Islam and Business

Islam permeates most aspects of life in Qatar.

Some considerations when planning business visits are:

· On Fridays, the Islamic Sabbath (weekend is Friday & Saturday), the community gathers for prayers at noon. Offices and many shops are closed on Fridays. For this reason, Friday is an excellent day to drive and explore as traffic is reduced.
· The religeous festival of Ramadan occupies the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the dates vary each year (according to the moon). During this month many Muslims fast during daylight hours spending time on reflection and purification.
· Ramadan and its ending, or breaking of the fast (Id al-Fitr, a three-day holiday) impact strongly on business activities. If visiting during Ramadan, be aware that there may be limited time for business meetings.

Arab Customs

A number of expressions punctuate conversation in Qatar and the most common is the term Insh'allah ('if God wills'), which underlines a strong belief that the course of events cannot be controlled by the individual. While that's undeniably true, the term Bukra Insh'allah ('tomorrow, God willing') conveys the sense that, 'We will do things as soon as possible but God will determine when that may be'.

Because Arabs don't like to say no, it takes time to determine which individuals use these terms as a 'figure of speech' and which use it to excuse their own inefficiency...

Customs that are common throughout the Islamic world are well known. Some of these are not unique to the Arab environment, but are standard behaviours in a range of international situations.

· Use your right hand, particularly for eating. If unsure, put your left hand in your pocket or behind your back. Never point.
· Avoid postures where you may show the soles of your feet - which may be considered an insult.
· Avoid any display of anger or impatience - unless whilst driving, where you'll struggle to compete with Arabs who excell in agressive driving.
· Maintain eye contact with your host. Rapid shifts in eye contact may be construed as a lack of trust.
· Handshakes may often be a clasp. Do not offer to shake hands with an Arab woman, unless she offers her hand to you. Even then, only a gentle touch is appropriate.

When offered snacks, always accept, even if you do not consume it all. Displays of chocolates may be found in offices. You may not be the first to wonder if the Arabic culture of generosity is reinforcing their growing obesity problem.

· The offer of tea or coffee is a feature of Arab meetings and a mark of hospitality and should not be refused. The cups are small and when you have enough, a polite 'wiggle' of your cup signifies to the server that you have had sufficient.

- Arabic Coffee looks and tastes rather like tea with herbs/spices, often used to refresh the palate.
- Turkish Coffee, in a similarly small cup is commonly served in hotels and restaurants.
- Tea may be extremely sweet and made with condensed milk.

· Learn the art of polite small talk, which will open most meetings, particularly introductory sessions. Talking about family and children always goes down well.
· Learn to relax and not exhibit signs of tension, which may transmit uncertainty.
· Assume a calm demeanour, avoid brash conversation and maintain a body posture that is non-aggressive - unless you are driving when you will notice changes, in your body posture (cringing to avoid pending collision) and vocabulary, which becomes exceedingly colourful.