and smells associated with its preparation adding to the feeling of comfort to those sitting around the fire or camp.

In the morning, this is the sight that greets the early riser with the Chinese pots and della in the morning light. But it is not just the sight of the fire and the different pots and pans that is evocative of life in the desert, it is also the smell of the fire and the taste of camel milk. Usually the milk is brought from nearby badu. It is interesting that their whereabouts always seem to be known as there never seems to be a problem for somebody going to fetch the milk.

Here is a close-up of a camel being milked with its calf looking on. The photo illustrates the usual method of milking, the teat being held in one hand with the gathering bowl in the other. Note the thick layer of froth being generated by the milking. Camel’s milk is considered to be one of the most important drinks to many who live on the peninsula. It is usually extremely frothy as both photos illustrate and, if you are lucky, still warm. The badu regard it as an extremely healthy drink and it has certainly been one of the staple foods, responsible for maintaining their life in the desert. It has to be understood how important life in the desert can be to many Qataris, particularly those of badu stock, and how central the role of the camel has been in helping them to sustain their life in the desert. This link remains both to those who use the desert to maintain their links with past traditions, as well as those who continue to live in the desert, often badu now employed to look after herds owned by others.

These two photographs illustrate the more refined version of the fire in the ground illustrated above. Fuelled by charcoal and, in the desert, scrub and camel droppings, these portable fires are common not just in the desert but, more usually, in the rooms of houses associated with the majlis. Where there is a separate matbakh for the preparation of coffee for the majlis, then this will be a feature of it. Its great advantage is that it is portable and, in the desert, can be brought into the tent at night to help keep it warm in winter. Similarly it is not uncommon for families to take them out into their garden and, as shown here in the lower photograph, use it for the benefit of friends and family. It is a normal piece of equipment in a house both in its use for the majlis as well as for the household.

Arabs, particularly badu have always been renowned for their hospitality, and this tradition continues not just for badu, but for Arabs generally and Gulf Arabs in particular. The name of Hatim Tai is known to all Arabs as the most generous of men. So hospitable was he that others were envious of a person so famous but with no kingdom, power or wealth. He was a man who even killed his only horse to feed a stranger. In this first photograph you can see guests eating a traditional machboos, eaten on the floor from a large dish on a sufra. As there are only a limited number of people who can eat round a sufra, a number of them being placed to accommodate all the guests, the host often moving between them to demonstrate his hospitality more personally. Where the guest might be a stranger to custom, or where the host wishes to demonstrate his hospitality more personally, the host will take the best pieces of the meal and place them in front of the guest for him to eat.

After the meal the guests and their host will relax and talk of matters of the day. Depending on how well each knows the other, as well as the importance of the evening, it is very common for guests to play cards or to watch television. News and commentary programmes are those which are particularly viewed and on which the conversation of the evening will revolve.

Where the camp is oriented towards hunting, the hawks will be brought to the edge of the khaima, or inside it, their handler grooming them, training them to be tolerant of company and preparing them for the next day’s hunting. It is not uncommon for the handler to sleep with the hawks in his charge. As I have mentioned elsewhere, hawks are valuable and an intrinsic element of desert life. Hawks and guns tend to be very familiar in this character of setting, as are salqan, though they are usually kept outside the khaima.

Traditions such as this have fed the badu majaalis for centuries. They reinforce the best qualities of badu life and create a template against which others can be judged. But, more than this they embody a range of qualities that characterise the badu.

The desert has a number of features that have had an effect on those who have to live in it. To the Western eye it is featureless and harsh, but to the badu it has an infinite and various range of elements that have to be observed and understood in order for them to be able survive. In addition they have had to deal with other members of their tribe within their limited society as well as with the strangers they meet. This has made them extremely observant both of the physical as well as the psychological environment in which they live.

The consequence of this is that badu in particular and Qataris in general tend to be very observant and solicitous of their guests. Perversely this is not immediately apparent to Westerners. Qataris will be aware of the mood of those they meet

The observational skills of Qataris are far better honed than the average Westerner. There is a feeling that all Arabs dress similarly and that it’s difficult to distinguish one from another. In fact the simple dress of thub, iqal, kaffiyah and ghutrah contain many clues not just to style and wealth but also to the origins of the wearer. Accessories such as wrist watch, socks and shoes give other clues as does the manner of wearing the ghutrah. Gulf Arabs can see and draw the necessary inferences from these clues at a great distance.

