Qatar government and Indian community officials have called for calm after a weekend incident at Safari Mall in which a young man was attacked by a crowd of angry shoppers for allegedly insulting Islam.
Representatives of both groups met during an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss what happened.
Though no official account of the attack has been shared by authorities, video footage taken over the weekend shows a crowd of at least a hundred men gathered around someone crouching against a wall.
Several people can be observed shouting, hitting and punching the person, while a few others try to fend the crowd. Many on the scene were filming the attack.
According to community leaders, the young man has been hospitalized.
Mob mentality
Speaking to Doha News, an Indian expat said the victim was alleged to have posted inflammatory comments in Malayalam about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
When he was spotted at the mall, several people accosted him and began questioning him about the posts, Niyas Yusuf said.
Yusuf, who wrote an open letter to Qatar’s Indian community denouncing the attack, added:
“What he did is completely wrong but such acts of mob attack in name of religion should not be encouraged. (It was) just horrible (in a) way which never happened here before and should not happen again.”
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior and community leaders echoed that sentiment, urging residents not to take the law into their own hands.
Girish Kumar, the president of the Indian Cultural Center in Qatar, told Doha News:
“The government has some serious concerns… The message is that no one should, under any circumstances, intervene (in this manner).
The public should not punish someone… Instead, issues should be reported immediately to the authorities.”
Following yesterday’s meeting, which was organized by the Indian embassy and included representatives of several community groups and government officials, Kumar said the MOI may launch an investigation into the individuals who assaulted the man.
He added that it was unclear whether the victim was actually the person responsible for posting any inflammatory material online.
The community leader also denounced both the online insults and subsequent assault, calling on expatriates here to respect the rules of their host nation:
“Qatar is such a great country… (and itoffers) vibrant cultural platforms for all communities and expats.
We need to have strong, peaceful harmony.”
Treading carefully online
According to a US State Department report on religion in Qatar, insulting certain faiths here is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
That includes defaming, desecrating, or committing blasphemy against Islam, Christianity or Judaism. Additionally, the law stipulates a one-year prison term or a fine of QR1,000 ($275) for producing or circulating material containing slogans, images, or symbols defaming those three religions.
More generally, Qatar’s new cybercrime law has also made it illegal for residents to create and share online content that’s deemed harmful to the country’s “social values” or “general order.”
The law’s passage has prompted many to tread more carefully on social media, though this weekend’s incident is not the first time that Facebook comments have landed a Qatar resident in hot water.
In February, a teacher at an Indian school here resigned after sharing an inflammatory cartoon of the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on her Facebook page.
Though her actions were not technically illegal, some parents objected to her post, and called the MES Indian School to complain, eventually resulting in her ousting.
Thoughts?
Two wrongs do not make a right, those who attacked this man have obviously forgotten the history of Islam. If he has posted insulting comments/remarks on social media – please lodge complain against him. Sorry to say that this attack is totally uncivilized, unjustifiable and more importantly – its much more insulting to Islam than the insulting comment this guy has reportedly posted on social media.
No complaint should be made against him for just exercising his right to his opinion. The best thing they can do is to ignore him and get on with their life.
This would require wisdom and greatness.
Indeed. Someone here posted an insult about him being a cow worshipper. Can I report him to the police for insulting Hinduism…. Oh, of course not because respect only goes one way in Qatar
Yes, it is not one of the protected religious beliefs.
Actually I had said one should not demean anyone’s beliefs no matter what they are in response to that post. You may have a different opinion and discuss differing ideas and respect each other. You may be whatever you choose to be, that is your choice and it should be respected.
That is very different than slandering,mocking and verbally attacking someone’s faith.
I am sorry you have such a low opinion of my people.
Denying the existence of God is blasphemy under the law here, in Saudi atheism is on a par with terrorism as a crime. Why are my beliefs or lack of beliefs not respected?
Because if they would allow you to be what you want the system would fall apart and the Kings and Princes would lose all their power. They are fighting hard for their survival. And they use any method available. Religion is one of their favorite tools. It is put on you from “above”, by law. It’s not grown from below out of desire of the people. They are afraid.
Followers of religions or philosophies have been attacked throughout history. It is quite normal. It is better to keep one’s beliefs private to avoid religious wars. Unfortunately people never learn from history.
