The Left Is in a Real Quandary Over Qatar

To chronicle the hypocrisy and double standards of the left is a full-time job, and this site has tried its best to keep up with it all. And it is not just the left’s contradictions and duplicity: there are also many cases where the left is at war with itself. This too I have often written about.

For example, there has been an ongoing war between feminists, homosexuals and lesbians, and the trans activists. Many fems and lesbians are not all that happy about guys coming along and claiming they are gals. All the efforts over the years to stand up for women are now being undone by the trans brigade. So I for one am happy to sit back and watch that battle keep bubbling along.

And it is always enjoyable watching the secular left squirm on the horns of a dilemma. The left’s hatred of the West includes at least two things: affirmation of Islam and affirmation of homosexuality. So what happens when a major sporting event is held in a Muslim-majority nation? Do they condemn Qatar for its very anti-gay stance, or do they condemn gays for not respecting Islamic culture and values?

The left’s insistence on cultural relativism means they never want us to condemn other cultures. Of course, they are quite happy to pick on one: America and the West. But we are never allowed to criticise other nations and cultures. To do so would be racist, intolerant and bigoted.

So we see all this being played out with the FIFA World Cup which continues until December 18. As I wrote in an earlier piece, the double standards are everywhere. We had Andrew Thorburn forced out of the AFL by the woke brigade, while we had crickets chirping about an AFLW player who would NOT take part in a homosexual pride round match because she is a Muslim. No one chewed her out for her beliefs.

And then I went on to talk about the sort of place Qatar is. As I wrote in that article:

Qatar is a hard-core Muslim-majority nation. And this is not just hearsay: I have actually been there and experienced this first-hand. Consider this little bit of welcoming information that the government wants all visitors – especially those from the West – to be aware of. There are certain things you WILL not do while there – or else. That includes:

 – no alcohol
– no homosexuality
– no immodesty
– no profanity
– no disrespecting of mosques
– no loud music
– no dating

Hmm, just about everything the West champions or enjoys is prohibited in Qatar. And even as a brief visitor, if you dare to engage in any of these things, be prepared to suffer the consequences – big time. Um, so does that mean the Australian media, the AFL, politicians like Dan Andrews and all the rest have loudly and clearly voiced their strongest disapproval of all this?

So does that mean they all are insisting that we must ban people from going there and we must condemn Qatar in the strongest of terms? As it turns out, the answer to both questions is a big NO. Of course they haven’t. Offending Islam is almost as big a taboo for Western lefties as attacking Christianity is a must.

As I say, it is their hatred of Christianity that really drives the secular left. Sure, they may pay lip service to some issues in Islam, but they will never treat a Muslim like they do a Christian.

Now that the FIFA World Cup is on, we have seen various interesting things happening, including Western homosexuals going there to protest, and some sporting teams trying to push the homosexual agenda. As I say, this is putting many lefties on the horns of a dilemma.

The left has long done all it can to promote Islam while denigrating Christianity and the West. But of course, the left is also a proud sponsor of all things homosexual. So what happens when the two come into obvious conflict, as in Qatar? Again, I like to sit back and enjoy the show. Seeing them squirm as they seek to deal with all this has been fun to watch.

Others have also pointed out all the double standards here. As Andreas Wailzer titled a new piece: “Islam in Qatar vs. Islam in Europe: The mainstream narrative is full of glaring double standards.” Being a rather short article, let me run with all of it here:

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has revealed the double standard of woke politicians, celebrities, and media outlets. Activism and calls for boycotts against the “intolerant” culture of the Islamic state of Qatar seem to be en vogue, while criticism of the growing influence of Islam in Europe is most often scolded at and labeled as “racism” or “Islamophobia.”

In their first match against Japan, the players of the German national soccer team covered their mouths as a sign of protest, because they were not allowed to wear the pro-LGBT “OneLove” armband in Qatar. Apparently, some of the Western teams were surprised that their ideas and values aren’t shared by people in the Islamic world – who would have thought?!

It seemed very important to the German national team to take a stand against the intolerant attitude towards “LGBT issues” in the Islamic country. The people in Europe, on the other hand, who oppose unchecked mass immigration, and warn about the growing influence of Islam that has turned parts of European cities into places resembling Islamic countries are, of course, evil racists and Islamophobes. 

Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Many are seemingly unable to recognize that the doctrine of Islam is not compatible with either the values of Christianity or the ideas Western secularists espouse.

Islam calls for the persecution of the Kafir (unbelievers) and apostasy is punished by the death penalty. Sharia law also tends to be not very friendly towards feminism or “LGBT issues.” I don’t think the inhabitants of the majority-Muslim districts in cities like Paris and Brussels would be too happy with a “pride” parade in their area either.

This incoherence of the leftist ideology is made evident when they want to support feminism and the LGBT agenda on the one hand, but call critics of Islam (at least if they are in Europe or North America), racists and Islamophobes on the other hand. 

Critics of Islam in Islamic countries like Iran are “freedom fighters,” just like the protestors against the draconian COVID policies in Communist China. However, critics of Islam or the COVID lockdowns in Europe and North America are evil “right-wing extremists.” The mainstream media narratives have really become utterly ridiculous.

Yes, the media is just as much wrapped up in this conflict of interests and hypocrisy as are the activists. Let them both try to worm their way out of this one.

Protests we CAN support

There is one sort of protest that I have quite liked seeing in Qatar: when some brave souls took a stand for the horrible human rights abuses taking place right now in Iran, as women are rising up and seeking to get out of their bondage and oppression. One recent piece says this about the matter:

The “women, life, freedom” movement in Iran has been prominent in international headlines this autumn, with protests spreading across the nation. And though the murder of Masha Amini served as a catalyst for the movement, public anger has been steadily building up in the theocracy for decades. 

The protests aren’t limited to Iran; rather, the Iranian diaspora have also held major rallies in North America and Europe, and have pushed to raise awareness in the Middle East as well. Nonetheless, some MENA nations have been reluctant to broadcast the protests, the most notable example being Qatar, which is in the midst of hosting the World Cup.

With a sweeping media ban of the ongoing Masha Amini Protests and brutal IRGC crackdowns, Doha has moved to silence dissidents found displaying the signs and symbols of the protest movement. Despite fraught regional geopolitics and it being a major non-NATO ally, the Qatari monarchy continues its media blackout for fear of spillover creating a similar uprising in their own nation.

Qatar has been embroiled in controversy long before the World Cup due to alleged ties with extremists organizations operating in Syria. Moreover, the government has granted a diplomatic presence to the Taliban, maintains strong ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, and has been a major backer of President Erdogan’s Islamist AKP party in Turkey. Qatar’s sprawling influence has triggered regional blowback at times, with an embargo by fellow Gulf states only recently being lifted. 

Similarly, Iran’s hardline theocracy also backs militant groups, particularly Shiite ones such as Hezbollah and the Houthis of Yemen. Both Iran and Qatar adopt theocratic practices, led by long-standing ruling elites with a spotty record of human rights abuses. 

Now those are protests I can get behind.