As noon approached, muezzins across Qatar called Muslim soccer players, fans and officials to the first Friday prayers of the first World Cup to take place in a Muslim country.
At the Ibrahim al-Khalil Mosque in Doha's West Bay, with its towering minaret and carved wooden doors, they gathered for the weekly congregational prayer that many Muslims believe is obligatory.
Unusually for soccer, Muslim fans say Qatar's World Cup has accommodated them like never before - with stadium prayer rooms, concessions selling halal food and no beer-swilling supporters to contend with in the stands following a stadium alcohol ban. Like all the other worshippers, al Idbari, removed his shoes and filed into the mosque's main prayer hall.
"Early indications are that there is a conflation between criticism of Qatar and actual hostility towards Muslims," said Imran Awan, a professor of criminology at Birmingham City University who is examining patterns of Islamophobia both on and offline to look for signs of a change in public opinion.
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