Qatar

Like Oman, the State of Qatar is an absolute monarchy, under the rule of its Emir. The ruling family has been in place since the 19th Century, although Qatar only gained its independence (from the Ottoman Empire, and then Britain) in 1971. The formation of the Qatar General Petroleum Corporation to manage the country’s considerable oil and natural gas resources saw Qatar grow in wealth in influence in the region.
Qatar occupies a peninsula on the Persian Gulf, with Saudi Arabia as its sole neighbor by land, separated by a narrow strait from the island nation of Bahrain. Like Saudi Arabia, Qatar is a conservative Muslim nation where Sharia law forms the basis of most of the country’s legislation. There is no legislature, and the members of the Council of Ministers serve at the pleasure of the Emir. While there has been slight progress in women’s rights and other areas, Qatar remains staunchly conservative in most areas.
The vast majority of Qatar’s population is made up of foreign workers: some 1.5 million out of a total population of 1.8 million. These foreign workers often have few rights and are subjected to conditions of enforced servitude, with beatings, withholding of wages, and other punishments overlooked or permitted by the authorities. Labor unions and similar organizations are prohibited.
Qatar is also noteworthy as the home of the Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) conglomerate, which was founded in the mid-1990s and is controlled by the Qatari royal family.