Because of the religious origin of the word, some prefer to capitalize it and others not. The word sharia means  the path  or  the path to wate r. Sharia as a source of law, is, by definition, arbitrary and discretionary-some would prefer to describe it as flexible.
COUNTRY OVERVIEW. LOCATION AND SIZE. Qatar is a tiny peninsula jutting into the Persian Gulf and bordering only Saudi Arabia. With an area of 11,437 square kilometers (4,416 square miles) and a short coastline of 563 kilometers (345 miles), Qatar is slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut.
Qatar is home to the giant US Air Force Al Udeid air base, a key staging area for operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. The base, which boasts one of the longest runways in the Middle East, is a strategically important facility for the US-led coalition and is home to 10,000 US personnel.