Americans attribute Gulf rift to Qatar’s support of terrorism

CAIRO – 6 August 2017: YouGov, an international Internet-based market research firm, conducted a survey on a sample of over 2,000 Americans in July to test American perceptions of six Arab states in terms of whether they were seen as allies or enemies. The survey came in the shadows of the Gulf crisis over Qatar that created deep diplomatic tensions in the Arab world. The US, being the main player in the region, is valuable to understand how the disputes have been understood by its public.

Egypt was considered an ally or friend of the US by 47 percent of respondents, compared with 39 percent for the UAE and 37 percent for Saudi Arabia, ahead of Qatar at 27 percent, Iraq at 19 percent, and Syria at 8 percent.

Qatar seemed to have a negative image by most of the participants in the survey. They accused the tiny Gulf country of having common association with “financing terror groups”. Despite Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, only 16 percent knew about the championship.

YouGov found that 71 percent of the participants had previous knowledge about the dispute between Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Among those, 67 percent attributed the boycott to Qatar’s support of terror groups and intervening in the internal affairs of other GCC nations. The American participants were divided over the remain of US military air base in Qatar: 49 percent were unsure if their military air base should remain in Qatar, while 31 percent agreed it should remain, and 20 percent thought it should be moved.

Surprisingly, Qatar’s Al Jazeera was well known by 63 percent of Americans, but their impressions are negative: by around half of the participants believe that Al Jazeera offers a platform to terrorist groups and have a negative influence on the image of the Arab world. In addition, 55 percent of Americans were in favor of censorship of TV content that promotes terrorist causes or incites hatred.

The American public is not usually characterized by its strong interest in foreign affairs, rather the opposite. However, this latest poll shows the current tensions between Qatar and its neighbors are gaining some significant attention.

Qatar’s relations with several Arab states have been strained since May 24 over a leaked statement attributed to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, criticizing Gulf foreign policy with Iran, describing it as “unwise”.

On 5 June, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed economic sanctions, accusing it of funding terrorism, a claim Qatar rejects. They also closed their airspace and seaports for Qatari transportation.

The Arab quartet issued 13 demands to Doha – then shortened to six principles - including closing Al Jazeera television, curbing relations with Iran and shutting a Turkish military base.