The Qatari quagmire: A den of double-faced vipers

6 countries have severed ties with Qatar, who they claim is an open bank of money, sympathy, support and propaganda for terrorism. Let’s take a look at the records of these countries that have dragged Qatar to the front burner. How do they stand in aiding and abetting terrorism?

Qatar: The country has the highest per capita income in the world with Sharia law embedded into its constitution. Qatari Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani openly supports Iran, The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. It has notoriously porous anti-terrorist financing laws, that lets terrorist sympathizers, both private and in government, send millions of dollars to terrorist organizations. It also supports and owns Al Jazeera which spouts slanted news favoring radical Islamist groups based in the region. They have been accused of funding and supporting The Al-Nusra Front, fighting against the Syrian government in Syria. They have close ties with Hamas, in Palestine, seeking to destroy Israel and have in the past funded The Islamic State of Iraq and supported terrorist in Mali. Former Qatari Interior Ministry official, Salim Hasan Khalifa Rashid al-Kuwarithe, U.S. Department of the Treasury stated, was as an arrogant al-Qaeda financier who gifted the terrorist organization hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Saudi Arabia: They believe in the Wahhabi jihadist interpretation of Islam. They are the chief promoter of Salafist jihadism, a rabid ideology that al-Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS believes in. Saudi Arabia has also supported groups like the Pakistani, Lashkar-e- Taiba and the Al-Nusra Front. The Sunni Muslim world depends on Saudi Arabia for funding their madrassas and schools. It is through this indoctrination that the philosophy of jihadist is born, nurtured, and then explodes through the world. A messianic hatred for the West and its culture is preached and taught. Most Westerners are Kafirs, they believe, who deserve to die because they have rejected Islam. They are taught to oppose infidels, and fight till death to protect the sanctity of their beliefs. Saudi Arabia is a major player in Syria, providing, military hardware and financial support to a number of rebel groups.

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a defense deal with Saudi Arabia that was approximately $ 110 billion. The United States will supply them with tanks, fighter aircraft, combat ships and precision guided missiles over a period of ten years. What Saudi Arabia does with all this, is a matter of speculation.

And one must remember, Osama bin Laden was born, educated and indoctrinated in Saudi Arabia. And lest the American public tend to forget, 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia.

 Egypt: Ayman Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor and leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group and designated head of al-Qaeda who was Osama bin Laden’s deputy, is still on the run, plotting against the West. Islamist terrorist in Egypt, have repeatedly attacked The Coptic Christians who believe in the theology of the apostle Mark who introduced Christianity in Egypt. The most resent massacre being the massacre in Minya where 28 Coptic Christians were shot in cold blood and 26 seriously maimed and injured. ISIS is a powerful entity in Egypt, and the government seems to doing little to stop the slaughter of Coptic Christians.

The Muslim Brotherhood founded in 1928 has percolated down to present times, spinning in and out of favor with the Egyptian government. It has however spread throughout the world, advocating violence and unrest. “Death for the sake of Allah,” is one of the tenants they believe in. It won the 2012 Presidential election and its corrupt candidate Mohamed Morsi became President. In June 2016, Morsi was found guilty of slipping state secrets to Qatar. He was sentenced to life in prison.

The Brotherhood has often stated that they are for peace and have condemned violence but facts on the ground fail to support these proclamations.

 United Arab Emirates: The UAE in a stubborn show of brotherhood was one of the only three countries to formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, the other two being Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The UAE is made up of a federation of 7 emirates, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain.

Their horrific human rights record has constantly baffled and shocked the world. Flogging, stoning and torture are the norm and homosexuality can get you a 14 year jail sentence. Amputation and crucifixion are legal punishments. During the Arab Spring, hundreds were arrested, tortured and killed. Many just disappeared. There is absolutely no freedom of speech and the press is shackled by the government.  The Taliban and their “blood brother” partner the Haqqani network are bestowed with millions of dollars through UAE based businesses.

Bahrain: Their horrific brutal response to Arab Spring peaceful protesters is a well-documented fact. Tanks and helicopters attacked Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama where protestors were camped. The protestors were demanding political reform for the majority Shia population from the Sunni led monarchy. They also wanted the ruling party to step down. Subsequent peaceful demonstrations were met with bullets and brutality. The government responded to the peaceful demonstrators by savaging them with toxic chemical agents, and destroying over 40 Shia mosques and religious places.

On May 23 this year, police gunned down 5 people and arrested 286, in Diaz near the capital Manama. They had gathered outside the home to protest the Bharani government’s decision to strip Ayatollah Sheik Isa Ahmed Qassim of his citizenship. Qassim is the spiritual leader of Al Wefaq, Bahrain’s most powerful opposition group.

Yemen: In January 2009, Saudi Arabian and Yemeni al-Qaeda groups forged an alliance and formed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, {AQAP} based in Yemen. They have close ties with Hamas. Abdul Majeed al-Zindani co-founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen. He was a close ally of Osama bin Laden and worked closely with the “Blind Sheik” who was found guilty of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Zindani was also responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Al-Qaeda’s Anwar al-Awlaki took refuge with the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen before he was decimated by an American drone.Zindani also works with Ansar al-Islam, an Iraqi and Syrian terrorist organization based in Syria.

 The Maldives: It is a picturesque South Asian holiday destination which has the largest number of jihadist fighting in Iraq and Syria. The government, it appears, is too busy cracking down and repressing its political opponents than stopping its citizens from joining ISIS in Syria. Credible reports state that funding for the rapidly increasing terrorists havens in the Maldives is coming in from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Young men and women are leaving in droves and travelling to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to study in madrassas. The Maldives is fast turning into a haven from terrorists, and the government sits back and does nothing, besides pleading for funds from rich nations to stop the spread of this cancer. The government of Maldives has consistently denied the fact that the country is now a haven for radical Islamic young people, who want to become mercenaries and martyrs to protect their religion and God.

Terrorism is never going to go away in the near future. The critics have cried, offering complex solutions. Political pundits have dispensed their wisdom of “how to solve the terrorist problem”, bombs and surgical strikes decimate the terrorists, and the snake just grows more heads, increases and multiplies. And the revolving heads sprout myriad forked tongues and strike… again, and again, and again, in the name of a religion, they believe Western culture is trying to crucify. In the end, this is about power, control and influence; religious self-righteousness, money and strategic global positioning; and like every politician, drunk on his own vomit will tell you, “There is no better or more potent aphrodisiac created by God on this good earth.”

And sitting somewhere in the mountains, a city or a village, at a location that is currently unknown, 28-year-old Hamza bin Laden, is ready to take over the throne of cold vengeance, his father, Osama bin Laden left for him.

The road ahead is long, dangerous and dark.