MOHAMMED WAFEER
DOHA : Slinging mud on the state of Qatar upon its very successful conduct of the FIFA 2022, is not new to be surprised but it started from the biased media outlets of the west and Europe since the date on which Qatar won the bid. Every moment since the date of winning the bid till the final moment of awarding the trophy to Argentina/Lionel Messi this baseless criticism continued. Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani himself placed the “Bisht” on Lionel Messi’s shoulders in recognizing and honoring him with the most respectful clothe in the Arab world.
“What is a Bisht?
The Bisht is a long cloak made of light, often sheer, material with trimming made of real gold that is worn over a white thobe.” (Al Jazeera)
This clothe is typically worn in Arab world since many centuries in the past by members of royal families, scholars of highest eminence, highest ranking officials in the government, ordinary people at very special occasions of them such as wedding day, graduation ceremonies etc., in their life and so on and forth. The winning of FIFA World Cup is one of the very special occasions in one’s life and it’s appropriate to give Messi, the highest most respect on that occasion.
In accordance with the Prophetic saying “None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself.” “لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لِأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ”. رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ [رقم:13]، وَمُسْلِمٌ [رقم:45].” His excellency Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, very humbly wore that very Bisht to Messi and he accepted it on the stage wholeheartedly.
State of Qatar being a small country with a population of just above 300,000 people, achieving the highest per capita income in the globe in 2012, became a great example in front of the highly developed, technologically advanced nations by showing its unique ability to host the FIFA 2022, using the highest technologies at best, is something to be highly proud of by not only its people but also by the entire Arab and Islamic world, across the globe.
No nation has hosted the FIFA World Cup in the past in a such grand scale, giving highest most security and safety to the visitors to Qatar to watch the tournament. Some of the unparalleled facilities Qatar had provided to the ticket holders could be listed in a nutshell.
-free transportation by metro and specially arranged buses through the cities where tournament was conducted
-free visas for three members of the family of those who held a ticket.
-stadiums were prepared or built at a reasonable distance so as the match spectators to travel to watch all the matches played during any single day
-accommodation facilities had been provided extensively to accommodate the massive crowd with no inconvenience
-fan zones had been constructed in six different locations for the fans and spectators to enjoy the games
and many more.
What Qatar expected from the international community was only the respect to its culture, tradition, religion, and lifestyle. It’s the basic human right under any written or unwritten law, in any part of the world. Rest was assured and honored.
I believe Qatar certainly has the capacity, strength, and the required resources from every angle to host the Olympic too and I hope it will also be hosted sooner or later, but for sure. Let’s be part of Qatar’s growth and success.
