A (very brief) visual summary of our time in Qatar

Photos by Jillian Sloan

Women and Sharia

By Yasmin Salah Amer

The lecture given by Dr. Aisha Almannai, who is the Dean of College of Sharia at Qatar University, raised a lot of questions. 

First of all, based on what Dr. Almannai said about women and men being equal in faith and religious accountability, what is the issue with women leading prayer or women giving the Friday sermon? 

Just a little bit of background, it is not typical for a woman to lead a coed prayer or Friday sermon. Among all women or family, yes, but otherwise, it’s very rare. Just as a note, this is traditionally the same case for all of the Abrahamic religions, but some newer interpretations are starting to state otherwise.

Amina Wadud, who I mentioned as an example, is a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She became controversial after leading a mixed-gender prayer and a Friday sermon in the U.S. I’ve read a couple of articles by Wadud and much of her rhetoric sounds very similar to Dr. Almannai’s in particular to women having equal faith. She even mentions the way that the Quran addresses both women and men as a way of emphasizing that equality--“Muslimeen wa Muslimaat.”

The answer that Dr. Almannai gave was that women and men differ (mainly biologically) and therefore they have different roles. It’s basically the “separate but equal” philosophy. Almannai asked, “Would you [women] accept carrying luggage or being the security guard in front of a building at night? No.” This is an example of the fact that it inevitable that women and men are sometimes meant for different roles, but ones that are not supposed to privilege one over the other. 

However, I did not find these examples particularly relevant to her argument. Prayer and sermon do not need the same male muscle mass required to carry luggage nor does the mosque contain the same hidden dangers as a dark alley.

Here’s a good argument: prayer is a time of deep commitment and concentration and if you are familiar with how Muslims pray, you’ll also know this one. A woman can’t lead because then she’ll have to be in the front and so not only is this distracting to whom she referred to as “sick-minded people” but it also protects her from being looked at the wrong way. 

During the prophet’s time, women and men prayed side by side—separated by a few feet so it limits any “distractions” from one’s immediate or peripheral vision.” Also, I found the story about the prophet shielding the man’s eyes away from the woman interesting. As I interpreted it, this puts a lot of emphasis on male modesty, responsibility and self-control. These are points that I really wanted to discuss with Dr. Almanni if there had been enough time. 

In terms of giving a sermon or Khutba, I didn’t have time for a follow-up question asking Dr. Almanni’s view on it. She mentioned how women are leading in education and are starting to take on more leadership roles in society. She, herself is the Dean of Sharia at Qatar University, which is obviously an extremely important position. Obviously, Dr. Almannai gives many talks and lectures about Islam and Islamic scholarship. So my question is how is the fact that she is giving those talks fundamentally different from giving a sermon, which is meant to educate a group of people about religion?

Dr. Almanni brings up a very good point; she said that no one can possibly understand everything since mankind’s understanding of religion and divine power is limited. However, I think that a deeper understanding would come about from the debates, discussions and questioning of different interpretations. Now, to be fair and to take away some of my own credibility, I have not done a deep analysis of the Quran nor am I qualified to be a scholar—like Dr. Almannai. My critique is only based on the arguments that were presented to me in this lecture and my own limited understanding. So feel free to criticize or comment.

Inside the Control Room

By Jillian Sloan

For many Americans, Al Jazeera is most likely a vague word they heard somewhere, some time ago, associated with terrorism, propaganda or links to Al Qaeda.  

Not even close. For its viewers in the Arab world, Al Jazeera (which means “the Penninsula” in Arabic) is a news network free of censorship and government control that serves as a voice to the voiceless—and it has nothing to do with promoting war. 

Shedding the sour image as the mouthpiece for terrorism, Al Jazeera is rising as an authoritative news source for understanding the world. With over 69 bureaus across the globe, the Al Jazeera network is covering stories in countries habitually missed or glossed over by other prominent networks.  

During a tour of the studio today, I looked out over the first-rate newsroom with its HD capability and computer-operated cameras. The state-of-the-art equipment and facilities have only been in place since 2006, just 12 years after Al Jazeera’s first steps as a small independent network that, in the beginning, aired a teasing six hours a day.

After building itself a name through the coverage of the three wars in Iraq since 2000, it now airs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and in over 100 countries, excluding (for now) the U.S. According to the broadcaster, it’s the leading news channel on YouTube and its website receives 22 million hits each month. This is a news organization that’s got its act together. 

In the US, coverage of global events, particularly of the Middle East, is mediocre at best. In our meeting today with Hassan Ibrahim, a correspondent for Al Jazeera English and principle role in the documentary “The Control Room” (watch it streaming), he said, “The American people are done a great injustice by their own media.” 

