Starving extremists of their support

Doha has spent years giving money and support to extremists. That must end

Controversial Egyptian cleric Yusuf Al Qaradawi attends a seminar in the Qatari capital Doha. Qatar's support for extremists has led to a crisis with its Gulf neighbours. AFP PHOTO / AL-WATAN DOHA / KShow more

In every crisis, there is an opportunity, and the Gulf states are hoping that Qatar will realise there is an opportunity that emerges from this particular crisis. For far too long, Doha has operated its foreign policy without regard to how its actions will affect its neighbours and the wider Middle East.

This particular moment, with the patience of its neighbours exhausted, is a chance for Doha to re-pivot its priorities, to come back into the fold of the GCC, and to recognise that playing a double game is unsustainable. Indeed, that double game allows regimes such as Iran to think they can split GCC opinion, and allows groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood to think they can spread their ideology without censure.

That indeed was the message coming out of Washington, as well. “We are stopping the funding of terrorism,” the US president Donald Trump told a cabinet meeting on Monday. “You have to starve the beast.”

That is right. The “beast” in Mr Trump’s analogy is extremists around the region, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, which thrives on money. It is only because the Brotherhood has been able to get hold of vast quantities of cash over the years that it has been able to continue its activities. That is why some Gulf states are so keen to sanction Qatari individuals, because it is from there that these extremist groups get their funding. By starving the beast, these groups will have to stop spewing their hate and radicalising communities.

Once again, though, it is important to repeat, as the Gulf states have done, that these actions are not aimed at the Qatari people, but at the policies of the government. Saudi Arabia, for example, has moved to reassure Qataris that there are no restrictions on them performing the Umrah pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also made sure to explain that Qataris married to their citizens will be exempt from the notice for Qataris to leave those countries.

On social media, too, there was an attempt to push back against the misinformation that has taken hold. A hashtag – #Not_a_siege_but_a_boycott – has been trending over the past few days, noting that the decision to cut off relations is not a “siege” of Qatar, but a boycott based on specific policies that Doha has implemented. If those policies were changed, relations could return to normal. Everyone in the Gulf wants that to happen, but it requires decisions to be taken in Doha.