QATAR: BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN DOHA QATAR

Culture clash: beach volleyball in Muslim world
Saturday December 02, 2006
By ERIC TALMADGE

DOHA, Qatar (AP) When Salim Al-Nabit and his friends went to see beach volleyball for the first time, they left their wives home.

Al-Nabit said he would watch the bikini-clad women, but he certainly wouldn't want his wife to do so. He was there, he added, because it was a matter of national honor.

``We don't see this a lot in Qatar,'' Al-Nabit said. ``I think most people think it is outrageous. But we accept it because it is important for our country. We want others to see us as a generous and hospitable people, willing to accept their ways, even if we don't agree.''

Beach volleyball's penchant for bikinis has touched off a bit of a cultural clash in this conservative Muslim city, which by hosting the Asian Games, a regional sports extravaganza, is trying to bolster its bid to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to the Middle East.

The city has transformed itself in an effort to woo the Olympics. It has spent billions on infrastructure and sparkling new sports facilities, including the 50,000-seat ``Aspire'' stadium.

...

But some things are just too much to ask.

Though 16 Muslim nations are represented at the Asian Games, only one, Iraq, is competing in women's beach volleyball. And its Suzara, an official with the Asian Beach Volleyball Association, said that allowances have been made for Muslims.

``They can wear what they want, so long as it is appropriate,'' he said.

Suzara added, however, that he hopes Muslims will come to accept the same kind of outfits that the athletes of other nations wear.

``This is sport in the 21st century,'' he said. ``I think this will be an eye-opener for Doha.''

It was for Al-Nabit, who confessed that, in the end, he enjoyed watching the competition.

``But I felt very shy about it,'' he said.

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