DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Fatima Garcia donned a headscarf and a black abaya — a long, loose-fitting robe — over her clothing as she entered a Doha mosque to learn about Islam.
In Qatar to enjoy the World Cup With friends, the Salvadoran visitor took a day off from soccer to sightsee at the Katara Mosque, where preachers have been introducing Islam in multiple languages to curious fans from around the world.
“Qatar is my first contact with Islam,” Garcia said inside the house of prayer, also known as the blue mosque for its beautiful turquoise tiles. “Qatar has been a life-changing adventure because it gives you a perspective of different cultures.”
Hundreds of thousands of visitors have come to Qatar during the World Cup. For many it is their first visit to a Muslim country. Those who don’t venture far beyond Doha’s stadiums and glitzy hotels will only get limited exposure to the country’s religion, such as hearing the call to prayer from a distance or witnessing Muslims prostrate in the prayer halls of the stadiums, airports and hotels. But for those curious to find out more about Islam, Qatari authorities and religious officials are eager to help.
Local mosques offer multilingual tours to visitors, and the Doha Islamic Cultural Center offers a virtual reality tour of the holy city of Mecca. Stalls at tourist sites distribute free copies of the Qur’an, and brochures on Islam are available in hotel lobbies. Billboards featuring US Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammed and other Muslim personalities have been set up in Doha as part of a campaign encouraging people to explore Islam.
Why during the World Cup? Everyone comes from all over the world to Qatar, a Muslim country, and it is an opportunity to educate people about the faith,” said Abu Huraira, a campaign volunteer with the Explore Islam Foundation and the Islam and Muslims Initiative.
Qatari officials say they hope the tournament will help visitors better understand their culture and that of the wider region.
Qatar continues an ultra-conservative form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism. But unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia, where adherence to Wahhabism led to the strict segregation of single men and women, banned women from driving and kept concerts, movie theaters and even yoga off limits for decades, Qatar has It has long sponsored the arts, has allowed women to participate in high levels of governance, and encouraged tourists to feel comfortable.
However, the World Cup host has faced intense criticism over human rights issues, including its treatment of migrant workers, and accusations of “sports laundering” or attempting to use the prestige of the event to remake its image.
Qatari officials have argued that the nation’s progress and achievements are being overlooked. The ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said some of the criticism against the first Arab and Muslim country to host the World Cup included “fabrications and double standards.”
The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and the host country’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy did not respond to requests for comment.
Back inside the ornate Ottoman-style Katara Mosque, Riffat Ishfaq, a guide from Pakistan, told Garcia that it was designed by Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadillioglu, whose first name is the Turkish form of her eldest daughter’s name. of the prophet Muhammad. The tiles had been made by hand, Ishfaq said; the columns were covered in leather and the vaulted ceiling contained gold. By the end of the tour, Garcia also learned why women dress modestly in Islam and the origins of the religion.
“We want to tell people about Islam. We are proud of our identity,” Ishfaq said, before telling Garcia to keep the abaya as a parting gift. “This helps dispel misconceptions.”
Nearby, Sergio Morales, a Guatemalan who had come for the entire tournament, finished listening to a tour and left the mosque to a booth at the entrance where he asked for a free copy of the Koran.
“Today I was interested because the guided tour was in Spanish and I was able to understand everything,” he said. “There should be guides in Spanish in every mosque because there are a lot of Latin American people who come to these countries.”
Stalls with free Qurans and brochures introducing the religion in multiple languages are also available in the winding cobblestone alleys of Souq Waqif, the capital’s oldest bazaar where shops sell spices and perfumes, scented oils and silk scarves.
Just a few steps away, World Cup visitors entered the spiral-shaped building of the Abdullah Bin Zaid Al-Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center to take a tour and visit the mosque, where people gathered for the Easter prayer. friday.
Carlos Bustos, Mireya Arias and their sons Jacobo, 8, and Matías, 13, toured the cultural center. The Colombian family read information on large banners about the contributions of the Islamic world to medicine, science, mathematics and architecture.
“What we have seen is that they have made an effort to change the image we have in the West of seeing Islam. It is to break that barrier, ”said Carlos Bustos, who along with his children had dressed in traditional Qatari clothing.
“We have been told that we are very different but we see more similarities than differences,” he said.
His wife, Mireya Arias, admired the Muslims’ devotion to their faith and how they follow the call to prayer. She also appreciated the efforts made by Qatar to introduce visitors to Islam.
“They have used many strategies to get closer to the visitors, so that we understand and learn,” he said. “When you’re on the buses that take you to the (World Cup) stadiums, you point to a QR code and it gives you explanations about the Koran.”
Doha Museum of Islamic Art it also offers glimpses of religious beliefs and rituals. Visitors can read about the five pillars of Islam: the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and the hajj, or pilgrimage, or learn about hajj rituals and different funeral practices in the Islamic world.
“The more you understand this Islamic culture, the more fascinating it is,” said José Antonio Tinoco, a Brazilian visitor to the museum, wearing his country’s soccer jersey. “The most important part of the museum for me was the part about Islam.”
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Associated Press religious coverage is supported through the AP partnership with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.
