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.