In the construction industry my experience is that Qataris have an extremely good eye for any lines out of plumb or with a waver or eccentricity in them. They also seem to have an in-built compass enabling them to orient a plan immediately without looking up for their bearings. I had at first assumed that this awareness came from experience in the desert or at sea when they would have had, and would have needed to have had, a good understanding of the points of the compass for wayfaring and safety reasons. However, while it is evident that they know their position with regard to the points of the compass, talking with Qataris I believe that this understanding has more to do with their always knowing the direction of the qibla at Mecca, an understanding that is reinforced five times a day. It is interesting how different cultures make different assumptions.

These observational skills also form the basis of an extempore game I have seen played in the desert. Bear in mind that the desert looks, to a Westerner, more or less yellow: one Qatari will ask another to guess the distance from ‘the red rock there to the blue rock over there’ and a car will then be sent to drive the distance between them to see who has the closer guess.

It is similar in a way to another skill I have seen used where Qataris will travel from well to well in the desert and taste the water, comparing what they find for taste and quality when there appears to be very little difference, but where those differences are extremely important to them.

And I once came on a Qatari in the middle of the sand dunes in winter. He was standing facing a slight breeze with his head raised. I went over to him as a politeness and learned that he was ‘tasting’ the wind. He said it was one of the most pleasant experiences he had; to come to the heart of the desert and both smell and listen to the silence…

These visual, aural and taste skills must have been vital in the past and it is fascinating to see them still being honed.

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The holy month of Ramadhan and ’eid al-fitr

As noted above there are five basic tenets in Islam, but here it might be useful to add a note about the social effects witnessed during the month and at its ending with the ’eid al-fitr holiday. This photograph, taken some time after the event when the associated decorations had faded, shows the entrance to a house rented by expatriate workers from Pakistan on each side of which they have written ’eid mubarak, the traditional greeting made at that time. It illustrates something of the sense of festivity that marks that time of the Muslim year.

Although the holy month of Ramadhan places a variety of impositions on practising Muslims, the observable effect within the society by non-Muslims is not particularly one of hardship but of enjoyment. There are certainly difficulties as those having to work will not eat or drink during daylight hours, a practice that imposes considerable stresses on those who have to work outside, more so when the holy month falls within the hotter months of the year.

The obligations placed on Muslims by sawm is that nothing shall be eaten or drunk, nor shall there be sexual relations between the hours of dawn and sunset during the holy month. The rationale for this is simple: fasting is a time for reflection, contemplation and the worship of God during which time there is the presumption that the individual will benefit from self-imposed discipline and will become more considerate of those less fortunate than themselves.

One of the products of the disciplines of contemplation and introspection can result in one of the other tenets of Islam being fulfilled, zakaat, the giving of alms to the poor and needy. This photograph was taken in Doha’s suq Waqf during the early 1970s and shows a large group, mainly women, gathering for the distribution to them of sadaqah al-fitr by one of the major merchants. Customarily this is a charitable gift which may take the form of rice and staple foodstuffs, and is donated during the last week of Ramadhan in order that those in need will be able to prepare meals at eid al-fitr for their family and friends. This is a relatively small gift and does not count towards the zakaat obligation.

During daytime hours life slows and the business of government and the private sector mirrors this even though many of those working within the peninsula will not be Muslims. They, too, are not allowed to eat or drink in places where they may be observed, though there is a general presumption that they will be able to do so within the privacy of their own homes or offices. However, many non-Muslims take the opportunity to mirror the fasting of Muslims for a number of reasons, some practical, some self-imposed.

The meal that breaks the fast every day has become a significant event. Usually attended by family it might also be extended to a number of guests. Following the meal people will go out and see friends, shop and generally enjoy themselves. This feeling of celebration will continue over much of the evening and into the night for many people. Some will stay awake all night, or get up early, in order to take a last meal prior to the time when fasting must start again at the beginning of the adhaan for the fajr prayer. In order to be able to last the day some will take the opportunity to sleep during much of the day, a particularly useful way of maintaining the fast for those whose health is not what it might be.

But there is considerable self-imposed pressure placed on individuals to fast, despite there being some categories who do not have to. At its simplest children prior to puberty, the elderly, those chronically ill and the mentally ill, nursing mothers, menstruating and pregnant women as well as those travelling may be exempt, though there is an obligation on some of these categories to feed the poor or to fast on other days to compensate for the number of days of fasting missed during the holy month.

