As an Arab nation, in travel literature and other media, Qatar can be portrayed as the mystical “Arab land” Dr. Jack Shaheen describes in Reel Bad Arabs.13 The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup logo, a widely distributed image, enforces the country’s branding as a modern Arab nation, with a swirl of yellow and blue pentagons leading into a soccer ball in the middle.14 “Qatar” is written in a maroon font that an American would expect from a logo representing a Middle Eastern country.
Qatar can sell itself through its connection to the Middle East and symbolic skins associated with the region as a whole. However, Qatar cannot and does not rely on the Middle East media skin. In fact, the country has made efforts to make Qatar stand out: “Promoting a brand for Qatar that will stand out gives Qatar a competitive edge against its neighbors” 15. The most prominent media skin for Qatar is its huge wealth, predominantly from selling oil.
Huge marketing efforts have been made to promote Qatar’s status as a petroleum-producing country. On the official website for Qatar Petroleum for the Sale of the Petroleum Products Company Limited Q.J.S.C. (QPSPP), there is a statement about how the company is mandated “under the law to market and sell regulated products” under certain core principles, including “Provide an effective and efficient marketing arm in support of the Government’s petroleum development activities,” “Maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the marketing operations for the benefit of the Government and the producing entities,” and “Compete more effectively in global markets” 16. QP certainly does this well. In 2015, the Qatar issue of The Oil and Gas Year was published, featuring interviews, statistics, and graphics about Qatar’s ingenuity in the petroleum industry. The issue is riddled with praises for Qatar and what the country has done and the progress it has the capability of making, banking on its “upstream focus”, which is a stereotype about Qatar present across multiple media.17 Abdullah bin Hamad, Chairman of the Al Attiyah Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development in Qatar, is featured in the magazine. bin Hamad claims “Qatar can easily live with the price of oil below $60 per barrel and with lower natural gas prices. State revenues from the energy industry have always been invested wisely in the country’s economy…Qatar’s National Vision 2030 aims to find the balance between hydrocarbons-based and a knowledge-based economy."18 This statement plays on the Qatar media skins of its economic prowess, Qatar’s forward thinking, and the nation’s significance on the global scale because of its ability to produce oil. Even travel guides discuss Qatar’s wealth from oil; the World Trade Press Qatar guide explains the up-and-coming charm of the country’s capital city, “In the past 50 years, Doha has emerged from a city lacking in basics such as running water and electricity to a modern town reaping the benefits of petroleum-based affluence." 19
Qatar Airways is a means of marketing the country to tourists. The airline does this effectively by playing on the country’s wealth. Qatar Airways is branded as a luxurious, high class travel experience. “As the national airline of the State of Qatar, Qatar Airways takes pride in serving as an ambassador for the rich traditions and proud heritage of Qatar.” 20 Qatar Airways is recognized globally as a high-class airline, even despite Western trepidation about flying in the Middle East, because the company has branded itself so effectively by using the Qatari media stereotype of being a rich and luxurious country. Oryx, the in-flight magazine for Qatar airways, was part of a study that claimed Qatari media “unequivocally portray the image of Doha as an emerging international hub in different field to a global community."21
Qatar’s media skin differs from its global news skin in that media play more on the high-class aspect of the nation, separating the country from Middle Eastern political turmoil, while tying it to the Middle Eastern “mystic” media skin. In Diplomacies of Small States, Andrew Cooper and Timothy Shaw wrote, “Qatar has become the poster illustration of how a small state can upgrade its diplomatic reputation to the point of being exceptionally resilient." 22
Qatar markets its brand not only globally, but also internally. “In the specific case of Qatar, [state-branding] compensates for the absence of a collective shared nation-building myth”. 23 The Qatari government has facilitated elaborate National Day celebrations to commemorate Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Thani as the uniting force of Qatar who paved the way for its progress in 1878. Despite Qatari authority’s attempt to forge a national identity and brand for itself, many Qataris believe that entertainment industry needs to do more to protect traditional cultural values in light of globalization. 24
Of course, I cannot accurately say how all of Qatar wants to be represented, but these thoughts are some of my own conclusions from my research. I think that the way Qatar wants to be portrayed is largely how it is portrayed by media, because most of the stereotypes about Qatar are relatively good-- it is a rich nation, it respects traditional values linked to Islam, and it is propelling itself into modernization.
Qatar wants to sell itself as the face of modernization and production still rooted in traditional values. Qatar is quite successfully becoming a prominent global player because of its globalized attitude. Qatar Airways is recognized as one of the best airlines in the world. Qatar is hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which, if successful, will undoubtedly pull crowds of over a million people into Qatar, and place the country at the forefront of the minds of global citizens. Dr. Calvert Jones made an interesting point that many Westerners not knowledgeable about the Gulf Countries may not know that Qatar exists, or see it as a tourist destination, but these people are likely to “know about Dubai and may have some positive notion of it, but probably not Doha.” 41 The FIFA World Cup has a huge capability of changing this mentality. People are going to want to go to Qatar and learn about it. In this sense, winning the bid for the FIFA World Cup was Qatar’s ultimate identity marketing move. I think hosting the FIFA World Cup will be a pivotal media moment for Qatar and will determine the future of its media environment. The country is selling itself as an open place for foreigners, where people of all cultures can come together and indulge in the finer things, which will most likely be enforced in 2022.
A recent sponsorship law that came into effect in December 2016 made it even easier for expatriates to come to Qatar. The law removed a two-year ban on expatriates who wanted to come back to Qatar on a new visa, a regulation set in place in 2009. Even more importantly, up until December, expatriates had to get approval from a former sponsor to come back. Now, however, expatriates do not have to do that if they get hired by other employer. However, the new law also mandates that a four year ban from the country will be put in place for an expatriate who is fired from their job as a punitive measure. I think this law serves as the perfect metaphor for how Qatar portrays itself on the global stage—Qatar welcomes people from all over the world, but if foreigners do something against moral code, or lack productivity and efficiency, the country does not want them. Traditional values of hard work and sanctity are clear in Qatar’s presentation of itself.
Qatar sells itself very effectively, despite the barriers to national identity. Since the country is so heavily populated with non-nationals, the Qatari government had to work hard to create an identity for itself and overcome the huge variations in populations living in Qatar. Despite Doha being a media center, a lot of media developed there concern other nations. Al Jazeera technically represents Qatar, but most of its internal news comes from Doha News, while Al Jazeera takes a more international approach. Al Jazeera’s alliance is publicly thought of as the Middle East as a whole, not necessarily specifically Qatar.
Qatar also showcases tradition through Doha, which is thought of as a city of balance between modernization and tradition. A prominent building in Doha is the Museum of Islamic Art, free to the public. In a Qatar Museums statement, the organization claimed “[Qatar Museums] is committed to instigating Qatar’s future generation of arts, heritage, and museum professionals. At its core is a commitment to nurturing artistic talent, creating opportunities and developing the skills to service Qatar’s emerging art economy.” source Qatar has the money to preserve its tradition in museums in a rapidly developing area. Much like the Museum of Islamic Art sits at the heart of the highly modern city of Doha, Islam remains at the heart of Qatar’s identity it communicates to the world. The values associated with traditional Islam are very much at the center of Qatar’s representation of itself, although they are inherently linked with the societal values of progress, efficiency, modernization, and globalization. Qatar is a country of paradoxes, but it manages to use these seemingly opposing values as a way to portray harmony between progress and the past.