By JTW
By Ömer Faruk Topal
During Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani’s rule Qatar became more visible in world politics. With its natural gas-derived wealth Qatar had invested billions of dollars around the world and made deals with famous finance and industry giants. Several prestigious diplomatic and sporting events took place in Qatar or were scheduled to be held. As a small country with a tiny population Qatar surprised many analysts with its foreign policy activism. Qatar has the ability to mold public opinion via media instruments like Al Jazeera and was very active in some regional issues including a peace deal in Lebanon, arming opposition forces in Syria and Libya, and reconciliation efforts to alleviate the HAMAS-FATAH dispute.
However, this activism and Qatar’s tactic of aligning with moderate Islamists irritated its neighbors in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Saudi Arabia was one of the most fervent supporters of the coup d’état in Egypt and perceived the Brotherhood and its Islamist ideology to pose a dire threat to its regime’s security and regional stability, and labeled it a terrorist organization. Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa also stated that “Bahrain will deal with any threat from the Muslim Brotherhood group in Bahrain in the same way it deals with any other potential threat to its security and stability.”
Moreover Qatar hosts Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a famous intellectual of the Brotherhood who often criticizes Gulf States and even accuses them of being against Islamic rule. Qatar and Saudi Arabia also have different views on Iran. While the former sees Iran as an actor which should not be ignored, the latter sees Iran as an existential threat.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain accused Qatar of damaging the security and stability of the Gulf States by supporting the Brotherhood and its allies. Qatar was Egypt’s number one donor after Morsi’s victory—a position taken up by Saudi Arabia since the coup. On the other hand, Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiya said “our policy is based on openness towards all, and we do not want to exclude anyone.”
A March 2014 report published by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, a Doha based think-tank, claims that “from the beginning, Saudi Arabia, the most conservative state in the region, viewed the Arab Spring, as a threat, prompting it to lead the counter-revolutionary axis. With the help of the UAE, Riyadh did all it could to abort these revolutions, such as hosting the first deposed Arab president, Zine El- Abidine Ben Ali”. The report also states that “both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are playing an active role in de-stabilizing the post-revolution regimes in Tunisia and Yemen, as Saudi Arabia remains uninterested in the success of any pluralistic political experiment that involves an alternation of power.”
This crisis is neither the only dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar nor the first time ambassadors have been withdrawn. However, this is the biggest crisis the GCC has experienced. Qatari media and officials often emphasize that Qatar is an independent state and has the right to follow its policies in Egypt, Palestine, and other areas. Saudi Arabia and its allies, for their part, perceive Qatar’s policy as a threat to their security and stability, and demand that Qatar stop supporting the Brotherhood and shut down Al Jazeera network and some think tanks. Both sides are using every instrument they have to show their rightfulness and it seems that this dispute will require time to resolve.
About the author: JTW
JTW - the Journal of Turkish Weekly - is a respected Turkish news source in English language on international politics. Established in 2004, JTW is published by Ankara-based Turkish think tank International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
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