We laugh at children that make up imaginary friends and then we have people on the streets of Doha committing acts of violence over who has the best imaginary friend, like it is any better. Time to grow up and join the real world.
It requires a limited intelligence, indeed, to act in the way they have. Maybe the reason for such incidents is the unlimited stupidity of many people in Qatar?
just like the west with Israel. look the other way. wait its the WEST, nothing they do,or kill is countable
I think you cannot look at the west as one on Israel, the Americans support them unconditionally but most of Europe are critical of Israel and their actions. In fact there have been mass protests against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in some Europe countries.
what is insulting in that. Its a fact that Hindus worship cows. he just mentioned that. Even if you feel there is something, go to the cops. Typing comments on DN is not considered a complaint.
Their behavior was appalling; they should have reported him to the authorities. Those who attacked him should face fines or jail time.
It is always negative when people become over zealous and try to take “justice” into their own hands and in their own interpretation; even sometimes punishing innocent victims i.e. Afghan woman beaten to death.
(Look how messed up countries that have that sort of mindset are-I do not want it here in mine)
Qatar is a Muslim country heavily predicated on Islamic law and it is well known that if one insults our Prophet (PBUH) or the religion itself; they can end up in jail or deported due to the laws of the country. It is just common sense not to do it. If someone does say something derogatory; that does not mean people have the right to become vigilantes. Report it to the authorities and let them handle it.
Reporting it to the authorities is so childish, it is a like a kid in school saying to the teacher my friend insulted my Dad and I want him jailed. Blasphemy should never be a crime anywhere.
I won’t argue with you what should and should not be. Your opinion is your own and that is fine.
This is the law here.
People have the right by law to report someone for blasphemy; it’s been the law since Qatar emerged as a Muslim State and most Qataris are in adherence to Islam.
An individual can ignore it or report an incident.
In the end if someone is offended and wants to take action, I would much prefer them to report it to the police than to try and attack the individual.
But don’t you find that very sad that having a different opinion can land you in jail?
The same is true in many places- sad or not.
Unfortunatley true, in Pakistan blasphemy is used to intimidate, execute and perscute those that are not sunni Muslims, even the only Nobel Prize winner for science in Pakistan has been written out of history and his grave
desecrated because he was the wrong type of muslim. Is this something Qatar wants to compare itself to?
Very true in France and many european countries where claiming less people were killed in Holocaust or denying it gets you a jail time. Even speaking against the zionist project or settlements will get you arrested under anti semitism laws and get you jail time.
Not many, some and I disagree with that as well. Deny the holocaust of you wish that is your choice but at least their is evidence for that, you cannot produce a shred of evidence God exists.
Speaking out against settlements or zionists does not get you jail. Name one case that has happened
A muslim engineer was killed by a hindu marathi mob in India, not long ago, because he wrote something objectionable about Shivaji who was an old Marathi ruler in India.
So the problem is with everyone and every where.
Religious tolerance is the key….
A secular blogger has been hacked to death in north-eastern Bangladesh in the country’s third such deadly attack since the start of the year.
Police said Ananta Bijoy Das was attacked by a masked gang wielding machetes in the north-eastern city of Sylhet.
Mr Das wrote blogs for Mukto-Mona, a website once moderated by Avijit Roy, himself hacked to death in February.
Mr Roy, a Bangladeshi-born US writer, had criticised religious intolerance.
Source: BBC
And this is the “other” side of Freedom of Speech.
As it should be, as it should.
So questioning holocaust means jail term but writing derogatory comments on someone’s faith means freedom of speech award. Typical western hypocrisy.
I don’t believe that I said any such thing. If countries want to jail people for offending/questioning their mythologies or their histories that is their choice. I fully support prosecuting you for denying the Holocaust in countries where it is a crime. I also support prosecuting those who offend religions where it is a crime. I think that both laws are asinine and not worthy of modern society, but those are the laws of the land. Also, please don’t ever call me Western again – it offensive to my identity.
Ҥ 130 Public Incitement (1985, Revised 1992, 2002, 2005)
(1) Whoever, in a manner that is capable of disturbing the public peace:
incites hatred against segments of the population or calls for violent or arbitrary measures against them; or
assaults the human dignity of others by insulting, maliciously maligning, or defaming segments of the population,
shall be punished with imprisonment from three months to five years.”
