Qatar - Photo: Needpix

Qatar

Qatar is active on the global stage as a mediator of disputes. The state religion is the strict Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam, which is practiced only in Qatar and the neighbouring country of Saudi Arabia. Qatar has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, and foreigners make up about 88 percent of the population. Shariah law is the foundation of the legal system. Women in Qatar live under harsh rules, but the wife of the amir has been influential in helping women gain more freedom. Human trafficking is a serious problem in the country.

Expatriate believers are allowed to practice their faith openly, but Qatari Christians risk arrest or worse. Government policy strictly limits Christian gatherings. Proselytism of Muslims is forbidden, and merely causing a Qatari to doubt his or her faith is punishable by several years' imprisonment. Expatriates have been expelled for evangelizing Qataris. Christians are treated as second-class citizens. Criticism of the Muslim faith or the ruling family is a crime. There were no known Qatari believers before 1985, but several have come to the Lord outside the country and have suffered upon their return to Qatar. In 2008, the government allowed construction of a Roman Catholic church for foreigners, and Anglican and Protestant church buildings are expected to follow.

  • Country Information

    Qatar map and flagPopulation
    2,532,104 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    non-Qatari (88.4), Qatari (11.6)

    Religion (%)
    Muslim (65.2), Christian (13.7), Hindu (15.9), Buddhist (3.8)

    Leader
    Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (2013)

    Government type
    Absolute monarchy

    Legal system
    Mixed legal system of civil law and Islamic law

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for Qatar

    Pray for the employment opportunities to be filled by Christians who would be an intentional Kingdom presence in Qatar.

    Pray for outreach opportunities to the Qatari people.

    Pray that Qataris who come to Christ will be free to worship, serve Him and courageously share Him with others.

Qatar News

  • Pastor Deported Without Reason

    On May 22, Pastor Nemencio Bonton was deported from Qatar to his native Philippines without any reason being given. According to Middle East Concern, this deportation follows a letter he received on April 20 giving him 30 days to leave the country. Bonton was senior pastor of the Qatar International Christian Ministry, which ministers to expatriate workers in Qatar. He also worked as an electrician. Despite appeals from his employer as well as from the Chief Protocol Officer of Qatar's ruler, Bonton was deported along with his wife and four children. He had lived in Qatar for twenty years and had no previous problems with the authorities. This is the second confirmed deportation of a pastor from Qatar for religious reasons this year.

    Pray for Pastor Bonton and his family as they make the transition to life in the Philippines. Pray for the church during this change in leadership.

  • Government Authorizes Church Construction

    The government of Qatar has authorized the construction of churches in the country, something unprecedented in this Arab Gulf state, according to a report from ZENIT on February 25. A government representative said that this is part of "Qatar's conviction in favor of freedom of worship." Though Islam is the dominant religion in Qatar, there are thousands of Christians, many of them immigrant workers.

  • Christian from India Deported

    A Christian from India who had worked in Qatar for the past twenty-two years has been deported, along with his wife and twelve-year-old son. As of yesterday, authorities had given no reason for the deportation. Arokiyasamy Stanislas Chellappa, 51, worked in a hospital in Doha, as well as leading a fellowship of Tamil-speaking Indian Christians in his home. According to Compass, when he was arrested on December 9, he asked police what he had done. "We don't know," they replied. "It is just written that you have to go back home." All that anyone can surmise is that it is because of his religion. Despite advocacy from his employer and from the Indian embassy, Middle East Concern reported on January 21 that all appeals have failed and that the family is to leave Qatar today.

    Qatar has been considered a leader in democratic rights in the Arab Gulf states. While non-Muslims cannot proselytize nor meet for public worship, private services such as Chellappa was leading have been permitted.

    Pray for the family as they establish their life in India. Pray for the other Christians in Qatar who face similar uncertainty.