Ambassador of Qatar Bader Omar Al-Dafa Qatar Broadcasting a New Message With Al-Jazeera TV and Bold Reforms, Little Qatar Attracts Big Attention by Nickolas Theros Sitting calmly behind his desk, Ambassador Bader Omar Al-Dafa is a man whose composed demeanor belies the frenetic nature of his workday. Life since Sept. 11, he admits, is fundamentally different and more unpredictable than at any prior time. ìIt took me three days to really realize what took place [on Sept. 11] because it was just beyond my imagination,î Al-Dafa recalls. ìSince then, everything has changed. The situation is very fluid in Washington and the Middle East. You work and persevere knowing that at any minute, something may happen that changes the dynamic.î As the spearhead of Qatarís foreign policy efforts in Washington, D.C., Al-Dafa is at the epicenter of the political whirlwind surrounding the continuing war on terrorism. In these troubled times, Qatar walks a delicate political and diplomatic tightrope. As a U.S. ally, Qatar houses the largest U.S. Army ìpre-positioning siteî in the world, and its al-Udeid Air Base is being used as a launch platform for U.S. military missions over the skies of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the nation also chairs the influential 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, which means that it must mitigate the varied concerns of the Islamic nations and act as a conduit between them and the United States. In another international arena, Qatar expended significant political capital to retain the World Trade Organizationís Third Round, which it hosted in its capital, Doha, early in November. And, of course, Qatar is the home of the phenomenal satellite television station Al-Jazeera. The multifarious agenda of the Middle Eastís smallest nation presents a significant challenge for Al-Dafa and the Qatari diplomatic corps, which boasts fewer than 200 professional diplomats worldwide. This stands in stark contrast to Qatarís most plentiful and important resource, namely, the worldís third-largest proven natural gas reserves. Conservatively estimated at 4 trillion cubic meters, Qatarís North Dome field has enough gas to heat every American home for the next hundred years. As a result, Qatar is on course to become the worldís richest nation in per-capita gross domestic product. ìWe are blessed with natural gas,î says Al-Dafa. ìFive years ago we began a program to supply liquefied gas to the world. Today there is a $30 billion investment.î Al-Dafa notes, however, that gas, like oil, is a depletable resource. Like a number of other nations in the Persian Gulf, Qatar is trying to diversify beyond these resources. According to Al-Dafa, Qatar is moving away from the protectionist policies that characterized Arab economies for so long. In particular, he states that Qatar has introduced new investment laws to allow foreign investors to own equity in Qataróa decided break with old laws that inhibited investment in the country. Political observers credit Qatarís progressive political and economic policies for raising the country out of years of obscurity. Today it has emerged as a powerful force in the Arab World, despite its minuscule size. In a region of the world known for enduring dictatorships and where power is generally determined by the size of your armor and air force, Qatar is a striking anomaly. With a population of only 200,000 (and 400,000 expatriate workers) and the smallest armed forces in the region, Qatarís strength seems almost post-modern. A policy of democratic reform, media liberalization and adept political maneuvering has transformed the nation into a pivotal player in the Middle East. Jutting out of the Eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula like an up-turned thumb, Qatar was long considered a near vassal state of its big-brother neighbor, Saudi Arabia. In exchange for political allegiance to the Saudi monarchy, the people of Qatar enjoyed military protection and the ability to earn a respectable income from their oil exports. That all changed the day Iraqi tanks rolled into Kuwait in 1990. The threat of an Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia and the ensuing U.S. response exposed the Saudi kingdomís military vulnerability and the fragmented state of inter-Arab relations. Instead of Saudi Arabia protecting Qatar, it was a Qatari mechanized regiment, fighting as part of the international coalition, that distinguished itself by halting the Iraqi advance at the Battle of Khafji. For Qatarís political leadership, the Gulf War underscored the weakness of its neighbor and erstwhile suzerain. The consensus emerged that the stateís future was now in its own hands. Thus, in 1995, the then-defense minister and de facto regent of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, deposed his father, the emir, in a quiet, bloodless palace coup. After surviving an aborted countercoup just months later, the new emir began a program to modernize his countryís institutions, introduce democratic practices, and reorient its external policies. Six years later, Al-Dafa takes stock of what his country has achieved and where it might be headed, especially in light of todayís terrorism crisis. ìQatar is really going through a period of transformation; we would like to be a part of the 21st century,î Al-Dafa says. ìIn all aspects of life, we are creating our institutions. We are educating our people. We hope that in the very near future our people will be prepared for parliamentary elections. Perhaps in two years time.