At the end of each day of ramadhan it is the practice in Doha for the army to bring one of their field guns down to the Corniche and fire it to mark the official end of daylight and the beginnings of the night’s activities. Immediately prior to this there is usually a lull preceded by considerable activity on the roads as men drive to pick up the last of the food needed for the breaking of the fast as well as getting home in order to be there when the gun goes off and iftaar begins. It is not a good time to be on the roads.

The end of the holy month is marked by the three-day ’eid al-fitr holiday, whose first day is the first day of the month of shawwaal, and which is celebrated in much the same way as is described above, only to a greater extent. It is particularly a time for the wider family to get together, to see each other, telephone those abroad, and to enjoy meals and the giving and receiving of gifts. There are likely to be special events staged by the private sector and government such as sea races, and there is an air of festivity that permeates the whole peninsula.

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External influence

As an aside to my comment on traditional dances for a minute, it is notable that some of the dances used to promote Qatar in the burgeoning tourist industry are based on music and costume that have no basis in the peninsula but appear to me to be Egyptian. I’m told this is also true of some the music. I don’t know if this has something to do with a desire to demonstrate a pan-Arabic character, but it’s sad that the traditional dances, particularly the badu ardha and razeef, and the fishermen’s dances might have been codified with standard dress, dance and music. I don’t know if the tambura has been affected, but doubt if the genuine event will be.

I should explain that the ardha is really the original war dance but is said to have become a dance of peace upon the unification of Saudi Arabia. As such it represents the majority of folkloric dancing that you might see at events in Qatar. It should also be noted that in some parts of the Gulf the ardha is the name given to the two lines of men chanting to or at each other in a competitive or challenging fashion as mentioned immediately below; the razeef being the dancing element that accompany or follows it. However, my experience is that Qataris seem to refer to the dance as a razeef so, I’ll call it that here.

There are many Qataris, both young and old, who enjoy their traditional music, and I know it is played privately by them, often on Thursdays and Fridays. In this way it is passed on from generation to generation. But new works continue to be written and performed at the same time that other influences take a hold on the younger generations. I am not able to say to what extent poetry and music continue in the old traditions or are developed along new lines but from observation many of the younger generations play and enjoy music from Egypt, Jordan and the Lebanon as well as from other areas of the Arab world, Europe and north America. Some Qataris also play the ’oud privately for enjoyment, though I believe this music is not generally traditional to the peninsula or the Gulf.

Music, poetry and dance are interwoven in the traditions of both the peninsula as well as the hinterland from which they derive. This forms the basis of most of the folkloric events that continue and are developing in Qatar, and seems to be influenced by many of the pressures I have noted elsewhere.

The razeef

While the razeef is considered by most of the visitors to the peninsula as something of a touristic event, its importance is far more profound than that. The events at which it is performed are social occasions whose origins lie in the tribal societies that made their home in the peninsula and the Arabian hinterland. The meetings have a number of functions and can be thought to be at least political, strategic, social and entertaining. In the first photograph one of the tribes, from memory I think the al-Dosari, has gathered in 1973 to celebrate the accession of Sheikh Khalifa a year previously, for the most part arriving on their pickups. In addition to this, a number of riders on horse and camel also attended. The following brief note is chiefly based on that and subsequent years when tribes gathered to show allegiance, performing the razeef as an important and highly visible element of the event. The photos come from different events.

The most overt reasons for holding a razeef relate to the traditional political need to display association and loyalty. But is also an extremely important setting for a variety of formal and informal meetings where family matters can be discussed and decisions made on marriages and the like. In the first photograph time is being taken by three men to renew acquaintanceships while the women and children wait.

Many of the families who come to these events will have travelled not just from their homes within the peninsula, but might have come from the Saudi hinterland or other Gulf states. While this was true for some, many of the families that attended came from the outskirts of Doha and Rayyan, and particularly from the north of the country, arriving by buses provided by the State. But most of the families arrived in their pickups with a few of the men making the trip by horse or camel, in the more traditional way.

In this photograph two women, dressed for the occasion, unusually watch the dancing from the front of the audience. The bataateel they wear suggest that they might not be badu, but are from an urban family. While it is the men of the tribe who dance and sing, there are dances where women participate though I have never seen them at a razeef. The na’ashat and radha are the most common, the former is characterised by the women sweeping their hair rhythmically to the beat of the music and is common to badu traditions; the latter is a processional performance associated with weddings.

