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A brief overview of developments between Egypt and the GCC states over last decades and the role played by MB in Qatar.
Al Jazeera and Qatar: The Muslim Brothers’ Dark Empire?
(JCPA/ Jerusalem Post) – There has been a significant presence of the Muslim Brothers (also known as the Muslim Brotherhood) in Qatar since the second half of the twentieth century. The first wave came from Egypt in 1954 after Nasser had smashed their organization. The next wave came from Syria in 1982 after Hafez el-Assad bombed their stronghold in Hama. The last group arrived after September 11, 2001 – from Saudi Arabia.
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Qatar is a different story.The Brotherhood set its mark on the small Beduin country more than half a century ago when a number of militants, fleeing Nasser’s vengeful hand, found refuge there. At the time most of its revenue derived from pearl fishing. The Beduin welcomed the newcomers who were willing to adopt Wahabism and its strict rules. The Brothers devoted themselves to their new home, setting up a Ministry of Education and a Ministry of Religion to mold the youth.
It was at that time that Youssef al-Qaradawi, who was to become the leading religious authority of the movement, arrived in Qatar. He set up two important institutions: the World Union of Islamic Sages, whose function is to explain his religious edicts to the faithful throughout the world, and the European Council for Fatwa and Research. The council is meant to help Muslim minorities living in the West preserve their religion in a non-Muslim environment.
Qaradawi’s weekly program on Qatar’s Al Jazeera channel, Shari’a and Life, develops his extremist views for the benefit of millions of listeners.
Sheikh Qaradawi Reacts [post from European Tribune]
Continued below the fold …
Sheikh reacts to the nonsense on western websites having been banned by the new Emir of Qatar, via his personal website in Arabic [Google translation]:
Qaradawi on his summer vacation and will return to Doha early September
Did not respond to get caught up to respond to such nonsense, and those rumors peddled by media belonging to the Syrian regime, in order to create confusion about the Shaykh, for his advocacy of the Syrian issue.
He left Sheikh Qaradawi in Doha, heading to Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in the meetings of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, after the peace on Prince parent Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the country, congratulating him on the beginning of his reign as Emir of Qatar.
He then traveled eminence of Bosnia and Herzegovina heading to Cairo on the morning of Saturday, 29.6.2013 to spend his summer vacation usual, interspersed to perform Umrah in the last ten days of Ramadan, that eminence accustomed to their performance, hosted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
- Wary of Mursi, Gulf Arabs keen to appear neutral in Egypt crisis – Reuters July 3, 2013
- Yousuf Al Qaradawi: Mohammad Mursi overthrow ‘invalid’ – Gulf News July 7, 2013
World Citizen: Qatar’s Disastrous Bet on the Muslim Brotherhood
(WP Review) July 11, 2013 – Qatar made a name for itself in recent years with its bold, headline-grabbing foreign policy. Among its many controversial moves, as I noted in earlier articles, none looked as risky as the decision to give strong support to the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the Arab uprisings. Now, with the Muslim Brotherhood out of power in Egypt, one of the potential downsides of that risk equation has materialized, leaving Doha at a foreign policy crossroads.
For Qatar, the turn of events in Egypt is the most significant, but it is only one in a series of recent reverses to Doha’s activist foreign policy agenda. Given the timing and magnitude of the crisis, it will inevitably push the emirate to urgently reassess its regional stance.
Events are not moving Qatar’s way in Egypt or in Syria. Making matters worse, one of the emirate’s principal sources of soft power, its Al Jazeera network, is the target of anger and bitterness for its editorial line in support of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Qatar has come to be seen as the enemy by many opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood, a risky and rather ironic position for a regime that sought to place itself on the winning side of the Arab revolutions.
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Al Jazeera Tracking Tweets from Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain
(MediaBistro) March 8, 2011 – “I think Al Jazeera should capitalise on its new-found fame and new-found favour in the U.S.,” Ali Jaber, dean of the Mohammed Bin Rashid School for Communication at the American University of Dubai told The National. Al Jazeera has made a fan of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a powerful ally to have in your corner. With social media, it can also gather support from millions of others.
