Sheikh Tamim puts pressure on Al-Murra tribe in fear of coup

CAIRO – 29 June 2017: Qatar’s Al-Murra tribe was pressured to renew its loyalty to Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani on Sunday amid fears the tribe would repeat its coup attempt against the Qatari ruler.

In a Sunday press release the tribe stressed its mandate and loyalty to the soldiers of the State of Qatar, its Emir and its people whether in prosperity and hardship.

Sheikh Tamim was afraid from repeating the previous coup attempt that occurred in 1996 against his father Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, after the latter had toppled Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani.

In light of the growing concern that the country may witness a tribal revolution to overthrow the current regime, Sheikh Tamim put the tribesmen under huge security and economic pressure all the time using the Qatari state institutions.

The pressure exerted by Sheikh Tamim's intelligence and security agencies came after a number of senior tribal leaders in Al-Murra in Saudi Arabia who stressed their support for the Gulf blockade imposed on Qatar during their meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Al-Murra also denounced the Qatari policies towards the region, pointing out that the bad relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar began since Sheikh Hamad took over the state of Qatar.

History of the tribe

Al-Murra resides in countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Wadi Amad of Yemen.

Qatar has a large number of Arab and non-Arab tribes and families, which have travelled from neighboring countries for safety, including Al-Murra tribe. The tribe had good relations with the ruling Qatari family since the first founding Emir Sheikh Qasim bin Mohammed Al-Thani. From the first moment, they contributed to the building and defending of the state.

Historically, the Al-Murrah tribe made up a large proportion of Qatar's ethnic population. Estimates dating back to 2005 put the figure between 5 thousand and 10 thousand suggesting that they accounted for anywhere between 2.5 percent to 5 percent of the Qatari population at that time.

A majority of tribe members were strong supporters of Sheikh Khalifa Al-Thani, the former Emir of Qatar who was deposed in 1995 in a coup by his son. Eight months after the coup, 119 Al-Murrah members attempted to overthrow the new Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani, but failed.

Qatar has put many members of the Al-Murrah tribe in prison without trial, where they were subjected to torture and humiliation, and others were prevented from entering the country for long periods, and then dropped their nationalities.