The Residency Permit (Part Three)

Fingerprinting and Getting a Qatari ID.

After all the fun at the Medical Commission, the rest of the Residency process appears deathly boring. Fingerprints are collected by the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidences and Information Department.  Like the Medical Commission, the office is out on the edge of Doha, so a bit of a drive.  But the scene at CEID is much calmer (at least in my experience). There are far fewer people waiting to have their fingerprints taken than to get poked with needles.

For my part, I showed an attendant my paperwork (given to me by my employer), and by virtue of my position was shown to the VIP line.  I felt special, but in reality it only cut about two minutes out of a five-minute-long stay.  One of the men who would take scans of my fingers told me I needed to take a number at the back.  I did -- number 47.  Two seconds later, "number forty-seven please." (As a note, on the other side, I would have had to wait behind two other guys until it was my turn.) The printing itself lasted about four or five minutes.  Multiple scans on each finger, a couple of my whole hand, and that was it.

For most people, once the fingerprinting is complete, it takes about three days for the information to be entered in the national system and confirmed.

As with basically everything discussed on this site so far, everything goes through the employer, and receiving the ID is no different.  Once everything has been verified, the employer will briefly take up the passport and send it to the Ministry of Interior.  Along with the Qatar ID, a copy of the Residency Permit is affixed to the passport, pasted on one of the blank pages.  Within a couple days, new residents receive their passport and new state identification, and a huge hurdle is passed.

As simple as the whole process sounds, be prepared to experience frustration.  Like anywhere, nothing goes perfectly smoothly here.  Expect that something will get messed up, go wrong, or get delayed.  But at some point, you will get it all done...it's just a matter of time.

Qatariïsms: In šāʾ Allāh

The term is not necessarily specific to Qatar, but it is heard here often. It is used by Arabs and Westerners alike. Generally pronounced "in-sha-lah," the phrase literally means "if Allah wills" or "if Allah is willing." There are even Qur'anic practices that encourage the concept.

 There are many applications in local daily life:

One might be heard saying he will go somewhere or do something, inshallah – so there it is the intent to do something in the future.

Or, in some cases, one might say he will accomplish something tomorrow, inshallah – in a sense, barring any unforeseen complications.

It can also express the hope that something will be done outside one’s control – a sort of “hopefully that will happen” (similar to the derivative Spanish word ojala).

Others here in Doha use it when they have no intention of ever doing whatever it is they say.  “Inshallah, I will get that done, inshallah” – a sort of “we’ll see, but don’t count on it.”

A (Very) Short History of Qatar

Introduction and Early Centuries.

To understand a people, one must read their history.

Arabs have inhabited the Qatar Peninsular for centuries, but few records exist documenting the region’s early history before the eighteenth century.  For nearly a thousand years, the region’s population consisted largely of Bedouin nomads, and only a few lived in small fishing villages.

The Islamic Empire under the Abbasids, 750-1258

In the eighth century, Islam entered the area during the rule of the Al-Munzir king, Ibn Sawi al-Tamimi.  Qatar has, ever since, been an integral part of the Islamic civilization.  Under the Abbasid state, the peninsula enjoyed economic prosperity and provided a great deal of financial support to the Baghdad Caliphate.

Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, direct and indirect rule of the region alternated between the Safavids, Omanis, Bahrainis, and Ottomans.

In 1766, a number of Kuwaiti families migrated to the Qatar Peninsula – most notably the al-Khalifah.  Their settlement at Al-Zubarah grew into a small pearl-diving and trade centre.  Then, in 1783, the al-Khalifah conquered nearby Bahrain (which the family still rules today).  After the transfer of power the Bahrainis maintained official control over the peninsula for some eighty years. But the country largely fell under the rule of local sheikhs – such as Raḥmah ibn Jabr al-Jalahimah – that preyed on Persian Gulf shipping, leading the British to term the area the “Pirate Coast.”