@tasneemalsultan

class="content__text" Behind closed doors on Friday, in small rooms usually used for teaching catechism, the children celebrated Christmas. There was food, drink and songs. Wreaths and stockings decorated the walls. A few adults wore red Santa hats. Nearby, across the complex of mostly unmarked sand-colored buildings, a Mass was being celebrated in a 2,700-seat sanctuary, its altar backed by painted angels and Jesus on a cross. There would be another mass every hour, 15 of them on Friday, said in 10 different languages: English, Tagalog, Indonesian, Korean, Urdu, Malayalam, Tamil, Konkani, Sinhala, Arabic. “We do as many masses as possible, to make people feel they belong somewhere,” Rev. Rally Gonzaga said. Here, he leads people from all over the world, though most of his congregation comes from India and the Philippines. A majority of them are men, many working in Qatar to support families back home. Up some stairs, a hallway of doors was a real-life advent calendar; opening every one revealed a surprise. Here were a dozen people singing with arms raised. Here were 40 people listening intently to someone preach. Here was a 15-member band and a room full of singers. When their door opened, their music spilled into the hall. Soon they were back outside, into the bright sun and out the exits toward the parking lot, re-entering the desert world that they call home. About the same time, across the rest of Doha, loudspeakers called Muslims to prayer. Words by @johnbranchnyt photos by @tasneemalsultan for @nytimes photo editor @esw_viz https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/sports/soccer/at-qatars-church-city-sunday-comes-on-friday.html

December 20, 2022