A peek at today’s top stories on Al Jazeera Net and CNN.com show the contrast in geographical and contextual focus. Al Jazeera’s lead story is the mosque shootings in Thailand, aided with a timeline for background information and numerous videos for added perspective. The story doesn’t make the cut on CNN’s top story list. In fact, the two top stories are an update on the France Air crash and Europe’s election.  

“We are less Western-Centric, European-Centric, which is appealing,” said Managing Director of Al Jazeera English Tony Burman. He said Al Jazeera provides a more global sense of this complicated world. 

In places like the Middle East, Africa and Asia where U.S. or British new organizations have sometimes as few as two correspondents, Al Jazeera has multiple bureaus and contacts with independent film makers who can produce material in some of the most inhospitable environments in the world.   

“I wish the understanding of the Middle East was a higher priority in the US,” Ibrahim said.  

The key is in the context. Ibrahim began to reference US history—some history that I’m not sure any American student in the room was even aware of—making the point (in this journalist’s opinion) that you can’t understand the present without knowing the past. US broadcasts and articles on the Middle East are mosaic tiles to a big picture never put into context. How does a car bomb or a shooting at a mosque paint any clear story of what’s going on and why?  

“Our goal is to help people understand the context,” Burman said. “The expectation from our viewers is a wider view and context for the issues in the region.” 

And many news organizations, particularly in the U.S., may argue that it’s difficult to convince people to eat the brussel sprouts of news. It seems that our attention only turned to the Middle East when it was suddenly our own countrymen in the danger.

Even then, the attention paid seemed minimal because the events that had been set in motion arguably thousands of years ago were already beyond our understanding, like trying to jump in eight rounds late to a game of Phase Ten. And many Americans I know have almost completely turned a blind eye to Middle Eastern news. 

Al Jazeera’s Deputy Director of Programs Giles Trendle said, “We had to find new ways to get people engaged in something they had heard about but probably did not know a lot about.”  

The Al Jazeera Documentary Channel is a new addition that airs Arabic documentaries that provide context to current events. All of Al Jazeera programs also run on Youtube, making it accessible even where the network channel is not. 

“[It] changes people’s perspectives on Al Jazeera,” said Trendle. 

Al Jazeera also received flak for broadcasting videotapes from Osama Bin Laden. To this, Sheikh said that former President Bush’s coined “Axis of Evil” began two camps, and “each one has to be given the chance to speak out.” It refers to the Al Jazeera motto, “The opinion and the other opinion.” The tapes are reviewed and edited and only what is newsworthy makes it on air, Sheikh said. 

One student asked how Al Jazeera got tapes from Bin Laden. Sheikh was not remotely surprised by the question and, smiling, said, “We get them. I don’t have to tell you how. Don’t expect me to tell you how. You have to protect your sources.”  

For at least this American, Al Jazeera is not a muddled conception of something evil or even foreign. If they live up to their promises of global understanding, I believe it will help reshape the landscape of world coverage and maybe, just maybe, convince America to get in touch with the world beyond our cousins.

I'd like to buy that

By Alexandra Moe

Qatar's man-made island, The Pearl, is roughly 1,000 acres of conspicuous consumption.

Stretching out from the shore of the capital, its entrance is flanked by a circle of tall, ornate apartment buildings enclosing an azure bay. That leads to a showcase of the tastes of the wealthy: multimillion-dollar yachts moored leisurely along a boardwalk, accompanied by a parade of stores offering haute couture, such as cashmere Italian suits ready for bespoke tailoring, and two car dealerships, one for Ferrari and one for Rolls Royce.

A mini-city comprised of elements of Las Vegas and Venice, the island's developers boast it will add almost 20 miles of coastline to the tiny Gulf county, and have 15,000 homes by next year. 

We visited the island's first phase of development, the Porto Arabia section. Advertisements surrounded us at every angle. Billboards of happy Caucasian couples with the words, “I’d like to buy that,” and “Fascinating,” dominated the few billboards with Arab couples.

It was evident that these ads were focused on luring foreigners not Qataris to come live at The Pearl. Since 2006, investor advisor Ahmad Q. Masri said that people from over 40 different nationalities have purchased the flats, villas, and private islands available on the luxury island. 

It was my impression, though, that the United Development Company that created The Pearl would not care at all if any Qataris lived on the island. 

Its plans include only one mosque on the island for a possible population of 45,000 people, a portion of its beaches for nudists, and the pervasive promotion of a materialistic lifestyle; things that are all far from my idea of the Muslim lifestyle currently existing in Doha. 

The people who will be living throughout this Westernized area are going to have no appreciation for the culture of Doha. The area is something I would expect to be built in America: an area to show one’s wealth and hide away from reality. 

It was no surprise to me that the Qataris who took the tour of The Pearl with us were super critical and showed signs of disapproval towards this new settlement.

Photos: Jillian Sloan