Qatari relation with terror groups remains deep: UK think tank

CAIRO – 30 November 2017: Qatar’s financial and intelligence collaboration with world terror groups and Islamist extremists remains deep and continuing, according to a report titled "Qatar and the Gulf Crisis,” released by the British think tank, the Henry Jackson Society (HJS).

The new report examines the charges filed against the Qatari government by other Gulf States and questions whether Qatar is engaged in power politics and bolstering terrorist groups and individuals with the intention of undermining regional stability. The report’s findings summarize hundreds of links between Qatar and sanctioned individuals as well as blacklisted groups.

The Qatari passport of one figure on the US Treasury’s list of terrorist financiers was renewed during the summer, although Doha claimed that the figure’s movement inside and outside the country has been restricted.

In addition, Qatar has paid tens of millions of dollars to the Syrian group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, linked to Al-Qaeda, as part of April’s hostage deal to release a group of hostages held in Iraq.

The report also points out that Doha still has links with Abdul Hakim Bel Haj and other Libya Islamist militia leaders through Ali al-Salabi, a Doha-based individual who provides funding for various media outlets and propaganda platforms to incite violence and sectarianism.

The report recommends a four-point plan for the British government to increase pressure on Qatar for funding terrorism.

The Arab Quartet has disseminated many facts about Qatar’s relation with various extremists since the start of 2017. Qatar has hosted three figures that were designated by the U.S. as terrorists, namely Wajdi Ghoneim, Saad bin Saad al-Kaabi and Abdul Rahman bin Umair al-Nuaimi.

Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, who was involved in planning the 9/11 attack, was given a job at the Water Department in Qatar, and Osama bin Ladin found Qatar to be a suitable refuge for his family. A member of the Qatari royal family, who did not have an official position in the government, allegedly hosted the founder of the Islamic State (IS) Ahmad al-Khalayleh after he was evicted in Afghanistan in 2001, according to the report.

In addition, the Arab Quartet published a list on June 9, 2017, of 59 individuals and 12 entities, who are linked to both terror and Qatar.

After their long history of terrorism and extremism, the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) was declared as a terrorist organization by the Arab Quartet on November 25, after the violations committed by its head, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and the fact that they find a safe haven in Qatar.

However, Qatar has denied all the allegations against it, insisting that the campaign launched by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain to boycott Qatar is based on fabricated and false news.

The Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani delivered a speech in light of the current Gulf crisis in July.

During the speech, Tamim stated that all allegations against Qatar of supporting terrorism and extreme forces are not true.

"Qatar was unwillingly forced to join the Arab Alliance in Yemen against Houthis," Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah also stated in July.