Rebuttal of allegations by L’Observatoire du Qatar in Paris

Over the past months, L’Observatoire du Qatar has circulated false and baseless allegations about Centre des Etudes du Moyen Orient, CEMO, and its Director Dr. Abdel-Rahim Ali. Such an outrageous campaign was first unleashed on October 10, 2017, and was repeated systematically and unethically on February 19, 2018 and May 24, 2018.

Since then, we had ignored these fabrications and sheer lies because they lacked credibility and did not merit any concern or argument.  However, we decided to change our mind after you published an article on your website on May 24, 2018 only to assail the reputation and the integrity of MP Dr. Abdel-Rahim Ali; and shake CEMO’s credibility. The article  alleged outrageously that Dr. Ali introduced Marie Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front, to the government of Abu-Dhabi.

Your lies and false statement can easily be refuted as follows:

First- Your claim that a conference CEMO organized on the sidelines of the Security Conference in Munich did not attract audience and that Dr. Abdel-Rahim Ali had to hire eastern European women to fill the vacant seats is ridiculous and baseless.  These sheer lies and baseless allegations had been downloaded on your website three months before—on February 19, 2018.

The photo you posted to help give credit to your false allegation had nothing to do with  CEMO’s conference. This photo belongs to a report broadcast by Al-Jazeera on anti-Qatar seminar organized in Munich. It was true that the organisers of the anti-Qatar seminar had hired eastern European women to come forward and take part. The fact we reiterated is that CEMO’s conference had no connection whatsoever with what had happened during the anti-Qatar seminar. Also, the conference Al-Jazeera referred to in its report was organized in Charles Hotel in Munich. But CEMO’s conference was organized in Regina Hotel, which lies in the same city.

It must be known that Al-Jazeera’s report on February 16 was downloaded on https://youtube/FkUhAVxXI-s, a day before CEMO’c conference would take place (See the attached poster of CEMO’s Conference). Moreover, the video CEMO downloaded on (https://www.youtube.com/watch?=mepeDQI9sI4&feature=youtub.be)  shows that its conference, the theme and the attendees were not by any means belong to the contents of Al-Jazeera’s report.

Second-In a systematic violation of code of ethics of the profession, your article on May 24, misquoted cynically le journal du dimanche, to indicate that Dr. Ali suspected that the Jewish lobby in Europe and the US was behind the terrorist attacks in Europe.  Your allegation about Dr. Ali and the identity of the suspects of these attacks were nowhere in the report published by the French journal. It is known that Dr. Abdel-Rahim Ali sent a rebuttal to le journal du dimanche, in which he tackled different points raised by the French journal in its article.

Third-We cannot understand why L’Observatoire du Qatar persistently associates CEMO with Mr. Mezri Hadad’s CIGPA. Speakers and instructors, who addressed seminars organized—independently—by CIGPA and CEMO must have been behind this misunderstanding and misconception.

It must be known that CEMO has no relation whatsoever with CIGPA. Nor does CEMO cooperate with CIGPA to organize joint events. As far as instructors are concerned, they have unrestricted freedom to give speeches to seminars and conferences, whose themes are in tune with their ideas and political attitudes.