Social life and Culture: A Comparison of Qatar and the United Kingdom

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This essay examines the differences in social life and culture between the sovereign Arab State of Qatar and the United Kingdom. Geographically Qatar occupies a small peninsula in the Persian Gulf with a land border with Saudi Arabia. The United Kingdom (UK) is a sovereign state, comprising mainly of two islands with numerous smaller islands. The UK is surrounded by the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland situated on the smaller of the two main islands, shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland.

Fromherz A. (2011) portrays Doha as the capital city of Qatar moving from the status of a poverty ridden ‘overgrown fishing village’ into becoming the capital city of one of the most economically successful countries in the world.

The UK, reduced in influence since Queen Victoria’s reign, when she ruled over 25% of the world’s population, is still a powerful economic player on the world scene, being a member of the European Union, the British Commonwealth and NATO. Clapson, M. (2009) sates that by the end of Victoria’s reign Britain had become the world’s first industrial nation.

Qatar is a small, petroleum-rich state with immense natural gas reserves. The state religion is Islam, and the greater part of Qatar's residents are Sunni Muslims. The actual population of the country is approximately 600,000, of whom an estimated 150,000 are citizens. The remaining 450,000 non-citizens are mostly foreign workers and their families who come from other Arab countries and South Asia. The rights and state benefits afforded to Qatari citizens such as free health care and education are not extended to these noncitizens.

Chaddock D. (2006) reports that the international Arab and Islamic com...

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... the Emir with only limited power devolved to an elected legislative advisory council.

There are certainly similarities between the social life and the cultures of both Qatar and the UK. However the UK has a much more diverse history to look back on and learn from. The country is developing into a multi racial, multi cultural society with substantial freedom of expression, despite the occasional hiccup. Orr T. (2008) describes Qatar as having a 6000 year history to look back on and having once been wealthy from the pearling industry and then having re-developed new social and cultural freedoms from the wealth generated by gas and oil under the careful control of the Emir. However the Freedom in the World (2011) journal says the country is still operating restrictions and prejudices against non-citizens which would not be accepted in the UK.

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