Qatar, Hamas, and Funding Jihad

Qatar is in the news because of its role in negotiating for the release of hostages seized in the October 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas. The negotiations failed.

Qatar is a master of disguises. Beneath the sheep’s clothing of diplomacy lurks the wolf of Islamism seeking the overthrow of Western Civilization. And following the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” strategy, Qatar:

• Expands trade and diplomacy with China.
• Works with Iran to develop oil and gas fields in the Persian Gulf.
• Supports the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
• Allows Hamas leadership luxury accommodations in the capitol, Doha.
• Donates billions of dollars to U.S. universities to promote Islam.
• Hosts an American air base to protect it from Iran and Saudi Arabia.

In November 2022, Qatar signed a 27-year sales and purchase agreement with China’s Sinopec energy company for four million tons of liquified natural gas (LNG) per year. The project’s gas comes from the world’s largest natural gas field in the Persian Gulf that Qatar shares with Iran. Other Chinese energy companies are also in negotiations with Qatar to invest in the gas field.

Qatar is a small peninsula country connected to the east coast of Saudi Arabia and opposite to Iran in the Persian Gulf. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his family have ruled Qatar since gaining independence from Great Britain in 1971. The family has an estimated net worth of $335 billion.

The per capita income for Qatar’s citizens is among the highest in the world at $88,000. (Luxembourg has the world’s highest at $126,000). Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has an estimated $450 billion in assets. In the United Kingdom, holdings and investments are over $40 billion. In the United States, QIA owns a 10% stake in the Empire State Building and owns Miramax Studios. Washington D.C. is also of investment interest to QIA with minority stakes in the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.

Qatar has a population of about 2.9 million, of which approximately 88% are foreigners, primarily from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Islam is the official religion, and Sharia is the basis for laws. The native population is 90% Sunni and 10% Shia. 

Hamas has benefited from over $100 million in aid per year from Qatar and Iran. Without this aid and aid from American taxpayers through the United Nations, Hamas could not exist.

Qatar had no official response when Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas terrorist mastermind behind the October 7 jihad attack, was seen celebrating before his TV in his luxurious hotel suite in Doha. Haniyeh was designated a terrorist by the U.S. in 2018.

Haniyeh met with the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, on October 14 in Qatar to discuss the attack on Israel and the “historic victory” that had been dealt to Israel. They agreed to continue cooperation to achieve the group’s goals. One goal may have been to derail negotiations for normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Consider the goal successful.

Qatar’s support of Islamic terrorist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas led Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to sever diplomatic relations in 2017. Relations were restored in January 2020.

Lest we forget, Qatar allowed the Taliban to open an office in Doha, where the United States negotiated with the Taliban for withdrawal from Afghanistan. We all know how that turned out.

The rampant anti-Semitism protests in American universities and cities after the October 7 terrorist attacks are a manifestation of Marxist university indoctrination and the billions of Islamic dollars donated to major universities to promote Islam. Promoting Islamic ideology means promoting anti-Semitism and anti-Western Civilization. The protests are also a reflection on the surge of Muslim immigrants who have not integrated into American society.

Between 1986 and 2018, Muslim countries donated more than $6.6 billion to U.S. universities, with Qatar accounting for $5 billion. However, less than $3.6 billion was reported to the federal government as required by law. There is a direct correlation between the amount of money a university receives from Muslim countries and the amount of campus anti-Semitism led by Islamic student groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine. Also, there is a correlation in the silencing and censoring of scholars opposed to the prevailing ideology that Islamic Civilization is good and Western Civilization is bad.

Education City, a small enclave outside of Doha, is the home to satellite campuses of Georgetown, Northwestern, and Cornell. Education City is funded by the Qatar Foundation, which has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi. He has advocated for the destruction of America and Jews.

Summary

Actions speak louder than words. Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas financially and logistically. Qatar’s actions say it is promoting Islamic jihad and acting against the interests of the United States and Western Civilization.

Action

Americans should recognize that we are in a “Clash of Civilizations.” In 1993, Samuel P. Huntington argued that future wars would be fought between cultures. He identified eight such civilizations — Western, Confucian (China), Japanese, Islamic, Hindu (India), Slavic Orthodox (Russia), Latin America, and African.

George Orwell’s dystopian book “1984” which describes totalitarian thought control and wars between three civilizations, is also pertinent to the current state of affairs.

The United States is in a most perilous period. We must:

1. Invest in our industrial base.
2. Invest in our military, intelligence, and gray zone activities.
3. Invest in educating our youth on American history and civics.
4. Stop immigration from terrorist countries.

Peace Through Strength.

Laurence F. Sanford is a Senior Analyst at the American Security Council Foundation.