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WHY QATAR IS THE FOCUS OF TERRORISM CLAIMS

By Tom Keatinge
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies

Published13 June 2017
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Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
The US has urged Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to act against
terrorism

The dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies isolate Qatar stems
from allegations that the tiny gas-rich nation is sponsoring extremist groups
which are destabilising the Middle East.

This is not the first time Qatar's neighbours have expressed their displeasure
over its individualist foreign policy - diplomatic relations were severed for
nine months in 2014.

Tensions have arisen from Qatar's support for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood;
its close relationship with groups such as the Taliban and certain al-Qaeda
affiliates; and its relationship with Iran, which has most recently led to
allegations from Saudi Arabia that the state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera is
supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen fighting government forces backed by Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Doha has strongly denied Riyadh's accusations, and said it has taken more robust
counter-terrorism measures than some of its neighbours.

Image source, EPA
Image caption,
The de facto embargo imposed on Qatar has prompted fears about shortages of
basic goods

Yet this latest row is shining a particular light on the role Qatar plays with
its immense wealth.

In April, it reportedly paid a ransom of as much as $1bn (£790m) to a former
al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria and to Iranian security officials as part of a deal
that resulted in the release of 26 royal family members reportedly kidnapped by
Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militiamen and of dozens of Shia fighters captured by
jihadists in Syria.



Thus it is Qatar's alleged continued funding of radical ideology and extremism
that is seemingly the cause of concern this time.


'WAY TO GO'

Since 9/11, the United States-led global effort to disrupt terrorist financing
has been relentless. Domestic laws and United Nations Security Council
Resolutions have been passed; entities and individuals have been subject to
national and UN sanctions; and suspected conduits for terrorist funding, such as
remittance companies and charities, have been shut down.

But despite all this, the commitment of some key nations, including Qatar, has
been repeatedly questioned.

Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Qatar's then-Emir, Sheikh Hamad, visited the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip in 2012

In 2014, then-US Treasury Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence David Cohen noted: "Qatar, a long-time US ally, has for many years
openly financed Hamas, a group that continues to undermine regional stability.
Press reports indicate that the Qatari government is also supporting extremist
groups operating in Syria."

He also drew attention to the "permissive" environment in Qatar that allowed
fundraisers to solicit donations for extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and
so-called Islamic State.

 * All you need to know about Qatar
 * What's behind the row?
 * The view from Doha
 * Can Al Jazeera survive Qatar crisis?

In 2016, Mr Cohen's replacement at the US treasury department, Adam Szubin,
noted that despite showing willingness to take enforcement action against
terrorist financiers, Qatar had "a way to go" and lacked "the necessary
political will and capacity to effectively enforce their counter-terrorism
finance laws against all terrorist financing threats".



In response to these failings, the US has sanctioned several Qatari citizens for
financing terrorism.


SAUDI SUSPICIONS

Yet despite leading the opposition to Qatar's financial activities - and no
doubt emboldened by the recent visit to Riyadh by US President Donald Trump -
Saudi Arabia has not escaped similar criticism.

Image source, AFP
Image caption,
US President Donald Trump met Saudi Arabia's King Salman in Riyadh last month

Fifteen of the 19 aircraft hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi citizens; diplomatic
cables from 2009 published by Wikileaks reflect regular US frustration at the
difficulty of persuading the Saudi government to treat terrorist financing
donors as a strategic priority; and the country has used its considerable
hydrocarbon wealth to propagate its fundamentalist Wahhabi strain of Islam via
schools and mosques around the world which have been accused by some of being a
source of extremism.

Although a small number of individuals and entities in Saudi Arabia are alleged
to have financed terrorism, the country is seemingly on much more supportive
ground than Qatar, and is recognised for its efforts.

Indeed, during President Trump's visit, the US and Saudi governments announced
the inauguration of a jointly-led regional Terrorist Financing Targeting Centre
to counter new and evolving threats from terrorist financing, perhaps reflecting
the extent to which Saudi Arabia has, in Washington's view, moved from being a
terrorist financing problem to a key part of the solution in the Gulf region.


EXTREMIST IDEOLOGY

Yet this apparent commitment by Saudi Arabia to tackle terrorist financing may
not be enough.


Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Qatar has rejected Saudi and UAE claims that charities in the country backed
terrorism

Although the direct financing of terrorist groups has unsurprisingly been the
primary focus of policymakers and security authorities, more recently attention
has expanded to include those who fund organisations and individuals who promote
radical or extremist ideologies.

Speaking in December 2015 during a House of Commons debate on extending UK
bombing of so-called Islamic State from Iraq into Syria, then-Prime Minister
David Cameron committed to "establish a comprehensive review to root out any
remaining funding of extremism within the UK... [examining] the nature, scale
and origin of the funding of Islamist extremist activity in the UK, including
any overseas sources".

Recent media reports suggest that, whilst completed, this review is unlikely to
be made public.

Which brings us back to the current state of Gulf affairs.

The suggestions are that, as before, this crisis will quickly pass. But the
increased focus this spat has brought to the financing of terrorism and
extremist ideology will endure and, however unreasonable it believes this to be,
Doha can expect to remain the centre of intense suspicion.

Tom Keatinge is director of the Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies at
the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi). Follow him on Twitter


MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Qatar isolated by its neighbours
   
   Published5 June 2017

 * Islamic State: Where key countries stand
   
   Published3 December 2015

 * Qatar country profile
   
   Published3 December 2018

 * Qatar hacking row fuels Gulf tensions
   
   Published25 May 2017

 * Travellers hit by grounded Qatar flights
   
   Published5 June 2017

 * 'A Qatarstrophe' - social media reacts
   
   Published5 June 2017

 * Five surprising facts about Qatar
   
   Published5 June 2017

 * Qatar row threatens food and flights
   
   Published5 June 2017

 * What's behind crisis with Qatar?
   
   Published5 June 2017

 * How the row might affect you
   
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