As the foreign minister of Qatar visits Washington this week, it is important for the Unied States to take note of the vision outlined by the ruler of this strategic ally. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani’s vision of how the Arab world can overcome some of its deep-seated challenges has wide-ranging implications for the United States at this critical juncture in our nation’s history.
According to Sheikh Hamad, people are the most valuable asset of a nation. He firmly believes that in order for the Arab/Muslim world to protect its rich culture and prevent Islam from being hijacked by extremists, a major investment in and commitment to education is essential. As Sheikh Hamad pointed out, the first word revealed by the Prophet Mohammed was “read.” While literacy rates within the Arab world are high, spending on development of institutions of higher learning that produce skilled professionals has not been a priority in many parts of the Arab world. For example, in North America the gross domestic expenditure (GDP) on research and development is 2.5 percent of GDP. In the Arab world it is 0.2 percent. Sheikh Hamad’s objective is for Qatar to take a leading role among Arab nations in the transformation of this dismal picture by dedicating a significant portion of its GDP to education reform. If Arab countries such as Qatar embrace Western educational values, Sheikh Hamad reasons, then Arabs can preserve their core religious, historical and cultural values while simultaneously stimulating economic progress and political reform. He sincerely believes that if democracy is to take root in the Arab world, a long-term investment in the unfettered education of the people of the region must be the starting point.
Closely tied to his vision of transforming Qatar into a regional educational hub and incubator for new ideas is Sheikh Hamad’s vision of reform in the Arab world. Sheikh Hamad does not see any contradictions between Islam and political reform. If Arab countries like Qatar embrace pluralism rather than authoritarianism, he reasons, then citizens with differing ideologies — secular vs. religious, traditionalist vs. modernist — can participate in the political life of their nation without resorting to terror and mayhem. He suggests that the United States be firm with the Arab/Muslim world on the need to reform its political systems. And, to the extent possible, tie any U.S. aid to the Arab/Muslim world to transparent milestones of political and economic reform.
The drive to become an open and transparent society — one of the foundations of democratic pluralism — was the impetus behind the creation of Al Jazeera. Sheikh Hamad’s vision when he supported the creation of Al Jazeera was the establishment of a “free press zone” within the Arab world. Ironically, while the United States has expressed reservations over some of Al Jazeera’s more inflammatory broadcasts, the management of Al Jazeera and the United States are agreed on one point: the need for reform in the Arab world. As the most-watched satellite TV station in the Arab world, the United States might be wise to cooperate with instead of working against Al Jazeera. One area of cooperation could be to provide information on issues concerning good governance so as to expose the corruption of the ruling elites within the Arab/Muslim world (for example, exposing the corruption of the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat).
When it comes to Iraq, Sheikh Hamad shares President Bush’s vision of what a future Iraq should look like: a federal, democratic and prosperous Iraq at peace with its neighbors. Sheikh Hamad feels that the United States must succeed in its mission to transform Iraq into a stable and democratic country. Failure is not an option because it would embolden enemies of freedom and turn Iraq into an incubator for terrorists from around the world.
Oddly enough, this tiny country in the middle of the oil-rich Persian Gulf may hold one of the keys to America’s energy independence. Qatar contains the world’s third-largest known reserves of natural gas, fast becoming the fuel of choice for American consumers. While America’s reserves stand at 167 trillion cubic feet (tcf), Qatar’s reserves are in the neighborhood of 900 tcf. U.S. imports of liquid natural gas are projected to increase from 0.2 tcf in 2002 to 1.5 tcf in 2020. Qatar is well-placed to provide this clean-burning fuel to American industrial, commercial and residential customers for the next 100 years. Further, if automobile manufacturers successfully design an engine powered by natural gas consuming fuel cells, then Qatar can be an important supplier of our transportation energy needs as well. Sheikh Hamad envisions a direct, closer and more long-term energy alliance between Qatar and American consumers, thus providing for stable and cheap energy supplies from this small country to the world’s largest energy market.
The vision spelled out by this dynamic ruler deserves Washington’s attention, and Congress might consider extending an invitation to Sheikh Hamad to address a joint session of Congress, which would be a first for a Persian Gulf ruler.
S. Rob Sobhani is president of Caspian Energy Consulting and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.