The law condemns “Public Incitement” or “Hate Speech”. Not specifically against Jews but against anybody. This is the law in Germany who is one of the main culprits of the holocaust.
it depends on what sort of opinion difference you have
A different opinion is not the same as belittleing someone/something via cartoons or insults.I understand your point but wonder if it is actually something worth fighting for or getting upset over.However there have been cases where I question if the reaction was warranted as well.But we all have our own little things.You don’t make fun of someones mother could be one example.That can be touchy and something someone might stand up and take seriously in some circles(probably many).
If you make fun of someone’s mother than makes you an a**hole but not a criminal. Same here
But most likely you could be attacked for it.
We permanently make fun of mother earth and nobody punishes us. Let’s wait when mother earth punishes us. It (she) doesn’t need us.
Yes, it is. The rules on cartoons and images applies to those who have chosen that belief, and NO ONE ELSE and are subwerviant to national laws. Why do so many people have such a hard time understanding that?
You are normally right about many things; on this you are completely wrong and naive. Blasphemy is a crime in this country, we should all respect that if we choose to live here. He should have respected the rule of law as should his attackers.
You are incorrect. We have to obey it as it is the law – respect is not required.
Perhaps not, but it is advisable especially when you are a guest in someone else’s country.
Depends on how you define respect though, doesn’t it? Respect is not something that you can turn on or off, while obedience is. At the end of the day that the the thing about obeying the rules/law. If you do it, no one will ever know whether you respect the system around you or find it utterly contemptible.
Never thought I’d say this but with attitudes like this I’m not surprised some of the locals on here tell people to go home.
Oh I fully see the local ways as a perfectly valid worldview and way of organizing society. That is respect, not admiration or a desire to emulate. Frankly, I’ve only encountered a handful of societies that I find I admire or would emulate – my native one is not among them. I don’t know what more you should expect of a person.
One could hope for common sense in place of overarticulation.
Common sense and religion are mutually exclusive
One can be religious and still have common sense.
Haha. God committing genocide, telling Abraham to murder his son, winged flying horses, splitting the moon in two. 100 of Indians attacking one man because of something he wrote.
Nope don’t see it
Its very easy to find examples of whatever you want to bolser your point of view.Probably easier that expanding upon your point of view.
Muslims wearing hijab getting killed in France, millions thrown out of their homes in Palestine. 3 muslims shot dead in Chapel Hill but its only a “parking dispute”. Thousands of muslims killed in India because some Hindus just wanted to kill them. But then again when muslims are victims, you go blind. Just another case of your hypocrisy.
Not at all, I have defended the Palestinians and the unjust treatment by Israel, I have highlighted the persecution of Muslims by Buddhists in Myanmar and even Jews being killed at supermarket in Paris by Muslims. Go and read some of my posts.
Kenya shopping mall, Kenya school massacre, murder of 40 odd cops Philippines, no room to write Boko Haram crimes, Ottawa, Sydney, ethnic cleansing of Libya. Is this really a comparison you want to get into? Lots of victims to go around. This isn’t really a comparison game that you want to get into because the stats aren’t pretty.
You forget the best one- 5 years jail in India if you eat beef because apparently cow is God.
It’s common sense that the universe is ruled by the laws of physics and not by an unknown superior being.
That may be fine but the universe is also made up of humans,some of whom may obide by the laws of physics and others who may go to the QDC.Actually humans are what makes the universe interesting.
Diego, you don’t have to “obey” the laws of physics, you don’t have a chance to ignore them. You are through them. Now, take away the electro-magnetic force which holds the atoms together and you’ll cease to exist. Take away religion and you still can live on. It is common sense.
Every time I take my litrebike out to Losail for a track day, I say a prayer and then do my best to defy those laws of physics.It works for me.
So, you mean you can fly? Wow!
No, just confirming one can mesh religion with common sense or lack of it in some instances.
Well, you can mesh it and live with the illusion that it works together. But in the end religion won’t help you to stand on the surface of earth. It’s something called ‘gravity’. Not a religion, though, just a measurable effect of something keeping you in place.
But I will never have faith in gravity, I simply take it for granted.But I don’t suppose gravity had anything to do with St. Bernadette,or perhaps that was just good genetics.
The laws of physics still apply at QDC, it doesn’t operate in a parallel universe…..
