Qatar … The cancer that invades the heart of Somalia

Mustafa Hamza

The Qatari policies have not stopped supporting and financing terrorist organizations in East Asia. Qatar has been spreading in cancerous way in Africa; by giving life to the al-Qaeda affiliates in the African sub-continent after it retreated noticeably against the Islamic State (Daesh) which announced its alleged caliphate in 2014. This has since then intensified the conflict between the two organizations on the leadership of terrorism in the world.

Among the most prominent terrorist organizations supported by Doha is the Somali Mujahideen Youth Movement, which is considered one of the military and intellectual wings of al-Qaeda in the African continent and the most prominent organization in Somalia; despite the dissidence of 30 of its members led by Abdul Qadir Mumin.  They also announced their pledge of loyalty to Abu Bakr el-Baghdadi, the leader of the Daesh terrorist group, to compensate for the losses they suffered during the past years with the decline of Al Qaeda and the expansion of Daesh.

Qatar exploited the situation of security deterioration and chaos that engulfed Somalia following the fall of the regime of Siad Barre in 1991 to exercise its hobby in supporting the terrorist factions and having a foothold through which it can play a larger role and exert influence that is disproportionate to its political history. The country’s funds have played a pivotal role in a number of brutal massacres committed by Al-Shabab movement against civilians and political leaders. Its elements have also carried out suicide attacks in the Somali capital Mogadishu and in various parts of the country, most notably the assassination of former Somali Interior Minister Omar Hashi and at least 30 others following a bombing inside a hotel in Beledweyne, central Somalia, on June 18, 2009.

Due to the poor economic situation in Somalia in recent decades, a large number of its youth have fallen prey to Qatari funds, which have financed and fed terrorist activities in the Arab region after recruiting many young people as militia elements within the ranks of the Somali movement and other terrorist organizations in exchange for receiving monthly salaries. Qatar also provided media support through its TV network Al-Jazeera to the leaders of the movement by hosting them on its screen, especially after the launch of its Swahili-speaking channel, which is spoken by a number of African countries, as a soft power to promote Al-Shabab movement and terrorist organizations there.

Al-Shabab movement also prevented citizens from performing their rituals and daily life practices. They destroyed Sufi shrines and mosques in their areas of control, and prevented residents from practicing arts such as dance and music at weddings, banned cellphone music, closed cafes and cinemas, and prevented them from watching movies as well as playing or watching football matches on the pretext that it is haram (not religiously permissible).

According to a report by the International Crisis Group, the Somali youth movement has been receiving Qatari funding since its establishment. The Somali website “Jarwi Online” reported that this movement is not the only one supported by the Qatari state, but Qatar also supports the Muslim Brotherhood and its counterparts from other organizations.

Doha plays this role under various covers, including charity, humanitarian and relief work, through non-governmental organizations (most of them are infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood). These NGOs include Qatar Charity, Red Crescent and Raf Foundation, which collects Qatari donations under the pretext of philanthropy. They then distribute them on extremists and terrorists in the Horn of Africa, specifically in Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Kenya.

Several reports confirm Doha’s involvement in supporting and funding terrorist organizations, groups and movements in the Horn of Africa, including the US State Department, the Treasury, and a number of research institutions and centers, such as the American Democracy Support Foundation, the Center for Penalties and Secret Financing, in addition to accusations leveled by former prime minister of the Somali transitional government Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who explicitly addressed Qatar during a meeting with US diplomats in Libya, saying: “The Government of Qatar provides financial support to Al-Shabab movement.”

According to a three-part study released by “Support Democracy” institution titled “Qatar and the Funding of Terrorism”, Al-Shabab received $250,000 from the internationally-wanted Qatari businessman Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi, who has a strong relationship with the movement’s leader, Hassan Aweys, who is currently held by Somali authorities.

In July last year, the Qatar Insider website published a report on the role of Doha in the financing of Al-Shabab, details of the moves of the Qatari regime to fuel civil wars in the Horn of Africa and its prolongation upon orders made by the United States of America through its investment companies in Eritrea.

There were several factors that helped al-Qaeda enter and expand Somalia, including the chaos that followed the fall of the central government and the failure of international political mediations to contain the situation and the unification of the conflicting powers with the emergence of the Islamic Union Movement as an armed movement after the fall of the regime in 1991. The movement welcomed the arrival of al-Qaeda on order to establish an Islamic emirate in Somalia. Another important factor is the failure of Daesh to include more elements of the Qatari-backed Al-Shabab movement, which have between 7,000 to 13,000 fighters, enjoying wide influence within the Horn of Africa that stands against the extension of the IS organization.