Abstract

A law and religion approach to the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup allows for its interpretation as a case of religious diplomacy where legal aspects pertaining to the Islamic connotation of the State and Shari’a law as the main source of law are negotiated by the Qatari government with the strategic mobilisation of the economy, sports and communication. The absence of an explicit Islamic element in the propaganda of traditional hospitality and the invitation to respect local culture has not prevented a critique of both, from liberals, an Islam-based poor record with human rights (including freedom of religion or belief) and, from conservative Muslims, the secularising impact on Islamic societies of international mega-sporting events.