If you drink enough you may very well be in a parallel universe with unknown physical laws. Have you never woken up in the morning after a night supplied by QDC materials and asked yourself how you had gotten into that bed (place)? Maybe through a Black Hole?
I beg to differ,they do place a limit on what one can buy.
Correct, that’s the QDC religion. It’s also called ‘politics’. Do you see the connection?
….
Deleting the rest of this thread for getting off-track.
I agree with many of your comments. However, in this particular case, the rule of law should take precedence, irrespective of one’s opinion. If one believes that the law might have broken and has evidence to prove it, one has every right to notify the authorities.
The law in this case is wrong but you are correct it is a law in Qatar. However as we have seen around the world it is one of the most abused laws used to intimate and oppress others that do not share your beliefs or to settle scores.
The law is wrong according to who? According to a law back from where you came from?
It is wrong for any fair minded human. If you are saying God cannot protect himself and you need man made laws to enforce his religion then your faith is weak.
You can’t prove God exists so you jail people because of an idea, how very totalitarian.
#freeraif
careful lady
Why, will you issue me death threats and fear of imprisonment to silence me? How very religious and caring of you.
Well, I do care for you .. don’t want religious people to attack you ..
Fair minded human, we can debate about this for decades. The rest of your comment, I don’t know opened that topic, I don’t know why you brought it up with me. Only reason is you’re bringing up cases which you think you defend and running away from what you can’t.
Which proves that religion is a system invented by the ruling classes to control the people.
Well, an American might say that the right to carry guns is an inalienable right, and that the law prohibiting guns is wrong. He can say whatever he wants, as long as he obeys the law.
But he cannot say what he wants, he is silenced. I would like to know what he posted, if he was inciting violence against muslims that is wrong, if he was just being offensive then that is his right.
You have the right to be offended, but never the right to never be offended.
I am not sure that he was silenced. Someone posted something, but we don’t know for sure if it was him or what exactly was posted. Assuming that he posted, he apparently managed to express his views, but by doing so he might have broken the law. There is only one institution, the Courts, that can determine if the law was broken. Debating if it is a good law or a bad law is as useful as debating if the 80 km/h speed limit makes sense on a Friday morning with no traffic.
You are right that rule of law is important, but if a law is immoral or wrong, it also shouldn’t be followed. I realize that many will say that laws protecting religion within Qatar are right (I personally don’t believe any religion should enjoy protection from people making nasty comments about them, but that is my opinion); I’m merely pointing out that rule of law at any cost is not always the best option, either.
I disagree. Some people find the law that prohibits the tailgating and flashing at a car that drives slowly in the fast lane to be wrong. Do you welcome their violations? I can give you more extreme examples, but let’s not get too carried away 🙂
The line falls in many societies on whether or not a law causes harm or prevents harm. A law becomes immoral if it causes more harm than it prevents; a classic case was the American Jim Crow regime which was designed to cause more harm to blacks rather than protect whites. When American civil rights activists began to peacefully break those laws, they showed just that; whites weren’t any worse off with blacks sitting where they liked on the bus on a first come, first served basis, but blacks were certainly worse off by being forced to sit in the back or having to give up seats.
Blasphemy laws, in my mind, fall into the same category: they cause more harm than they prevent. They are susceptible to abuse and incite this kind of behavior (with some of these men likely thinking they had the law on their side as they tried to beat this poor guy) while they prevent virtually no harm, since blasphemy can only result in hurt feelings and being offended rather than genuine harm.
I don’t know your nationality. If you are an expat, you should leave it to your Qatari hosts to decide what laws are good for them, especially when it comes to religion and morals. If you are a Qatari, good luck.
You are right, it is right for Qataris to decide the laws which govern them, but other countries should boycott Qatar for having such an outdated and indefensible law which leads to religious oppression of minorities, violence against individuals and imprisoment in violation of free speech. Saudi Arabia used such a law to silence Raif Badawi, a 1000 lashes and imprisoment for something that cannot be proved in a court of law. That is shameful
Many counties’ decisions to boycott or impose sanctions are based on geopolitical interests not morals, so don’t count on it.
Of course it won’t happen but Qatar is careful not jail too many non believers as that would draw attention and that’s the last thing they need on top of the bad PR for the world cup
Qatar doesnt have any issues with non believers. They have issues with hate mongers. And yes they deserved to be jailed and deported.
