It’s nice to see the Telegraph coming around on Qatar 2022. During the cup there were a stream of negative stories from them–along with almost all the major Western media outlets.
From the start, there were logistical challenges, most prominent the winter timeline. But the valid discussions of financial impropriety and worker exploitation (not uncommon for a big international event) morphed into an all-out assault against Qatar, Arabs and Islam in general.
To be sure, Qatar has its problems–but it is far from Syria or North Korea. It is a deeply traditional society even by the standards of the region. Yet, at the end of the day we saw what happens when so many people of different faiths, cultures, colors and creeds come together. Beyond all the friction we learn a different way of looking the world — and also that we share a common humanity. These moments are becoming scarce in an age of woke identity politics and class polarization. Ironically, it took a super-conservative society to teach us that lesson.
It’s time for everyone to give the Qataris a big, well-deserved pat on the back. They pulled off the greatest World Cup in history!