Month: May 2014 - Pray For Qatar

ARTIFICIAL CLOUDS

Image: Creative Commons

In 2022, Qatar will be the first Arab country, and the world’s smallest country, to host the World Cup, the most-watched sporting event in the world. One small problem: Qatar is known for suffocating summer heat that regularly tops 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Engineers at Qatar University are working on a green, nature-inspired solution: artificial clouds. These large robotic cloud-like structures are made from a lightweight carbon structure and kept afloat by helium gas and four solar-powered engines. The clouds could hover in one place or glide over the stadium by remote control to provide shade to the anticipated 86,250 spectators….

PRAYING FOR MOHAMMED & OTHERS LIKE HIM

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Read Mohammed’s profile. Even those unfamiliar with the Bible can quote the proverb, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” We may not agree with other parents’ decisions on how to raise children, but we can identify with the desire for children to have more than their parents ever had. We pray for Mohammed and others like him. Give his parents and his nanny grace and wisdom as they guide him into adulthood. Help them find the balance between raising a citizen of the world who also…

QATAR’S FLAG

qatar flag

Qatar’s flag is maroon with a broad white jagged band on the hoist side. White symbolizes peace. Maroon symbolizes blood shed during wars. The nine-point serrated line indicates Qatar is the 9th member of the “reconciled Emirates” since the Qatari-British treaty in 1916. Legend says Qatar’s flag was once red. When a certain dye was used in making the original flag, it was left in the sun to dry, and the hot Gulf sun faded the color to maroon. The color was regarded as more beautiful and is now called “Qatar Red”. Red is the most popular color used in…

CHRISTIANS & PERSECUTION

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Qatar’s national religion is the strict Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam. Proselytizing Muslims is strictly forbidden. While non-Qatari Christians living in the country are allowed to practice their faith—there is a special place in the capital city set aside for churches to meet—many expats don’t share openly for fear of deportation, job loss, and other forms of persecution. In fact, Qatar has been ranked for several years in the top 25 worst countries in the world for Christian persecution. Because of the sheer quantity of expatriates in Qatar, and also the cultural and economic divide, Qataris are relatively inaccessible. This…