Now I understand your confusion. You are mixing up religion, government and culture. Which is fair because you may think that what ever a government of an Islamic country does is based on Islamic principles...not true. There are other factors that affect a government's rules and laws such as culture, money, etc.
Here I will address some of your points and hope to bring some clarity:
Pork in UAE and not in Qatar -Pork is Forbiden in Islam- and this rule does have everything to do with religion, now for instance if you take Israel which claims to be a Jewish state it has also forbidden the selling and consumption of pork for quite a number of decades; however, recently (and I mean in the past few years) it has removed the ban of pork because Israel is rapidly filling up with not-so orthodox Jews, thus the country is changing to fit these demands and it's new inhabitants. Yet the Orthodox community and many Rabbis in Israel are furious, because the it is still forbidden in Judaism regardless if the people want it or not.
That may give you some insight here, the ruling government of the UAE is not focused on religious preservation it is much more focused on development and business etc. They have been selling Pork since the 80's and maybe even before. Saudi is the focus of Islamic Hajj and is very near and dear to all Muslims and their faith thus this government is very focused on preserving as many aspects of the faith as possible. And as they attracts millions per year for Hajj they need to abide by such rules, it is in the government best interest. Qatar is obviously much more conservative than the UAE and I think it's pretty obvious that the Qataris themselves do not want pork on their land, in their grocery stores, or restaurants, similarly to Orthodox Jews. It is their land and country and we should respect their rules and sensitivities. The ideal for all Muslims would be no Pork anywhere because it highly forbidden in the religion and anything touched by pork needs to specially washed etc, (for those familiar with Kosher they will understand), but it is not always abiding Muslims making the laws here thus why you will have inconsistencies, and in no way do most of the governments reflect Islam...although to be honest Qatar is doing the best job.
Now women not driving--this my friend has absolutely NOTHING to do with Islam. And yet everything to do with culture. So it's like saying why can Homosexuals marry in Canada and not the U.S.= I don't know it's the country and their own laws. You would have to ask the individuals who make up the legislature. All in all it has nothing to do with Islam.
So you when you are asking why somethings are legal and others not, the governments are not all following the relgion here, sometimes there are other factors influencing the laws ie. culture, money, etc. So these are not Islamic governments in short just like in Canada (which is majority christian) is not run by a Christian government. However canada still caters to Christian needs over the rest of the population ie. Catholic schools are paid for by our (Canadian citizen's) taxes; however, we don't even get a tax break if we enroll our children in Jewish or Islamic schools, but we still pay to operate the catholic schools.
If you needs some more answers there is an excellent place here in Doha called the Qatar Guest Centre they have tons of info for expats who are arriving and have questions. No, they will not try to convert you! they just have tons of free panflits and books that answer popular questions that non-Muslims may have.
hello Helloqatar,
Now I understand your confusion. You are mixing up religion, government and culture. Which is fair because you may think that what ever a government of an Islamic country does is based on Islamic principles...not true. There are other factors that affect a government's rules and laws such as culture, money, etc.
Here I will address some of your points and hope to bring some clarity:
Pork in UAE and not in Qatar -Pork is Forbiden in Islam- and this rule does have everything to do with religion, now for instance if you take Israel which claims to be a Jewish state it has also forbidden the selling and consumption of pork for quite a number of decades; however, recently (and I mean in the past few years) it has removed the ban of pork because Israel is rapidly filling up with not-so orthodox Jews, thus the country is changing to fit these demands and it's new inhabitants. Yet the Orthodox community and many Rabbis in Israel are furious, because the it is still forbidden in Judaism regardless if the people want it or not.
That may give you some insight here, the ruling government of the UAE is not focused on religious preservation it is much more focused on development and business etc. They have been selling Pork since the 80's and maybe even before. Saudi is the focus of Islamic Hajj and is very near and dear to all Muslims and their faith thus this government is very focused on preserving as many aspects of the faith as possible. And as they attracts millions per year for Hajj they need to abide by such rules, it is in the government best interest. Qatar is obviously much more conservative than the UAE and I think it's pretty obvious that the Qataris themselves do not want pork on their land, in their grocery stores, or restaurants, similarly to Orthodox Jews. It is their land and country and we should respect their rules and sensitivities. The ideal for all Muslims would be no Pork anywhere because it highly forbidden in the religion and anything touched by pork needs to specially washed etc, (for those familiar with Kosher they will understand), but it is not always abiding Muslims making the laws here thus why you will have inconsistencies, and in no way do most of the governments reflect Islam...although to be honest Qatar is doing the best job.
Now women not driving--this my friend has absolutely NOTHING to do with Islam. And yet everything to do with culture. So it's like saying why can Homosexuals marry in Canada and not the U.S.= I don't know it's the country and their own laws. You would have to ask the individuals who make up the legislature. All in all it has nothing to do with Islam.
So you when you are asking why somethings are legal and others not, the governments are not all following the relgion here, sometimes there are other factors influencing the laws ie. culture, money, etc. So these are not Islamic governments in short just like in Canada (which is majority christian) is not run by a Christian government. However canada still caters to Christian needs over the rest of the population ie. Catholic schools are paid for by our (Canadian citizen's) taxes; however, we don't even get a tax break if we enroll our children in Jewish or Islamic schools, but we still pay to operate the catholic schools.
If you needs some more answers there is an excellent place here in Doha called the Qatar Guest Centre they have tons of info for expats who are arriving and have questions. No, they will not try to convert you! they just have tons of free panflits and books that answer popular questions that non-Muslims may have.