It is considered important that families are able to hold a razeef when they can. In this sense it is a mark of prestige for the family to do so, whatever the size of the event. In this photograph a small celebration has been organised, perhaps by a qabila. The singing is under way, a small group of boys are watching, and a group of girls are sitting and playing on the left, apparently with little interest in the proceedings. It has a rather domestic feel to it in contrast with the larger events.

Tents were erected for those who intended to remain for the length of the event. In them members of the tribe and their guests sat and met and entertained as well as sleeping in them overnight. All this was very much in the traditional badu manner. This was, in effect, a long drawn-out majlis. In this first photograph guests can be seen sitting in the tent with the coffee kitchen in operation in the right foreground.

In addition to the establishment of areas for meeting and sleeping, a number of activities appeared supporting those attending these events. In this photograph a group of badu have a small range of simple goods for sale, the type of items that are necessary for day to day living of the badu, not the kind of artefact for which there might be the possibility of selling to tourists. This was not perceived to be a touristic or commercial event.

Here, in front of the tent the men of the tribe come together to begin their dances. As I mentioned above, there is some confusion in terminology between the ardha and the razeef. This is further complicated by the name given in some parts of the Gulf for a war dance, the ayyala or, more specifically, the harbia. While the ayyala has developed into a dance of welcome for dignitaries, the similar, harbia, is still associated with celebrating victory in war or battle. Note in this photograph that there are a few non-Qataris mixed in with those watching. The men who will sing are sorting themselves out on each side of the space. The lower photograph, taken at a different event, shows how the two choruses arrange themselves with the musicians moving between them, and each group having a leader to direct the words and timing of the chorus. These lyrics can be extempore and even scatalogical.

The last of these three photographs illustrates something of the energy of the drummers as they move, bending in unison, to the beat of their drums. The photograph was taken at the same razeef as that above in 1984, but is of a different type of musical group, one that includes a habaan, as is shown in a little more detail below. I believe this group to be more typical of the fishing communities, that above it of the badu.

Each of these celebratory events were attended by hundreds of people who included not only members of the tribe, but also those with links to that particular tribe, guests, friends and those with an interest in witnessing a relatively rare event. While a core of people remained at each location, members of the tribe as well as others moved between locations, again a form of moving majlis distributing information and news between the different groups.

As an aside, it is interesting to speculate on how the spread of mobile telephones will have affected this system. But an important element of this movement was not just the cross-transference of information and news, but the rationale behind the razeef itself as a formal operation to demonstrate and reinforce loyalties.

In this group of photographs dancers can be seen wearing bandoliers and carrying guns of different ages or swords in a typical display of martial strength and loyalty to the Ruler, in this respect representing both himself and the country.

The central photograph is of the then Ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al Thani, taking part in one of the ceremonies. During this period he visited all the encampments of the tribes, dancing with them as a part of their celebrations.

These and other photographs in this section illustrate something of the martial character of the event and of those performing at it. It is not military in the sense that these men are soldiers, but they are patently badu and can be seen as similar to those who would have been part of an irregular force brought together in times of dispute and disagreement, this as recently as the 1950s when there was raiding towards Liwa in what is now Abu Dhabi. In these photographs you can see the dancers with a typical collection of weaponry – rashash, saif and khanjar.

Here is a photograph of one side of the chorus line. The razeef is essentially a war dance where two lines of men, facing each other, chant in response to a single person leading them in an eight-bar refrain. Between them men show themselves with their weapons in a slow moving, individualist display, usually of support but, I’m told, in the past of aggression, perhaps more like the ardha. The call and response from the lines of men can be powerful and can also be funny and insulting to their enemies.

The drums are the most important element of the razeef as there is no tune to carry, while the rhythm is important to pace the dancers who use the whole of their bodies to move in time with their beat. Although the tara is held in one hand and struck with the other, the tubal is suspended from the shoulder and struck with either a length of heavy rubber insulated cable or, as in this case, with a length of wood.

One of the main instruments that are a feature of the razeef is the tara, a number of them being shown here being tuned by their drummers using the heat of an open fire. Tuned is, perhaps, not the correct word, essentially they are being tightened to create a tighter skin and a crisper noise, a character which is also sought when hands are clapped in rhythm.

In the photograph above you can see that the drums are plain with no decoration. Here, the two nearest tara both have the name of one of the al-Dosari qabila written on them in an informal style. This suggests that the drums belong to a regular group who performed together. It is interesting to see that the tara on the left has a freehand floral pattern drawn on it.

