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| Arabia |
| Qatar Bankrolls Ascendant Muslim Brothers as U.A.E. Jails Them |
| 2012-12-10 |
| Qatar is courting Islamist groups across the Middle East, sometimes the same ones that make its neighbors nervous. Since Mohamed Mursi became the first Muslim Brotherhood member to lead an Arab state, Qatar has promised Egypt at least $20 billion in aid and investment. Other nations in the Persian Gulf, which holds almost half the world’s oil, see the Brotherhood as a threat. Saudi Arabia has shunned it for at least two decades, and the United Arab Emirates has jailed dozens of people this year on suspicion of links to the group. Qatar’s pro-Islamist line is backed by cash, from gas reserves that have made its 2 million people the world’s richest. Its support is helping the religious parties that emerged as the biggest winners from last year’s wave of Arab revolts. At the same time, it’s causing unease among Gulf monarchies that are resistant to political change and under U.S. pressure to show a united front against Iran. “The Qataris have identified the Muslim Brotherhood as a vehicle” to expand their influence, said Ghanem Nuseibeh, London-based founder of political risk analyst Cornerstone Global Associates. “That has certainly created tension between Qatar and other Arab governments,” which mostly view the group with “intrinsic distrust.” Qatar has other vehicles for its ambitions, too. It created the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera, has broken art-market records and will host soccer’s World Cup in 2022. Qatar hosts the U.S. Central Command base that directed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Diplomatic Passport It’s also home to Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Egyptian-born cleric widely known as the Brotherhood’s spiritual leader, who holds a diplomatic passport and has close ties with Qatari royals. Khaled Mashaal, political chief of Hamas, which has links to the Brotherhood, moved to the Qatari capital Doha from Damascus after splitting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. After Mursi’s election, Qatar promised $8 billion over five years to build a port in the Egyptian city of Port Said, $10 billion for a resort on the north coast, and a $2 billion deposit for Egypt’s central bank. Qatar National Bank SAQ, which hired Qaradawi as an Islamic adviser, is considering buying Societe Generale SA’s Egyptian unit. |
| Posted by:tipper |