#1 Overall, there appears to be no evidence for the more outlandish claims that Qatar is training or financing Al-QaÂ’ida-splinter groups. Not only would this idea contradict key tenets of QatarÂ’s foreign policy for decades now, but it is wholly unclear how useful it would be to befriend a group of extreme Sharia-devout Al-QaÂ’ida types in northern Mali
If one goes by "foreign policy is everything", then the claims might be outlandish.
If one considers the idea that Qatar, through its actions (such as sponsoring al-Jazeera, support for Hamas, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Libyan rebels and Syrian Islamist groups) is walking a careful line while long-term attempting both to advance a wahabbist agenda and increase its influence within the Muslim sphere, then it is not so outlandish. |