Mass social change and identity hybridization: the case of Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how the 2022 World Cup has transformed national and cultural identity in Qatar, and residents’ responses to such change. Our discussion draws on interviews with Qatari citizens and those working within Qatar’s cultural, education, policy, and sports sectors, as well as document analysis. The paper is in four parts. First, we present background information on Qatar, before discussing our chosen methods. Third, we discuss four themes generated from the data. The first focuses on changes to the built environment and how this has impacted perceptions of cultural life in Qatar; second relates to how World Cup infrastructure is also seen as a continued expression of Qatar’s heritage; third centred on the perspectives of Qataris as a cultural minority in their country; and fourth shed light on how certain everyday cultural practices of Qataris has survived modernization attempts, albeit, in hybrid forms. We conclude by suggesting that though Qatar’s World Cup has brought challenges to Qataris, they actively maintain celebratory heritage customs.

KEYWORDS:

• Arab identity
• culture and modernity
• Islam
• Qatar
• World cup

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.