î Al-Dafa says that Qatar has already introduced a ìpackageî of democratic reforms. This has included abolishing Qatarís Ministry of Information and censorship department (the only Arab country to do so), introducing municipal elections, with equal rights for women, and revamping the state-run educational system from the primary to the post-secondary levels. ìHistorically, for any nation to really move forward, you have to invest in your people. You have to create high-quality education Ö Islam asks that its followers be educated. The Prophet Mohammed has a famous saying, ëAsk for education, even if it is in China,íî he states with emphasis. Among other things, he notes, Qatar has just formalized an agreement with Cornell University Medical School to open a branch campus that will issue identical degrees as the home campus in New York. ìThis is the first such experiment of its kind, and it is a unique development in the Middle East.î For Al-Dafa and leaders in Doha, the future of not only Qatar, but of the Middle East hinges on democratization. In late August of this year, just before the events of Sept. 11, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani bluntly told ì60 Minutesî that ìdemocracy has started [in the Arab world], either the leaders like it or they donít like it. Either you open the door [to democracy] or they break the door. It is a matter of time in my opinion.î Aware that many critics in the United States and the rest of the world write off the Middle East and Islam as innately inhospitable to democracy, Al-Dafa retorts strongly that ìthis is an excuse. It is honey-coated poison. All people around the world deserve to have freedom of speech, freedom of expression and democracy. Islam teaches its followers that consultation between leaders and the people is necessary. This is nothing new to us. The roots of Islamic civilization, when it extended across half the known world, really proves that Islam encourages freedom, human rights, freedom of speech and consultation between leaders and the society.î In Al-Dafaís opinion, democratization in the Middle East is not only morally necessary, but politically prudent. He cites the troubling rise of Islamic radicalism in the Arab world as further evidence of the need for action. ìWe think it is very important to have modern, democratic institutions,î he says. ìBy modernizing your political system, you can have a healthy society that can discuss differences in a civilized form. In Qatar, you will see that women are allowed to vote and run for office. We do this and maintain our Islamic traditions and culture. ìThose who have manipulated Islam, those terrorists that have interpreted the meaning of Islam for their purposes do not constitute a majority in the Arab world. The attacks in New York and Washington killed so many peopleóMuslims included, and people from 80 different nationalities. Islam does not permit its followers to kill one [innocent] person, let alone thousands of innocents,î the ambassador notes. Perhaps no other Qatari phenomenon has caused as much heated debate as Al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite TV station that has captured the pulse of the Arab ìstreetî from Morocco to Oman. With a viewership of between 20 million and 60 million people, the stationís free-wheeling programs have gained their popularity through hard-hi tting news reports and interviews that often include searing criticism of regional leaders, a quality that has yielded the station fierce criticism by many Arab governments. At one time or another, virtually all Arab governments have shut down the stationís bureau offices and intimidated its journalists. Up until Sept. 11, however, democratic activists and even the U.S. administration were heralding Al-Jazeera as the vanguard of free expression and were putting counter-pressure on the same governments to allow the station to continue to broadcast. However, soon after Sept. 11, Al-Jazeera aired the now notorious videotape of Osama bin Laden calling for a mass Muslim uprising against America. The Bush administrationís defense of the station quickly turned to open hostility, accusing the station of being a mouthpiece for the terrorist. U.S. government officials began applying pressure on the Qatari government to rein in Al-Jazeeraís broadcasts. Al-Dafa defends Al-Jazeeraís programs as the natural consequences of a free press. ìFirst of all, Al-Jazeera has an independent editorial board although it is supported financially by the Qatari