And morals, like religious myths, are far from universal, so it is hard to count on that.
If you had so called “morals”, ypu wouldbt be working in Qatar? Stop with the holier than thou attitude.
I have my own morals, not morals imposed on me decided by someone else.
Morals are not universal – your morals are not necessarily mine, or anyone else’s. That is why the law is supreme.
LOL
I’m no longer a resident of Qatar, though I quite enjoy the conversations on DN because it’s one of the few (relatively) free forums that allow exchanges like this.
That being said, how wise is it for a country as cosmopolitan Qatar to risk instability by trying to impose a single religion on a very diverse (and mostly temporary) population? Wouldn’t state resources be better used under a secular system? The only argument I can see for keeping strict blasphemy laws is state-led conformity.
This mob attack would have been more clearly unacceptable in such a system, in my mind.
Regardless of whether anyone thinks it should be outlawed or not doesn’t mean the law can be broken.
There are a lot of laws I think are stupid and outdated but doesn’t mean we can break them. And if someone wants to enforce the law they have a right to report that law being broken.
Burn the Witch?
Exactly, there is no requirement to give any credence or belief to differing mythologies around the world, but the laws governing them must be obeyed.
I just don’t understand anyone beating up (or killing in other cases) others for any religion….
You are clearly not aware in the fact that the vast majority of wars all throughout time and the world have had a religious begining then??
Don’t think thats what he meant….
Rather he was stating he doesn’t understand why people would revert to violence just because someone criticises a religion!
And I have to say I agree with him
I agree…word against ANY RELIGION are just words….KILLING another man for “JUST WORDS is barbaric, cruel and DUMB as S H I T
Probably not true. At least in modern history.
It is mob rule, people feel empowered if they can exercise violence in a large group against a minority.
yes I get it, but rationally to beat up or kill for any religion is not logical.
Believing in various Gods and Holy Books or Myths is not logical, so they just take that illogical step further.
100 men attacking one man, how religious of you guys.
accusing “you guys” for 100 men, how wise of you!
Well, I’m addressing the attackers not anybody else.
everyone should re think before posting such unfair comments in social media. the way mob reacted was totally uncivilized.
Why? Maybe I find your comments offensive and unfair, will you stop posting because I say so?
He will stop posting if the law see it offensive.
Immediate action should be taken against the perpetrators so that such type of hooliganism is curbed.
Guess it was a rehearsal for the world Cup 2022. And it seems that the authorities have no clue how to handle “fans”.
By having a blasphemy law they are encouraging mob violence like this. I bet his attackers will not even be charged as the police will sympathise with their crimes.
Your bias style of writing articles is disgusting
what exactly was Bias
Blasphemy is victimless crime, physical assult is a crime and should be punished. Attacking someone for having different views to yourself is not the mark of an advanced civilisation and if these people’s faith is so weak they believe they must use violence and intimidation to silence others then that is a shocking indictment of humanity.
This reminded me of how it works in India, the bloody “mob rule” running rampant
I came to Qatar so that I can avoid such situation.
Now, if I have to any trust in Qatar, both parties, the mob and the accused (if guilty), should be kept in Qatar jail for at least 10-14 full years with hard labor and issue a warning to all that such matter shall be never be tolerated.
Otherwise, this is a sign of bad things to come.
The accused if we can call him that why does he deserve jail time? For getting a beating?
For making inciting comments against Islam and the Prophet which is a crime punishable under Qatar law.
So the person who posted insulting comments against Hindus which was then deleted by this site should also face jail time? Because of course respect goes both ways…. Don’t make me laugh, Islam has no respect for other religions and neither do the majority states. They oppress and persecute minorities as this law shows
No, only if found guilty for breaking the law. Didn’t you read everything in the article?
Here, check the web address below.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/208620.pdf
Just because he got thrashed by Zealous Malayalees, doesn’t mean he goes free if he had posted something offensive on Facebook from Qatar.
Plus it will be safer for both parties to be in jail in Qatar than be on the streets in Kerala after this incident. And those streets that I mentioned are from where all this animosity and hatred start from.
I don’t know how the streets of Kerala are, but my first housemaid’s brother was briefly jailed and deported for some relatively minor offense. According to his sister, the jail was not exactly a picnic in the Aspire Park
Well, neither are the streets of Kerala. Jails are not meant to be a walk in the park.
