Trump is asked to confront emir of Qatar over his "terrorist friend"

Trump is asked to confront emir of Qatar over his "terrorist friend"
July 9, 2019, 11:41 am

Trump is asked to confront emir of Qatar over his terrorist friend (AP Photo)

Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday to exchange views on the latest regional and international developments. Meanwhile, there are demands that the visit should discuss the Tamim-Qaradawi friendship. Al-Qaradawi is on terrorism lists and he is one of the main advisers to the emir of Qatar.

The White House announced in June that the visit would address economic and security ties as well as counterterrorism issues.

Jordan Schachtel, the American foreign affairs expert, urged Trump to confront Tamim about his "terrorist friend," referring to Qaradawi; being known as the godfather of the Brotherhood terrorist group.

"If Trump wanted to understand Qatar, its foreign policy and its emir in the clearest possible way, perhaps he should know the closest adviser to Tamim,” Schachtel wrote in an article on The Daily Wire.

He stressed that al-Qaradawi's reputation stemmed from his fanatical fatwas. He described him as a "mufti of hatred" who holds Qatari citizenship in response to the royal family's directives.

"The Mufti of hatred was exploiting his platforms after the September 11 attacks to support some of the world's most violent terrorist organizations," he explained, adding that "al-Qaradawi called on extremists to carry out suicide attacks against the West."

"The mufti of hatred is a permanent guest at events hosted by the Qatari royal family. He is usually described as a guest of honour and sits directly next to the emir, as was the case during one of the events last Ramadan," he said.

"Al-Qaradawi appeared on Qatar’s local television as a guest of honour sitting next to Tamim; conversing friendly with him," he added.

"The emir of Qatar kissed al-Qaradawi’s forehead , and this has not happened only once, but it reoccurred year after year. Al-Qaradawi sits as a guest of honour alongside the emir at high-level events, " Schachtel continued.

"Al-Qaradawi's hosts in Qatar have not responded, with a minimum of reprimand, to the fatwas and calls for the violence he is launching. In fact, they continue to praise him by talking about how close he is to the emir. This in return indicates Tamim's support for the statements and methods of the extremist Mufti."

"Al-Qaradawi is not only a regular guest at Qatar’s royal palace, but has for many years been a guest on Al-Jazeera network owned by Doha," he added.

"The close friend of Qatar’s ruling emir used his platform to advocate violence and promote the dangerous incitement and blind intolerance in front of millions of viewers of al-Jazeera which is wholly owned by the royal family in Qatar," he said.

Schachtel spoke about Qatar's long record of public and private support for terrorist organizations including an organization run by al-Qaradawi himself—who took charity as a cover.

He pointed out that the link between Al-Thani and Al-Qaradawi is "the clearest example that Qatar is playing for the other team in the global war against extremism."

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