Qatari tribe Al-Mora: story of an old opposition group

CAIRO – 3 July 2017: Qatar’s support of terrorism incurred a decision made by its Arab neighbors and other countries to cut diplomatic ties with it, which has stirred rage among many of the Qatari people, who viewed the crisis as a repercussion of the regime’s unwise acts.

The Qatari population consists of several tribes. The most powerful among these are expected to play a role in remedying the current situation and lobbying for a change in policies. One of the most important tribes in Qatar is Al-Mora who refuted the coup de palais assumed by the former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani against his father Sheikh Khalifa bin-Hamad Al-Thani in 1996.

Leaders of Al-Mora tribe stated to press that all tribes who refuted the coup were intimidated and harassed by the former ruler and his son Sheikh Tamin bin-Hamad Al-Thani who also conducted a coup de palais against his father in 2013.

In a meeting held mid-June between Al-Mora leaders’ delegation in Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince Mohamed bin-Salman, the 40 delegation members expressed their support to the boycott decision denying the Qatari regime’s acts which led to the deterioration of Saudi-Qatari bilateral relations since the 1996 coup.

Tribe leaders manifested their discontent upon the regime’s resorting to Iran and Turkey for military protection.

The delegation’s head Sheikh Faisal bin-Lahoom Al-Mori said that former Saudi Arabia King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (1964 – 1975) gave Qatar 80 km of its territories as a gift after the former Qatari Prince Sheikh Ali bin Abdulla Al-Thani (1949 – 1960) stated that Qatar is like “a village of the villages of Ahsa (an oasis region in eastern Saudi Arabia).”

The tribe used to have strong ties with Al-Thani tribe, the ruling tribe, since the founding of the Qatari state by Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed Al-Thani (1878 – 1913), and contributed effectively in building the state.

As a reaction to the 1996 coup, a number of elite tribes and military leaders in Qatar attempted to conduct a coup against Sheikh Hamad but failed. As a result, a great number of Al-Mora leaders were imprisoned and tortured for long time, and their nationalities were revoked. Other tribe members were banned from joining the civil service sector and the army.