Qatar accuses Germany of ‘double standards’ over 2022 World Cup

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused Germany of “double standards” in connection with its criticism of the human rights situation in the emirate.

As MK previously wrote, the Middle Eastern state has faced harsh criticism from human rights groups and officials in some countries for its treatment of migrant workers, who, along with other foreigners, make up the bulk of the country’s population. This forced the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to give a long TV interview, in which he announced a targeted slander campaign against his country.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry summoned the German Ambassador in late October in response to comments by German Interior Minister Nancy Feather that the human rights situation should be taken into account when choosing the host country for the World Cup.

“On the one hand, the German government misinforms its population; on the other hand, the government has no problem with us when it comes to energy partnerships or investments. We are annoyed by such double standards,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, adding that Qatar has faced a systematic campaign against it in the 12 years since it was chosen to host the World Cup, and noting that no other country has been subjected to this.

“It’s funny when such a tone is heard in European countries that call themselves liberal democracies. To be honest, it sounds very arrogant and very racist,” Al-Thani told the German publication.

In addition, Al-Thani called calls for security guarantees for sexual minorities, which Feather requested as a precondition before agreeing to participate in the World Cup, were redundant, and said that German politicians should pay more attention to the hate crimes taking place. within their own country.

At the same time, it became known that the ambassador of the World Cup in Qatar, the former player of the national team, Khalid Salman, in a television interview, called homosexuality “damage to the mind.”

Salman told German broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality causes “mental damage”. In an interview filmed in Doha, scheduled to air on Tuesday, November 8, the former Qatar international touched on the issue of homosexuality, which is illegal in the emirate – “They have to accept our rules here. This is haram. Do you know what haram means?

When asked why it is haram, Salman said, “I am not a strict Muslim, but why is it haram? Because it is damage to the mind.” After that, the filming of the interview was immediately stopped by the official accompanying the player, according to Reuters.