By contrast these three drummers, photographed on a stage, are each holding a tara which have, painted on them, the name of their group – lu’lu’, or ‘pearl’ – complete with their telephone number. I realise there is a need for advertising but it does look a little strange to see what happens in certain circumstances when tradition meets the modern world. I’m sure there must be a better way of doing this.

Before leaving the subject of the razeef, it would be useful to include a note on two other musical instruments that I have seen used at them, but which are relatively unusual.

This first photograph is of a man playing twin pipes. Taken at razeef in 1973, it shows him playing what I believe is a mijwiz. That was the only time I have seen that particular instrument being played at a razeef and was told that it was a tradition common to that particular tribe, the al-Dosari. I am not sure if the performer called it by that name, but I believe that is the name commonly given it in the Middle East.

The other unusual instrument being played at a razeef is illustrated in this set of photographs which were taken on feriq al-Salata at one of the annual celebrations held in February 1984, the habaan.

The habaan is a wind instrument of the bagpipe family, this version being common to the southern Gulf. The Qatari instrument shown here is droneless but has a double chanter, similar to the qirba or jirba that is used in Bahrein generally by those of Iranian descent, and itself similar to the nay anbaan common to the area around Bushir in Iran and from which is is evidently derived.

The instrument is made by taking a cured goatskin, inverting it, cutting most of the legs off and sealing them while inserting a mouthpiece in one as well as the chanter. The notes of its characteristic thin reedy sound are created by laying the central pads of the fingers across the double tuning holes. Unlike many other types of bagpipe, its construction from an animal skin requires it to be held in front of the body rather than under one arm, both forearms being used to provide pressure to the air bag. The double pipes can just be glimpsed in the detail of the lowest of the three photographs.

These next two photographs, of a uniformed troupe, show the modern face of traditional music in Qatar. I believe it may be the same group playing at an indoor event, and in Doha’s newly reconstructed suq, on whose architecture I have written notes on the Islamic urban design pages and on the touristic policies governing it further here and elsewhere in these notes.

I should say in defence of the musicians that there are many who support their old traditions and I understand a small number of individuals still wish to learn to play the different instruments. This is a cultural issue and in many families there is the tradition of passing on the skills and music from father to son. Nowadays, of course, there is more competition for pursuits which might be considered leisure even though, in their earlier employment, they would not have been seen as leisure but as a continuation of normal socio-cultural activities. But times have changed and the fora in which musicians traditionally plied their profession have disappeared or have significantly altered with the pressures of modern life and foreign influences. Some musicians still meet to rehearse and pass on their music to others, but there is also a commercial element in that they are hired for official and private functions, the latter appearing to require advertising as witnessed by the photo in the preceding paragraph. It seems to be the latter initiative which has commercialised and codified their dress and I can’t say it looks right. Hopefully their music will remain traditional in concept if not in origin, even though I know there are northern influences coming in with the introduction of musical ‘experts’ who, with the best will in the world will have an influence both in the music as well as the way in which it is presented.

Finally, a reminder of the past. This photograph was taken in the desert in the early nineteen seventies and shows an earlier generation of drummers, each with his tara, tuning their instruments in the traditional manner, by warming them over an open fire. Having said that, I have a feeling that there might have been writing on the older drums, though there wouldn’t have been the telephone numbers…

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The tambura

The tambura is a very different type of dance. I have suggested above that it is unlikely to change much but I suspect that this may not be the case. Even in the nineteen seventies it took two different forms. One of them appeared to be the genuine event, the other a more recreational version of it to which anybody might be invited to watch. My feeling is that this might turn into a more touristic performance, though if the practice continues, there is likely also to be a continuation of the more private form.

The tambura used to be held in a house or courtyard in the old areas of Doha. It seemed that the more genuine tambura was held on Thursday night, the more public one on Friday afternoon. In order to find it you just followed the deep percussive sound of the drums through the unlit sikkat, but there was also a tall flag-pole, such as that shown above, on the top of which there would generally be a crude model aircraft which reminded me a little of an element of the Cargo Cult practices – though I am not suggesting any connection between the two ceremonies.

Although I have referred to the tambura as a dance it is really a healing or cleansing ceremony or ritual. It is pre-Islamic, originates in Africa, is generally performed or led by women and involves Zar who is either a god, cult or a state of trance – depending on who you talk to. It is clear that many I have spoken to find it difficult to discuss. Exactly why, I’m not sure though I think it might have something to do with the primacy of Islam.

