Islam, Power and Work in Qatar: An Ethnographic Study of Social Interaction Patterns, Clothing, Housing, Discrimination, Sharia and Gender Segregation

By Mrcp Phd Alexis Lay and Alexis Lay

This book is important for all those interested in understanding international labor migration. Migrants in the Gulf have considerably less access to naturalization and freedom of movement compared to other parts of the world. The focus of this study is the heterogeneous expatriate population which comprises over half of the total population in the State of Qatar - a tiny country in the Persian Gulf. Literature on Qatar discusses the occupational specialization of the non-citizen labor force by nationality and forced terminations and low wages; yet it neglects expatriate perceptions, experiences and reactions. Furthermore, much less is known about how western expatriates adapt to living in a very conservative, highly-gender segregated environment. This research explores how expatriates adapt to, adjust to or resist the social order as well as the boundaries that separate them from the Qatari realm. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews that measured and diagnosed perceptions of luck, symbolic meanings, cultural adaptation, hidden transcripts and resistance. Interviews and observations were conducted with primarily Christian and Muslim domestic workers, unskilled and semi-skilled laborers, professionals, students, and housewives, from various nationalities. This study reveals how the continuing impoverishment of the Third World enables policies of domination to be implemented in highly gendered ways. It also reveals how expatriates, in many ways, actively participate in their own domination as well as construct barriers to their own collectivity. The study was based on narratives about religion, nationality, culture, race, and gender. Specific questions I sought to answer were: what does tribalism mean to the guest-worker? What is the image of "the other" in the Gulf? It explored in a site-specific way the meaning of religion, race, occupation, economic status, class, disability, sexuality, and gender as they come together to structure expatriates and Qataris in different and shifting positions of power and privilege. I was able to investigate the interaction of the various groups living in Qatar. Furthermore, I devised a set of questions that explored religious perceptions in a neutral manner by utilizing perceptions of luck rather than their religion as a tool to explore the subject's perception of his/her good fortune in life. These peeks into the micro social world are invaluable in macro social comparisons.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1721267638
• ISBN13: 9781721267637
• Release Date: August 2018
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"