Qatar

QATAR

Nation on the western shore of the Persian Gulf.

Qatar occupies a mitten-shaped peninsula that extends about 105 miles into the Persian Gulf roughly midway along its western coast. About 50 miles across at its widest point, it has an area of 4,400 square miles. Qatar shares a land border with Saudi Arabia and is separated from Bahrain to the west by about 30 miles of water. It consists largely of desert sand and gravel with occasional limestone outcrops and sabkhas (salt flats). A lack of water made the establishment of permanent settlements in Qatar's interior impossible until the post-oil era. Summer weather is severe, with temperatures as high as 122°F (50°C) and high humidity along the coasts; winters are pleasant, with temperatures generally around 60°F (17°C), with a continuous north wind. Scant rainfall sustains meager vegetation. Qatar's proven oil reserves were estimated to be 15.2 billion barrels in 2001. More importantly, the country's natural gas reserves amounted to an estimated 21 trillion cubic meters in 2002, most of it in the North Dome field, the world's largest deposit of nonassociated gas.

Qatar's population was estimated at nearly 800,000 in 2002, having grown rapidly since oil income started to flow after World War II. Even earlier, the population included significant numbers of immigrant Iranians and East Africans originally brought as slaves and freed in the first half of the twentieth century. Oil wealth and the rapid economic development it has generated have brought large numbers of expatriates to Qatar, reducing the indigenous population to about one-fifth of the total. Iranians account for about a sixth, other Arabs for a quarter, and South Asians for a third. The great majority of the population is Sunni Muslim, with Qataris subscribing to the same strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam as the Saudis; an estimated one-sixth is Shiʿite. About three-fifths of Qatar's population lives in Doha, the capital and principal port, located on the east coast. Other major urban areas include Khawr, located north of Doha, and the industrial complex of Umm Saʿid to its south.

History

In the 1760s the Al Khalifa, one of the Utayba clans from central Arabia that had earlier settled in Kuwait, migrated to Qatar and established its base at Zubara, on the west coast. After they seized the islands of Bahrain from the Iranians in 1783, their hold on Qatar weakened and the Al Thani, a family from central Arabia, established a leading position on the east coast. An 1867 attack by the Al
Khalifa and the ruling Banu Yas tribe of Abu Dhabi against Doha and other settlements led to British intervention that established Muhammad ibn Thani as de facto ruler of Qatar. In 1893 his son, Qasim ibn Muhammad Al Thani, defeated superior forces of the occupying Ottoman Turks, who had extended their suzerainty over Qatar in 1871. In 1916 Abdullah ibn Qasim signed a treaty with Great Britain that conferred British protection over the emirate, forbade Qatar to have relations with or cede territory to other states without British agreement, and gave special rights to Great Britain and its subjects in Qatar.

Like the other Persian Gulf Arab states, Qatar's pearling industry, virtually its sole source of income before oil, was devastated in the 1930s due to the influx into the world market of cultured pearls produced in Japan. In 1935 a concession was granted to a subsidiary of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later British Petroleum). The modest concession payments enabled Abdullah ibn Qasim to solidify his position and that of the Al Thani clan, a process completed when the ruling family began to earn oil export income after 1949. Political independence was thrust upon Qatar in 1968, when the United Kingdom decided to end its protective relationships with the lower Gulf states by the end of 1971. It declared its independence on 3 September 1971 after the failure of efforts to join Bahrain and the seven Trucial Emirates in a federation.

Economy

Earnings from oil and natural gas production have given Qataris one of the world's highest per capita incomes and have made dramatic economic development possible. In 1991 Qatar began production of gas from its vast North Field. As part of the second phase of development of the North Field, the country built a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export facility at Raʾs Laffan, which began exports in 1996. The country's modern physical infrastructure includes excellent roads linking Qatar with the other Gulf states, an international airport, and a large, modern port at Doha. Attempts have been made to diversify the economy by building cement plants and flour mills, and expanding the shrimping industry. Modern techniques in agriculture have made possible vegetable and chicken production sufficient to meet an increasing local demand.

Government and Politics

In 1970, a year before independence, Qatar became the first of the lower Gulf states to adopt a written constitution. It provided for a council of ministers or a cabinet to be appointed by the ruler, and an elected advisory council. Members of the ruling family dominate the cabinet and the advisory council has thus far consisted only of members appointed by the ruler. With perhaps as many as 20,000 members, the Al Thani family is the largest ruling family in the region and has dominated most important areas of government. In June 1995 Shaykh Hamad ibn Khalifa overthrew his father, Shaykh Khalifa ibn Hamad Al Thani. Hamad has attempted to open the country's social and political environment. In
1996 he allowed the creation of al-Jazeera, a semi-independent satellite television network that has become world famous for its groundbreaking coverage of Arab issues, including the United States's conflict with Osama bin Ladin and al-Qaʿida. In addition, the ruler oversaw Qatar's first elections, which were held in March 1999 for members of the largely consultative Municipal Council.

Foreign Relations

Apart from its wider oil interests, Qatar has focused its foreign policy largely on Persian Gulf affairs, seeking to maintain close and friendly relations with the other traditional, dynastic Arab states. Two long-standing and contentious border disputes, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, were resolved peacefully in 2001. Hamad has pursued a more active and independent foreign policy than did his deposed father. Qatar agreed to the deployment on its soil of U.S. and other non-Arab military forces during the Gulf Crisis in 1990 and 1991, and its troops participated in the fighting to liberate Kuwait. In the wake of increased U.S. military activities in the region after 11 September 2001 and the reluctance of Saudi Arabia to accede to U.S. military requests, Qatar permitted the construction of a large airbase called al-Udayd where U.S. command and control facilities and other assets were transferred from Saudi Arabia in 2002 and 2003 during the U.S. buildup for its war on Iraq.

see also al khalifa family; al thani family; al thani, hamad ibn khalifa; anglo–iranian oil company; bahraini–qatari wars; doha; jazeera, al-; muwahhidun.

Bibliography

Crystal, Jill. Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar. New York; Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Metz, Helen Chapin. Persian Gulf States: Country Studies, 3d edition. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1994.

Peterson, J. E. The Arab Gulf States: Steps toward Political Participation. New York: Praeger, 1988.

Zahlan, Rosemarie Said. The Creation of Qatar. New York: Barnes and Noble; London: Croom Helm, 1979.

malcolm c. peck
updated by anthony b. toth