Qatar’s economy recedes as regime insists on using charities to support terrorism

Mohamed Yosry

Qatar’s economy is currently experiencing a huge shock in many sectors due to the Covid-19 corona virus. During this crisis, the regime in Doha has manipulated the country’s economic capabilities, directing them to support terrorist and extremist groups that seek to destabilize countries in the region with funds meant for Qatari citizens. The regime does this under the banner of humanitarian operations by means of civil organizations, and sometimes by attracting extremist figures by allocating huge salaries to them and supporting their activities under the guise of advocacy.

Economic shock

Since the last two weeks of March, the results of Doha’s manipulation began to appear in all economic activities as the regime was unable to provide adequate support to the health sector amid the outbreak of the corona virus. There was an unprecedented decline in the Qatari stock exchange, and up to 40% of employees in vital sectors were laid off, including at Qatar Airways.

Many observers have affirmed that Qatar’s economy would not have reached this level if it were not for the regime continuing to support terrorist entities in the region, especially organizations on terrorist lists that operate under the guise of humanitarian aid and advocacy.

Charities supporting terrorism

Qatar has dozens of charities involved in supporting terrorism and wasting Qatari funds, which has led to an unprecedented shock to the economy that threatens the collapse of many service and economic sectors.

At the head of Qatari organizations that sponsor terrorism is the Qatar Charity foundation, which is chaired by Sheikh Hamad bin Nasser bin Jassim Al Thani and was established in 1992. It is linked to suspicious activities in support of terrorism, especially al-Qaeda and the Brotherhood, and its president is close to al-Qaeda.

International reports indicate that Qatar Charity provided financial assistance to al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen and transferred many of the terrorist organization’s wounded to receive treatment in Doha, in addition to supporting and financing the activities of political organizations affiliated with the Brotherhood and the Islah Party in Yemen. Reports estimated that the charity foundation supported terrorist groups in Yemen with about half a billion dollars in 2016 alone. According to local reports, other Qatari organizations have also been involved in supporting Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria.

The Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association, which was established in 1995, is one of the most active terrorist-financing organizations in the world. Local reports indicate that 90% of the association’s funds are directed towards supporting extremist groups, especially in Syria and Africa.

The association’s board of directors includes a number of terrorist figures, including Saad al-Kaabi, who is on international terrorist lists on accusations of collecting funds in Qatar to be sent to al-Qaeda in Syria. According to a report published by Sky News Arabia in July 2017, Kaabi and one of his relatives residing in the United Kingdom were involved in collecting donations to support terrorist groups. The association also launched a suspicious fundraising campaign called Madad Ahl al-Sham under the supervision of Kaabi.

Meanwhile, in Africa, the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) of Sudan revealed that the Qatari regime provided support for a number of extremist entities, estimated at $759 million in a period of five years.

Economy affected by continued support for terrorism

On January 6, 2019, the Qatar opposition website Qatarileaks reported that the Qatari market witnessed defeats due to Emir Tamim bin Hamad’s terrorist policies and spending of state funds on subversive projects, leading to a significant decline in the Qatari stock exchange in recent years due to lack of investor confidence in the Qatari market.

According to a report published by Bloomberg News on April 3, the Qatari government directed the selling of new bank bonds at a value exceeding $5 billion in order to support the country’s financial resources, which have incurred millions in losses due to the corona virus pandemic, in addition to a 50% drop in oil prices.

Many economic reports have confirmed that the Qatari economy has been affected by the regime’s insistence on supporting terrorism, which has been reflected in Doha’s inability to stop the spread of the corona virus pandemic. However, Doha still insists on using charities to support terrorism, which was revealed by a former Somali Al-Shabaab leader, according to a Qatarileaks report published on April 2.

The report stated that Qatar is planning to take advantage of the global preoccupation with the corona crisis to establish a presence through extremist organizations in African countries, especially Somalia, stressing that it has become easier to send funds in light of the global pandemic under the cover of aid. This has led the regime in Doha to decide to double the amount of funds sent to support extremist organizations despite Qatar’s current strongly shaken economy.