QATAR

officially State of Qatar, Arabic Dawlat Qatar independent emirate on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. It occupies a small desert peninsula that extends from the larger Arabian Peninsula north of eastern Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It has an area of 4,416 square miles (11,437 square km), the total including a number of nearby small islands and the Hawar Islands (which are also claimed by Bahrain) in the Persian Gulf. The capital is Doha (Ad-Dawhah) on the east coast, once a centre of pearling activity. officially State of Qatar, Arabic Dawlat Qatar country on the western coast of the Persian Gulf, occupying a peninsula of Arabia. Qatar projects northward into the gulf for about 100 miles (180 km) and has a maximum width of 50 miles. Its 35 miles (56 km) of land boundaries meet those of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and it has 350 miles (560 km) of coastline. The capital city is Doha (Ad-Dawhah) on the east coast. Area 4,412 square miles (11,427 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 539,000. Additional reading Comparative coverage with the other Persian Gulf states is provided by Helen Chapin Metz (ed.), Persian Gulf States: Country Studies, 3rd ed. (1994); F. Gregory Gause, III, Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States (1994); Rosemarie Said Zahlan, The Making of the Modern Gulf States, rev. and updated ed. (1998); Khaldoun Hasan al-Naqeeb, Society and State in the Gulf and Arab Peninsula: A Different Perspective, trans. from Arabic (1990); and Michael Herb, All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies (1999). Historical overviews are found in Frederick F. Anscombe, The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar (1997); and Rosemarie Said Zahlan, The Creation of Qatar (1979). Sources on social conditions include Klaus Ferdinand, Bedouins of Qatar, trans. from Danish (1993); and Abeer Abu Saud, Qatari Women: Past and Present (1984). Ragaei El Mallakh, Qatar: Energy and Development (1985); and Zuhair Ahmed Nafi, Economic and Social Development in Qatar (1983), examine economic issues. Nathan J. Brown, The Rule of Law in the Arab World: Courts in Egypt and the Gulf (1997), is a study of the judicial system. An analysis of historical and contemporary politics is provided by Jill Crystal, Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar, updated ed. (1995). Jill Ann Crystal Administration and social conditions Government Qatar is ruled by a hereditary emir from the Al Thani family. Members of the ruling family hold almost all the major ministerial posts, which are appointed by the emir. The family, however, is large and fragmented. As oil revenues rose after World War II, contention within the ruling family grew, resulting in several bloodless palace coups. The emir's power is constrained principally by the need to maintain the support of important family members, many of whom occupy high governmental posts. The homogeneity of the ruling family and the country's wealth contribute to Qatar's political stability. The emir has also cautiously expanded political participation, allowing the first municipal elections to take place in 1999, with an electorate that included both female and male Qataris. In addition, the emir rules in consultation with a Council of Ministers and a self-appointed Advisory Council. Qatar's legal system has several diverse sources: the Shari'ah (Islamic law), Ottoman law, and European law (primarily civil but also common law traditions), the last one introduced through the borrowing of codes of other European-influenced Arab states. Personal law is governed largely by the Shari'ah, while criminal law is influenced but not governed by it. A Higher Judicial Council oversees the Shari'ah and secular courts where commercial and civil cases are heard as well. There are also several lower courts and a system of appeals courts. The emir sometimes acts as the final court of appeal. Formal civil and criminal codes were introduced after a new constitution was adopted in 1972. Qatar is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), and the Arab League; membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) links Qatar closely to its fellow gulf statesKuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Although Qatar has a small defense force of about 12,000 troops, for security against external threat it must depend on the protection of others. It follows closely the lead of Saudi Arabia on most issues. Beginning in the 1990s, however, Qatar has had a more independent foreign policy, which has fostered better relations with Iraq and Iran, as well as with Israel and the United States. It also has had tense relations with neighbouring countries on occasion, especially Bahrain, with whom it has a long-standing dispute over the Hawar Islands. Education Education is free and compulsory for all citizens. Six years of primary school, three years of intermediate school, and three years of secondary school are required in both government-run and private schools. Classes are segregated by sex. Qatar spends generously on education, having one of the highest per-pupil expenditures in the world. Its system has expanded rapidly. Two teacher-training faculties, one for men and one for women, were established in 1973, and together they were given university status in 1977. The university has continued to expand, and a new campus was completed in Doha in 1985. The government also provides adult education classes in schools and centres throughout the country, with an emphasis on increasing adult literacy. About four-fifths of the country's population is literate. Cultural life The National Council for Culture, Arts, and Heritage and several other agencies and departments oversee literary, artistic, and cultural activities as well as recreation and tourism. The Qatar National Museum, in Doha, includes displays of the country's history and archaeology, a model lagoon in which Qatari sailing and pearling vessels are displayed, and a museum of the sea. Qatar's sports culture blends the traditional sports of Arabia's desert society with contemporary sports of Western origin. Popular traditional sports include camel and Arabian horse racing and falconry. Western sports such as basketball, golf, handball, football (soccer), swimming, table tennis, track, and volleyball are practiced widely, but primarily by the expatriate population; football is overwhelmingly the most popular of these. The country also hosts several annual sporting events, of which tennis and automobile racing are the most notable. The government sponsors the fine arts, traditional arts and crafts, theatre, music, publishing, and libraries through various programs. Qatar's National Theatre performs programs in both Arabic and English, while government-owned radio and television stations broadcast in Arabic, English, French, and Urdu. Several local daily newspapers and weekly publications are available.