government. The government does not necessarily agree with the views of Al-Jazeera, but because it is an independent station Ö they decide. We believe in freedom of speech, freedom of press. Al-Jazeera came to give facts the way they are, the way they happen,î Al Dafa says. What most people do not know about Al-Jazeera, however, is that the station originated from the BBC Arabic Service. A group of Qatari businessmen bought out the service and hired almost all its employees after the Saudi government forced the station to shut down in 1996 by denying it access to the Saudi satellite service Orbit. The original investors set up shop in Doha with the hope of making the station profitable through advertisements. However, the Saudi government has pressured companies doing business in Saudi Arabia, the largest market in the region, not to advertise on Al-Jazeera. Therefore, Al-Jazeera is sustained in part by Qatari government subsidies, which in turn has led some detractors to accuse it of being an organ of the Qatari government. Neither Saudi economic pressure nor Qatari government subsidies appear to have influenced Al-Jazeeraís continued airing of controversial political views. According to one poll, Al-Dafa says, ìAl-Jazeera has 60 million viewers. Why do they have so many? Because they are credible in transmitting the news the way it happens. They leave it up to the viewer to form his opinion in different ways.î Rather than try to muzzle Al-Jazeera, Al-Dafa believes that the U.S. administration should actively use the station to convey its message. ìWe feel it is important for U.S. officials to speak directly to the Arab and Muslim masses. We believe there has been a lot of miscommunication. The more U.S. officials get and grant interviews on Al-Jazeera, the more they will have an opportunity to reach 60 million viewers and get the message out directly to them. ìAl-Jazeera has been accused of being supportive of one party over another. On the contrary, Al-Jazeera was the first Arabic TV station to allow the Israeli view to be expressed directly to the Arab [people]. When Al-Jazeera interviewed Mr. Sharon and Mr. Peres they accused the station of being pro-Israeli. When they interviewed Saddam Hussein they said the station was pro-Iraqi. You cannot draw a line. That is what makes this station so credible.î Indeed, in the last few months there has been a decided shift by the Bush administration toward engagement with Al-Jazeera. Administration officials, such as Condoleezza Rice, have recently appeared on the station. Most notably, former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Christopher Ross made an impressive appearance speaking in Arabic. Although Qatar quickly came out in support of the U.S. campaign on terror, it has been equally vocal in calling for democracy as a remedy to terrorism. Diplomatic observers point to the speech delivered by the emir in his capacity as chair of the OIC, before the United Nations General Assembly on Nov. 10, in which he again condemned terrorism but called for the expansion of democracy in the Arab world as the best way to prevent terrorism in the future. In a statement that did not make neighboring Arab states or Israel happy, the emir stated, ìTerrorism has taken root not only because of our incapacity to tackle world tension, but also because we have tolerated for too long those who pursue policies of repression and deny fundamental liberties and basic human rights. The seeds of terrorism lie in those places which reject pluralism, allow corruption to spread, exploit authority and hound political opponents under the guise of protecting the security of their homelands and people. It is neither wise for anyone to claim to improve internal conditions by resorting to oppressive practices or suspending democracy.î Al-Dafa echoes his leaderís sentiments by leveling familiar charges that Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are largely to blame for the growing instability. ìIt is really unfortunate to see what is going on, and that is because of the present actions of Mr. Sharonís governmentóthe assassinations, the destruction of houses,î he says. ìThis does not help to reach peace between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. If Mr. Sharon believes that the use of force is the way to secure security and peace for his people, I donít think he is a realist. So far his campaign promise has not given peace and security to his people. We think all nations deserve to live in peace and when that takes place in our part of the world, we will see a different way of lifeóa new standard of cooperation between Arabs and non-Arabs.î Although he rarely finds the time for it these days, Ambassador Al-Dafaís great passion is painting. The fact that Al-Dafa often collaborates with other artists is perhaps a metaphor for his belief that the world, despite its many cultures, is ultimately a small place where everyone can live together harmoniously. Nickolas Theros is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.