At its simplest it is an event, lasting two or three hours, which appears to be governed by a woman at which, to the accompaniment of drums, a stringed instrument – the tambura – and a percussive device worn around the waist – the manjur – men and women move in time to the music with the apparent view of some of them entering into a state of trance.

Customarily the men will first have been participants in the dance where they move in lines that go backwards and forwards, the rather curious, shuffling dance incorporating a series of short runs and jumps, though much of the dance is performed at a walk. This part of the event takes up an hour or more, and there seems to be no discernible pattern to the repetitions. It appears that the woman governing the event determines this in accordance with tradition and circumstance as well as the needs of those attending.

At some stage the men will break out of the line and throw themselves on the ground, usually kneeling between two drums, and whip the upper half of their bodies backward and forward in time with the beat of the drums. It is a physically demanding motion that must aid their move into a trance-like state. When this is reached they will sit with their feet straight out, hands on knees while somebody will support them from falling sideways until they come round.

At this stage it is not uncommon for them to be covered with a sheet held over them so that they and the person asking questions, usually a woman, have a degree of privacy. I have been told that, when a person enters a trance, they may then answer questions put to them. The only time I have witnessed this I was told that the questions were in the form of asking advice on personal problems. I have also seen people go into trances where they then had to be kept from harming themselves. In a confined space, the real form can be a little disconcerting when seen for the first time.

These photographs all show something of one of the more public ceremonies. In the first photo there is a woman leading the dance with both women and men dancing behind her. To the left there are two men, each with a manjur and twisting their bodies as they operate it. A single drum is being used in the foreground. Note that, behind the woman, there is the base of the pole holding the model aircraft.

The drums, as you can see, are made from tins originating in the oil industry over which a piece of animal hide is stretched and fixed with a binding. The drums are struck with a length of thick, rubber insulation from electrical cabling. The sound they produce is felt viscerally for some distance. Sitting near them for too long can make you feel uncomfortable. I have not seen them tuned so can not say if they are heated as the larger drums are, or if they are tightened mechanically as seems might be the case from the photograph.

There is another drum that is commonly used but I don’t have a photograph of it. The drum is the tabl which is double-ended, similar in size to the drums in the photograph below, is suspended at waist level horizontally around the neck and beaten at both ends.

The manjur is an interesting percussion instrument. It is constructed from goats hooves loosely attached to a sacking backcloth. The manjur is worn tied around the waist as is illustrated in this photograph. The man using it swivels his hips rhythmically, the dried hooves making a hard, double rattle to mark beats of the music – as I recall, the first two beats of a four-beat bar.

In this photograph the musical instrument, the tambura can be more clearly seen as it provides the music for the dance. It is a five gut-stringed, lyre-like instrument, tensioned on a decorated timber frame. According to my research, the strings are tuned to a pentatonic scale. It is played with the fingers plucking the strings with one hand, usually the right, the other hand being used to create the notes and to dampen the strings. The man in the background is employing the manjur to provide the rhythm of the dance. Often he will use a cane of walking stick length, apparently to improve his balance.

In this lower photograph with the focus on one of the drummers, the five strings of the tambura can be seen in the foreground, the instrument being played at a State event on the Corniche which many of the local groups attend both for enjoyment as well as a degree of advertisement.

The tambura, at least the public version of it, seems to be a social event for the area in which it is taking place, as well as having a recreational if not an entertainment flavour to it, or even a therapeutic rationale. It always takes place in a family’s courtyard, as it was in this photograph where the whole of the family were either participating or watching. I should also note that there may be more than one location where a tambura is taking place on an afternoon or evening.

Guests are given tea and coffee as they would be in any Qatari house and, as in the second photograph, a midkhan burning a’oud is brought round to perfume the guests’ clothes. The event will be moved indoors if the weather is significantly cold or it is raining. In the case of it being indoors, there is only space for a few people and the noise and movement can seem overwhelming. The only time I have witnessed a genuine performance, it has been indoors. Note how, in the top photograph, the courtyard has been covered with sand. In some courtyards this might be shell sand, even though this produces a more loose surface to dance on.

