FIFA World Cup 2022: Where is Islamic Ummah?

Qatar is in the news these days. Two big reasons for this is that it is the host of FIFA World Cup 2022, which is the most popular game on the planet. It happens after every four years and there is lot of anticipation around this tournament. The Indian football team is not a part of this great festival but millions of football fans are cheering for their favourite team and there is a great atmosphere in the country.

But as far as India goes, there is another news which is of great importance. Qatar invited absconder Zakir Naik, a fundamentalist Islamic preacher, whom Indian Intelligence agencies are trying to get hold off in connection with many terrorist activities and delivering hate mongering speeches. But backtracked after India raised concern over the presence of India’s wanted radical Islamist preacher. For the last few years, Zakir Naik has been living in Malaysia. The Indian Foreign Ministry and External Affairs Ministry have expressed their opposition to such an invitation to such a person. This is a diplomatic issue and India should not hesitate to take a strong step to protect its interest.

Rich Islamic countries are perpetrating fundamentalism and terrorism. There can be no two opinions about the fact that the long Cold War between the US and the erstwhile USSR was a bane to many Arab countries. Qatar is one of those countries which benefited from the Cold War. When compared with other countries of the world, it is in the top 10. Qatar is the richest Islamic country, the next is UAE, followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Indifferent Towards Homeless

What have these top countries done for the betterment of Muslims in this world? Answer for this question comes after understanding the Syrian crisis in recent times. Whenever there is a crisis in one country, it is an opportunity for other countries. Iran, Russia and America are all participants of the crisis in Syria. Today every second person of Syria is homeless and feels unprotected after the crisis of 2011. Syrian crisis was the biggest human rights crisis that the world has ever seen but the first to close doors were rich countries like Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia which have been the biggest propaganders of philosophy of Biradaran and Muslim brotherhood. First one to close its doors and to never allow any refugee to enter its border till date has been Qatar. No Muslim from any crisis-hit country has been given refuge in Qatar. Qatar and its richest families are hiding their faces like ostrich, while Muslims across the globe are suffering from crisis. Old parents, kids and women have been looking for help from these countries but have never received any. According to United Nation High Commissioner for Refuge, around 7 million people are today living as a refugee in different countries and an equal amount of people are living in their own countries in the so called a peace zone.

American treasury under secretary David Cohen of the American Terrorism and Financial Intelligence levied serious charges on Qatar relating to terrorist financing. Cohen had stated that Qatar was at the forefront of funding terrorist activities in Syria. It not only funds these illegal activities but also allows terrorists agencies to meet fundamentalist Islamic families and collect money for their activities.

“The choice of Qatar was a mistake. At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022. It would have been a gesture of peace if the two long-standing political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other. Qatar is too small a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for that.” — Sepp Blatter, Former FIFA President

These funds are collected in the name of spreading Islamic preaching in different parts of the world. Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist organisations use this money for further spreading terror. Qatar has blood on its hands of millions of people.

Apart from supplying funds to terrorists, Qatar has something else on its agenda. Qatar and its billionaires want to be projected as the biggest well wishers of Islam. It has its machinery running day and night to establish this branding of Qatar. It was under this plan that India’s famous Muslim painter MF Hussain was granted citizenship of Qatar in 2010. According to Hussain, his free speech was in danger in India and had been forum hunting in different countries since 2006. It was ironic that Hussain ultimately found his free speech in a country like Qatar. He never painted a single painting related to Islam or its preachings as Islam forbids anything of this sort. All his life, MF Hussain made paintings regarding different religions and Qatar rewarded him with its citizenship.

By giving citizenship to MF Hussain, Qatar hit two birds with one stone. Firstly, it tried to belittle India and secondly, it was successful in projecting itself as a leader in Islamic causes amongst the so-called progressive Muslims of the world. On one hand Qatar used to freely fund terrorist organisations, while on other hand it gave space to the so-called campaigners of free speech, which became its brand ambassadors across the globe to project itself as a progressive nation.

But truth has a unique way of coming out and mascots always have an expiry date. The Syrian crisis has exposed this propaganda of Qatar and its rich people. The entire world has seen the inhuman face of Qatar and its so-called progressive Muslims. The world has realised what a coward and selfish nation Qatar is whose heart has turned stone even after seeing millions of women and children suffering at their gates.

By inviting Zakir Naik during the FIFA World Cup for delivering religious sermons, Qatar has once again tried to implement an old and tested formula to popularise Islam. But there is a fundamental difference between Zakir Naik and MF Hussain. MF Hussain was a terrific painter but was gripped by religious sentiments. Regarded as a great artist, it is surprising that he added nothing to contribute to the development of his religion. He could be termed as a feeble artist although he was regarded as a noble citizen of India. But Zakir Naik, on other hand, is a proven extremist. He is a merchant of terror and person who has been declared public absconder by various courts.

Muslims of India and across the globe have to understand that nations such as Qatar can be propagators of terror, traders of their beliefs and sentiments but can be never friends or well-wishers of their religion.