What you saw in the video is nothing compared to what does happen in Kerala because of religious tension. Swords and weapons come into play.
Don’t think of the next statement as a put down; Your lack of knowledge of what happens in India is very evident.
A bit off-topic, the omnipresent Shabina is watching, etc., but I don’t disagree with you. Heard about Kerala for s first time after I moved to Doha, don’t read the “India” section of the Gulf Times, no Keralite friends, pity…
When it is peaceful, it’s beautiful; but when it turns hostile, it is ugly. And with India being vast, having various cultures, religions and languages, this is very understandable if it happened in India.
But this happened in Qatar and this is unacceptable by me. Swift action with investigation must be taken, places in and around industrial area should improved with culture and families.
About having friends, “Hi, I am Allen, nice chatting with you. How are you?? :)”
If Shabina from Doha News is reading this, “Hey Shabina, how’s it going? Good job reporting on QF Radio”
I think that the authorities should be extremely concerned about mob rule. Today it is Indian mob against an Indian, tomorrow… who knows.
I still don’t get it, what makes the mob believe that Good Almighty can’t take care of Himself and needs the mob’s protection… Or is it a convenient way to settle some accounts with impunity?
Bingo!
I’ve often wondered the same thing…How weak must these people’s god be???
God is OK, these people are not
I guess this thread will also be locked in a couple of hours 🙂 Try to get your best shots in before that happens.
I try to give it at least 24 hours 😛
LOL, I wonder how many here have been jailed for insulting Judaism. Or Christianity for that matter.
They don’t matter they are wrong
In the eyes of the “true believers”, so true.
We all have the right to free speech and expression, but that ends when you reach near the tip of another person’s nose as he has the same rights too.., and if it is not stopped there its known as hate speech. If someone does something like that we have no right to punish him or judge him, we have to report the same to authorities and take legal action, under any circumstances peace and harmony cannot be disturbed and this will be destroyed if people take law into their hands as your interests and opinion will be different from others..let’s not post any comments or articles or images abusive to any person or group and also lets not conclude or judge someone without clear understanding of the issue and take law into our hands….this cannot be encouraged as each person has different choices,opinions and likes and all need to live in peace and harmony.
Or one could say: Let’s not be so sensitive that we commit acts like beating someone up, which surely no God would like.
But many people around the world find passages in the Koran offensive, should we ban that book because some people are offended? You cannot have free speech for one but criminalize others because they disagree with your views and because you are a majority in one place.
Saying you are offended is such a childish response anyway.
You either have absolute freedom of speech or have none of it. You cant jail holocaust deniers and then claim you provide freedom of speech. In India eating beef gets you five years jail. At least things aren’t as ridiculous here. Eating pork or drinking alcohol doesnt get you jailed. Finally, hate speech is not freedom of speech.
What is “Mayalam” ?
a language spoken in India
Ahhh the joys of law and religion eh!?
Religion needs laws to protect its power and shut down discussion or interpretation. Take that away and religion falls into irrelevance once challenged
laws made by non-believers. haha (let me ask you this ,HOW CAME FIRST, the Egg or THE Chicken)
Wow. This hits home. I would point out that it doesn’t seem to be Qataris involved, but I have to wonder about why a group of expats would feel so secure about attacking someone who they think has insulted Islam and not be fearful about the legal trouble they could get into. This is especially odd since India is known for great religious diversity, with Muslims making up less than 14% of the populace. Do they feel more secure in Qatar because of its laws on blasphemy? Very disturbing.
India does have a range of diversity but Muslims are often persecuted in India. There is a lot of harassment and even violence towards Muslims in India by Hindus.
There is tension between the Muslim and non Muslims in India . In particularly in the lower classes.
“This is especially odd since India is known for great religious diversity, with Muslims making up less than 14% of the populace.” — Sorry to burst your bubble, but you should read up on the systematic killing of Muslims in 2002
Indian has religious diversity but has lots of religion on religion violence, especially since 1947. Unfortunatley a lot of major parties in India play on that. It seems some are bringing their hatred and violence to Qatar.
