Qatar and state-sponsored terrorism

The small Arab country of Qatar, bordered only by Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, has long been accused of allowing terror financiers to operate within its borders. The country has been called “the Club Med for Terrorists” and “most two-faced nation in the world, backing the U.S.-led coalition against the militants of the Islamic State while providing a permissive environment, in the words of one top American official, for terrorist financiers to operate with impunity.”

Accusations come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports, government officials, and journalists. The Telegraph, a British newspaper, even started a “Stop the Funding of Terror” journalism campaign.

At the official level, the Qatari government pledged support for Hamas, the Palestinian group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, Egypt and Canada.

In response to these allegations, on September 25, 2014, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, went on American television to defend his country against claims that it harbors terrorist financiers. In an interview on CNN, the Emir stated that Qatar is committed to fighting ISIS for the long-term.

The Qatari government has a designated terrorist list. As of 2014, the list contained no names. In general, in spite of its official commitment to a number of domestic and international initiatives centered on countering terrorist finance, Qatar remains non-compliant with international sanctions designating terrorists based on its territory, many of which still live with impunity on Qatari soil.

In 2003, the U.S Congress was made aware that a plethora of charities based in Qatar was supporting al-Qaeda’s activities by helping move and launder funds for the terrorist group. In December 2013, the United States designated Abd al-Rahman bin Umayr al-Nuaymi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGTs). Nuaymi is based in Qatar. The U.S. Treasury Department placed sanctions on Nuaymi and declared him a "Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and material support and conveyed communications to al-Qa'ida and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade."

In September 2014, a diplomat in Qatar told the media that between 8 and 12 “key figures in Qatar” were raising millions of pounds for jihadist fighters for Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.

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Wikipedia