The Gulf is very different from typical Western democracies, but in the Gulf there is one small country that has been standing out through its liberalizing and moderating endeavours in the region. This is Qatar. Thanks to the old Emir HH Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his family, who took over leadership of the country in a bloodless coup 1995, Qatar has been investing its immense wealth to develop a number of progressive state initiatives that include, but are not limited to:
His wife HH Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned led the process of building a remarkable permanent presence of top rated Western universities in Education City Doha. Here you can get a Bachelor or Masters degree from universities such as Georgetown University, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon, Texas A&M or Virginia Commonwealth University.
The previous Emir himself HH Hamad bin Khalifa poured funds into the development of a high profile media network based on the idea of British BCC. Al Jazeera is the only independent media with a presence here in the turbulent Middle East, and it is the one and only channel broadcasting quality journalism in Arabic.
Their daughter HH Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani has established a prominent contemporary art scene in Doha with institutions such as Mathaf Museum of Modern Art, Al Riwaq Art Centre and Doha Fire Station’s artists in residence program. She has also invested billions in bringing artists such as Damian Hirst, Marina Abramović, Jeff Koons and Richard Serra to Doha for large scale public works and lectures.
These are all important initiatives from a forward thinking nation in the Gulf