Some great posts below. I obey the law in Qatar at all times (excl. the usual minor traffic offences) I would honestly say – but out of fear of being embroiled in a justice system that appears to be broken at all levels – so my respect for the law is virtually nil. However, if I was allowed to speak my mind, I might criticise the law but I would never insult someone’s religion. That might not be enough though, because in Qatar it seems to be a very thin line between criticising the law and insulting the religion. Does anyone even know what the victim (and that’s what he is) actually said? It only needs an accusation to incite a crowd – many of the people in my country who protested against The Satanic Rites hadn’t the faintest idea what was in the book, but were swept along on a wave of incitement and propaganda.
“.. the usual minor traffic offences” are what makes driving in Qatar a nightmare. Thanks for contributing.
Get a grip. I could have said “I never commit any offences” but I’m sure I’d have got a barrage of comments asking if I’d ever exceeded the speed limit.
It is not necessary to violate the traffic laws. They are made to protect the participants in the traffic. Ignoring them is a weakness in a person’s character.
It was the Satantic Verses and the only reason I read it was because there was a death threat by Iran against the author. The book wasn’t every good……
It is also the reason the I looked up the cartoon of Prophet Mohd that won in America, if those two people hadn’t attacked the event no one would have known, but by committing acts of violence in the name of Islam it gives more publicity to those that upset them.
Religion aside (which of course it wasn’t), the winning cartoon was certainly witty. And you’re right, it wouldn’t have been seen by so many people if the cartoonists hadn’t been attacked. So their plan backfired, but I doubt they did a lot of planning…..
He got what he was asking for.
What a great world you live in, condoning violence against your fellow man. Do you hit your wife if she is disobedient? I’m guessing yes because your book allows it.
cry me a river, he deserved it.the people did a great job. god bless them.
Your a very confused person.
You run around screaming people should respect laws.
Then you turn around and support people who break our laws….
It seems you are just a troll, and your comments do not deserve merit or time.
That is a sad and a horrible comment.
Thank goodness most people do not think as you do and the government does not approve of such actions or mentality. You could go to Bangladesh, seems to happen often there sadly.
They do not even know if the man beaten was responsible for the claims against him; and weren’t you the one in the other post about the Villaggio fire saying that first “judge’s should judge”…kind of hypocritical.
Many of your comments come off as provoking, antagonistic and seems like posting for the sake of posting.
no, when you come to a another country , with different values than yous. you don’t impose your values on them. your here temporary. do your thing & go.
No one said you should. I never said that. I don’t think you read my posts.
I said that my government (Qatar) has no tolerance for people taking justice into their own hands, as it should be, these men who beat him broke the law.
Respect the countries laws or go.
If someone says/does something you find against the laws of the country report it to the police.
They broke the law with trying to beat him; they should be removed from the state.
Also like EVERYONE has said and even in the article they do not know if he said those things or not. There is no proof it was this man. Let the police handle it and find out the evidence, etc.
‘Qatar’s Ministry of Interior and community leaders echoed that sentiment, urging residents not to take the law into their own hands’ – does this also extend to the ‘zealots’ who are about to launch another clothing campaign as they are using the law as their justification for carrying it out?
Lol. As long as your religion is right kind of zealot you are ok
your talking about the people of the land .your host. how are the LAW makers.your a guest. you should REFLECT YOUR RESPECT.after all your all here temporary.
Yes, and it is the authorities ‘of the land’ have urged residents not to take the ‘law into their own hands’. I think your post is directed in the wrong direction, and I can assure you that I ‘Reflect my respect’ for Qatars laws at all times.
Reflect your Respect is not a law…and in my opinion I do understand their initiative.
But that’s a whole different topic.
Yes, they should respect the citizens and we should respect them.
And it is sad that many of them are here only temporary and cannot become permanent residents.
Did you build our buildings? Did you give the technology to extract the oil and gas?
Do you sale the products in the shops? etc etc.
The answer is no. They have done a lot for us and I am thankful for all those who have contributed to my country.
Respect should go both ways.
they didn’t do all that out of the goodness of their hart or for charity. its called working.they got payed.& some over payed.& we did build & sale our products before oil& gas where discovered. thankful for their services.but wouldn’t change my values because of an OUTSIDER Pressure. we all saw how enforcing it into other countries end up to.
I understand your concerns. It is ok. All I am saying is it is best to listen and respond respectfully instead of just attacking people and telling them they are going to go home so we don’t care.
And yes, some are here for only the money and could careless sadly.
And some are not…some really do care.