As you might understand from what’s been written above, there is a very strong percussive element to Gulf music. Earlier I mentioned fishing and pearling traditions. One musical instrument I have seen used there is a lozenge-shaped water jug which is hit with the flat of the hand on its opening to produce a flat percussive note. The other percussive element worth mentioning is the clapping which forms a part of the ardha and razeef. The way in which the hands are struck produces a very hard, dry sound. Qataris take pride in the sound they produce in this manner, and I have heard performers and listeners criticising the softer sounds, particularly of some groups.

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Education

There are notes on education scattered on all the pages that look at Qatar society, but it might be useful to draw some of them together here. Because of this there is likely to be an element of repetition, for which I apologise. Hopefully there will be no contradiction.

Because of the history of the peninsula, its pattern and age of settlement, and the relatively late development with the beginnings of the oil revenues, it is not surprising that formal education did not start until the early nineteen-fifties. Prior to this there was the traditional Quranic education through the kuwttab system, an elementary form of education that used recitation and memorising of the Quran as a basis for providing young Muslims with a good knowledge of the book that forms their social and religious codes. This was supplemented with arithmetic and basic Arabic, again based on the Quran.

Education was always seen as an imperative in order to raise the capabilities of the society as well as to develop a cadre of educated individuals who would be able to take the lead in benefitting the society as a whole. The first elementary school was opened in Doha, for boys, in 1951 but it took a little time for a girls school to follow. The reason for this had much to do with Qatari society seeing women’s role in a traditional sense, the thinking being that their task was to run the household. But there was also a belief that religion did not permit or encourage formal education for women. It took a series of religious fataawaa to change this. The first primary school for girls opened in 1955 in Doha.

These initial primary schools were quickly supplemented with intermediate and secondary schools for both sexes; hostels for those having to travel some distance were established and a series of benefits given to the children ranging from transportation and uniforms to the material required for their education as well as a form of salary. It is certainly true that children had a wide range of material assistance in their studies.

By the end of the nineteen-eighties there were, in primary, preparatory and secondary education, 62,000 students in 192 schools. However, there were said to be a number of problems contributing to a situation in which students were not given an education of similar quality to that which might be obtained in the West, and one that did not prepare the student for his or her role in the society. A number of factors combined to bring this about:

• the system of education is one imported from abroad, essentially Egyptian in character, rather than being tailored for the social outlook of Qatari students;
• the learning of an extremely large amount of information is required to be assimilated by the student;
• methodology is not a prime consideration of the learning method, nor is there any emphasis on lateral thinking;
• there is little time devoted to social issues nor immediate history;
• the sizes of classes are large;
• the physical state of many of the schools is poor; and
• there appear to be considerable difficulties in keeping order in the schools.

Having said that, by the end of the nineteen-eighties it was also true to say that everybody was obtaining an better education and that the literacy rate had risen dramatically.

In order to service the schools, a number of teachers were introduced, mainly Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian. They brought with them the educational systems of their northern Arab states, with Qatari teachers soon joining them, the whole system being controlled from the new Ministry of Education, again initially staffed in the main by expatriate Arabs.

In the early seventies, and with the rapidly increasing oil prices, the State began to investigate the possibility of establishing a University. There were arguments that this might be better dealt with by training the students at existing Universities elsewhere as this would be more cost effective for the relatively small numbers of students requiring it, would give Qatari students the ability to learn at well established Colleges selected throughout the world for their ability to match teaching to need, and that Qatar should concentrate on technological education that was obviously more needed by the evolving requirements of the State. In the event most Gulf States established their own universities and, in this, Qatar was no exception.

Tertiary education began around 1973, aimed at university education rather than technical or trades-based education, despite the latter being argued as more necessary to a rapidly expanding State and population. While a university education was established as being the norm, a relatively small technical facility was established at Medinat Khalifa for training some in technical trades. A College of technology was established at Qatar University initially catering for between 150-200 students of both sexes.

The Gulf University was established in Doha in 1977. Physically it was seen as an element of the New District of Doha but located deliberately at some distance from Doha in order for it to retain a degree of privacy due to women being students there, at that time an important consideration. The initial development was theoretically based on a traditional response to environmental control and was awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award.

While the development of the New District of Doha has reached and enclosed the university, it is now a fact that more women than men are being educated within the system. There appear to be four reasons for this. Firstly:

• many men prefer to go into employment or business rather than elect to spend time obtaining a university education;
• some men have gone abroad for specialised education, often associated with medicine, engineering, business and the like. It is true that some women also have been educated abroad, but it is not as easy, socially, to do so;
• women tend to believe they will advance both their work prospects as well as their social standing by continuing through tertiary education; and
• there is a social imperative that gives so many more possibilities for enjoyment to women with the opportunities provided by the university.

