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EXPLAINER: Qatar’s history, politics ahead of FIFA World Cup

FILE - An oil tanker seems to emerge from behind the sand dunes in Mesaieed, Qatar on Dec. 7, 1971. Qatar will be on the world stage like it never has before as the small, energy-rich nations hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup beginning this November. (AP Photo/Horst Faas, File) FILE - The town of Doha, Qatar, has long had a thriving commercial center, shown Dec. 17, 1968. Qatar will be on the world stage like it never has before as the small, energy-rich nations hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup beginning this November. (AP Photo/Dennis Neeld, File) FILE - American military planes and support facilities are seen at the Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha, Qatar, March 17, 2002. Qatar will be on the world stage like it never has before as the small, energy-rich nations hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup beginning this November. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE - In this photo released by Qatar News Agency, QNA, the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, center front, poses for a photo with members of the Emiri Air Force at al-Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 11, 2017. Qatar will be on the world stage like it never has before as the small, energy-rich nations hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup beginning this November. (QNA via AP, File) FILE - Officials gather for a group photograph, with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, third left, and Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, center, at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Kuwait City, Dec. 5, 2017. Qatar will be on the world stage like it never has before as the small, energy-rich nations hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup beginning this November. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File) FILE - Saudi Bandar Al-Qahtani holds flowers as he waits for the arrival of his relatives on the first Qatar Airways plane in three years to land at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 11, 2021. Qatar will be on the world stage like it never has before as the small, energy-rich nations hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup beginning this November. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File) FILE - The images of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani hang on the towers in Doha, Qatar, May 5, 2018. Qatar will be on the world stage like it never has before as the small, energy-rich nations hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup beginning this November. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)