Qatar has always mingled and been intertwined with foreign communities and we have remained ourselves.
As you have said Qataris were more involved in the full scope of the building process before but, there were still foreigners here (Indians especially as they are long standing trading partners throughout our history).
In recent times we have become excessively dependent on foreigners for our fast development.
And the sudden surge of the large amount of expats can be daunting for a small close knit society.
I would never want us to change who we are for other people and we do not need to.
But we can listen to their advice and opinions (doesn’t mean we have to follow it), sometimes they give good feedback/concerns that would be helpful …sometimes not.
I personally am very proud to be a Qatari and think we’ve done well for the short amount of period we have dealt with the sudden bursts of growth. Of course we have our failings but we are just human.
That was a long post, I hope you understand my point. Don’t be worried about change, change is constant, but that does not mean we will lose our culture or who we are.
Anyways, inshallah you have a good day.
you too
Nice to see such a reasoned response on this thread! Bravo
I agree with much of what you have said and hope you continue to contribute as it is great to see things from the Qataris point of view.
Would just like to pickup on one point in your response “some are here for only the money and could careless sadly”
I would suggest that the reason why most expats couldn’t care less is because we have no reason to care.
As you yourself said it is almost impossible for us to become a Qatari citizen. The system is setup such as we are basically just hired mercenaries, that can be kicked out at the whim of our sponsor no matter how long we have been here for.
So if expats are not allowed to become part of the society that they have overwhelmingly contributed to is that really any surprise?
Just to be clear I have no problem with this system as I knew the score before I came, but I also think that Qatari’s shouldn’t be surprised by this
will not caring is understandable.you were hired by a person/company to work here.not asked/invited to immigrate to Doha by the authority of Qatar, but what i don’t understand is when ppl ask for change in the country it self. its like me asking every country i visit to have HALAL food when ever im visiting .do you get what i mean ?
Yes I do understand what you mean and I do agree up to a point. As always its not quite as simple as that 🙂
But I think I should leave the conversation there, as its getting off topic from the original subject
I read the screen shot of the facebook comment, There was no blasphemy involved. It was merely a comment displaying communal hatred against a minority community in India. Inciting communal hatred may be an offense in India. But. it’s not a crime in Qatar. There are no such laws in Qatar.
Where can I see it?
It’s in Malayalam. Do you understand the language. Anyway people are circulating it in facebook. Shall post a link if I find it. All he said was something like “this is our country. we are the majority here. if you attack us you will be sorry”. Purely an Indian communal thing. Not at all religion related.
The comment was inciting violence. It calls for raping muslim women and threatens muslims. And yes inciting violence is a crime in Qatar and there are laws against it. He deserves to be jailed to set a precedent.
Well one thing will come out of this, it is will become ever harder to get visas for Indians now, they will become like Pakistanis.
Set an example of proper law enforcement by jailing all the accused and deport them after that, with a life long ban. The country should not tolerate such offences. Most of the social media and Indian tv channels have already the aired video of the fight worldwide and so it will be easy to find the accused ones. This media exposure itself is a real threat to them once they are back in Kerala.
Well, they should set an example of “proper law enforcement” in the Villagio case first then.
Yes, send them back home. No need to import the crap that’s going on in their country into Qatar.
the one who posted comments on facebook needs to be jailed first. he has already been dismissed from his job. Arrest him and ensure that he is jailed with rigorous imprisonment followed by deportation and a life long ban.
I think more bacon would calm these people down
MIMH, if you talk so much you are only repeating what you already know. Why don’t you listen sometimes and learn something new?
These pictures are no prove. The people are NOT the same. It doesn’t prove your claim that bacon calms.
Bacon moves in mysterious ways and in time bacon will reveal all. Blasphemer!
Yes, I say it openly: I hate bacon!
The only thing you cannot eat of a pig, is its squeak
Deleting for creating an entirely off-track thread.
The person got what he was asking for. He should be jailed and deported.when you come to Qatar learn to respect the law of the land. Else dont come.
Well, I’m not aware that he was even charged with anything, let alone prosecuted and punished. It is not the job of a mob to take law into their own hands based on rumour. It disappoints to see you supporting such lynch-mob justice. I heard that there was a black man in the southern US who may have spoken with a white woman – you’d better get the hanging tree right quick or it may be finished.
Quite a discussion, all! Closing the thread now.