Most students achieve passes, and at the 1989 graduation ceremony of Qatar University, 269 male students graduated compared with 665 female students – a proportion of approximately two to five. A similar proportion were graduated at the 1990 graduation ceremony. By the end of 1989 Qatar has graduated, in the twelve years of its university’s establishment, 6,082 students of whom about 5,000 were Qataris. Most men graduate as engineers of some form or other, and it is within the specialisations of scientific research and technological development that students are encouraged to attend university. It was only in 1989 that the first graduates in Economics and Administration appeared.

A much smaller number of students are permitted to go abroad to study – for the Academic Year 1987-88 this was reported as 916 students in nineteen Arab and other foreign countries compared with the 5,621 at Qatar University for the same period. These students are following specialisations that are not available to them at Qatar University, but they must also show unusual promise as funding is given them, and monitoring and ratification of their achievements must be effected through the Ministry of Education. These students tend to comprise a higher echelon of university graduates both by virtue of their initial selection as well as by the various effects upon them of their Western education. In this lies one of the causative factors of the social division that has developed, particularly since the increase of the oil prices in the mid-seventies.

As mentioned above, the University graduates a far larger proportion of women than men, and this was thought likely to cause social difficulties in the long term. It was apparent that there were incipient social problems in two specific areas. Women use the University to extend their life outside the home and later some obtain work mainly in the Ministries of Health, Education and Information – Qatari women, by social custom, can not work in the private sector, though there may be some working in family concerns. A significant number of these graduates wish to be employed in areas other than those permitted them and, increasingly, Qatari women graduates are vying with expatriate graduates for positions within the Ministries. This in itself is a cause of some friction within the female side of the society. In addition available positions are diminishing and placement can then only be made by the establishment of more posts at the levels at which graduates are created within the rules of the Government; essentially middle-management. Here there is a feeling that many of the posts are not absolutely essential, and that the Government is encouraging a centre-weighted structure that will be ill-equipped to face the present and future needs of the society.

The second area in which there are incipient social problems is in the relationship between male and female graduates. This has been alluded to in many parts of these notes. It is often said that the women graduates are brighter than the men and this appears to be felt quite deeply by men. So much so that there has been resistance to wives being found for men where they might cause difficulties by virtue of their better education and its implied superior intelligence; by their wishing to satisfy their improved status by taking and holding a responsible job; and by the possibility that their improved status might demonstrate itself in a wife more likely to be socially and economically difficult to control.

There may be something in these feelings. By the beginnings of the nineteen-nineties, staff at the University were experiencing difficulties when dealing with the perceptions to study of their female students. Partly this arises because of the way in which courses have been designed, and partly because of the way the female students perceive they should carry out course work. For instance, there are students who will either not carry out some of their home economics practical work because they would never do that kind of work at home, and there are others who will have their servants do the work for them for the same reason. There are also servants who will not permit their mistress to do the work, insisting on doing it themselves. It is difficult to be critical, however, where the courses are so far removed from the society and its practical way of going about its business.

Female students are very much under inspection, not only by staff, but by their peers. Women students represent their families outside the confines of their homes and their dress and behaviour are daily subject to intense scrutiny from other students. In addition they are also subject to the inspection of mothers seeking a wife for their sons, and the University has become a recognised place to view and select wives.

The education system introduced two other initiatives to benefit those living within the State. The first was that made to reduce illiteracy. Bear in mind that many of those who were no longer of schooling age were unable to read or write adequately. This was dealt with by a programme of special education for all those who needed, and could be encouraged, to benefit from it. It was, of course, in Arabic and that also applied to the primary, intermediate, secondary and tertiary schooling system.

In response to the need to encourage expatriates to work in Qatar, schooling was also provided through the medium of encouraging different national groups to establish schools that taught their national curricula in their national languages. While many of these schools provided only for their own nationals some, such as the first English Speaking School, provided education for a large number of nationalities – but in English and to the British national curricula. These schools were registered and, to some extent, monitored by the Ministry of Education. In addition, the English school was inspected regularly by the British Inspectorate of Schools in order that children educated in Qatar might come from, and return to education in Britain without disbenefit.

There are more notes relating to education on the page dealing with pressures in society.