The small Arab state of Qatar on the western shore of the Persian Gulf was a slow starter in development when compared with neighbours Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. Although the country had enjoyed good revenue from oil since the mid-seventies, its ruler was reluctant to embrace change. As recently as 1975 capital Doha, had only a single first-class hotel and one bank and people still lived in goat-hair tents in the desert hinterland. When a huge...