It is now well known that Qatar will be the host country for the next FIFA World Cup. What may not be so well known is that Qatar ranks twenty-seventh on the ‘World Wide List of the Persecution of Christians’ provided by the  ‘Open Doors Organization.’

On the 15th of July in Russia,  France won the FIFA World Cup for the second time since 1998. Football fans are already looking forward to the next World Cup that will take place in Qatar in 2022. The little Arabian peninsula will host the 22nd world cup between the 21st of November and the 18th December of 2022. The matches will be played in twelve different stadiums — some of them are brand new.

In Qatar, there are a lot of foreign workers and the government will now focus their efforts on the preparations for the 2022 World Cup. These labourers, many from foreign lands, work twelve hours a day, in horrible conditions, earning very little money. The country has been heavily criticised for the working conditions of these employees. Many labourers have  just recently been added to the workforce in Qatar and already working on the new stadiums. According to the Amnesty International, these people are being treated as slaves— many of them are Christians.

In addition to building enormous stadiums however, some of the workers are also building the church of Christ. They group together after work to pray and read the Bible. In so doing,  they give witness of God to their colleagues who went to Qatar in the hope of making their fortune. For many, not only do they find money — they also find God.

In the country that will host the next world cup, there is a significant difference between the rich and the poor. Some citizens are very wealthy; some live from day to day. Among its people, we find 200 thousand Christians who often have to face persecution because of their faith. When we think about the next world cup, let us think about those who are alienated because of their faith.

Qatar occupies the twenty-seventh place on the World Watch List of the Persecution of Christians of Open Doors.

Translator: Ildikó Ungvári

Source: PortasAbertas