Fans from across the globe are being exposed to Islam, sometimes for the first time in their lives, during the first World Cup in the Middle East.
Guide Riffat Ishfaq, left from Pakistan embraces tourist Fatima Gracia from El Salvador, in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. In Qatar to enjoy the World Cup with friends, Gracia, the Salvadoran visitor took a day off from soccer to go sightseeing at the Katara mosque, where preachers have been introducing Islam in multiple languages to curious fans from around the world.
Local mosques are offering multilingual tours to visitors and the Islamic Cultural Center in Doha offers a virtual reality tour of the holy city of Mecca. Booths at tourist sites hand out free copies of the Quran and brochures about Islam are available in hotel lobbies. Billboards have been set up across Doha featuring U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammed and other Muslim personalities as part of a campaign encouraging people to explore Islam.
The World Cup host, though, has faced intense criticism over human rights issues, including the treatment of migrant workers, and accusations of “sportswashing” or attempting to use the event’s prestige to remake its image. Back inside the ornate Ottoman-style Katara mosque, Riffat Ishfaq, a guide from Pakistan, told Garcia that it was designed by Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadillioglu, whose first name is the Turkish form of the name of the eldest daughter of the Prophet Muhammed. The tiles had been handmade, Ishfaq said; the columns were covered with leather and the domed roof contained gold. By the end of the tour, Garcia also learned why women dress modestly in Islam and the origins of the religion.
“Today I became interested because the guided tour was in Spanish and I could understand it all,” he said. “There should be guides in Spanish in every mosque because there are so many Latin American people coming to these countries.” Carlos Bustos, Mireya Arias and their sons, 8-year-old Jacobo and 13-year-old Matias toured the cultural center. The Colombian family read information on large placards about the contributions of the Islamic world to medicine, science, math and architecture.
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