Aljazeera: Qatar’s war propaganda now in French

Founded at the initiative of the Frydman brothers, Al-Jazeera was revamped in 2005 by the Libyan Mahmoud Jibril and the Palestinian Wadah Kanfar to serve the political agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood [1]. The chain, which had steadily gained credibility through its coverage of the conflicts in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq, veered unexpectedly in January 2011 to become a war propaganda tool. It did not hesitate to misleadingly present footage shot in a studio as having been taken live, for example the fake entrance of Libyan rebels in Tripoli’s Green Square, or the contrived images of Syrian opposition protests at the Clock Square in Homs. The channel has acquired a spiritual adviser in the person of Sheikh al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s star preacher. Even though he drummed up support for the French intervention in Libya and has called for the assassination of Muammar el-Qaddafi and Bashar al-Assad, the sheikh was barred in March 2012 from entering France on the grounds that "his discourse is not compatible with republican ideals." Al-Jazeera in French will be broadcast via satellite all around the world. The Emir Hamad had initially planned to lodge the studio in Paris where he is already involved in program production jointly with the Lagardère Group. However, after Sheikh al-Qaradawi was served with the barring notice, the Emir decided to set up the channel’s headquarters in Dakar, Senegal.

Voltaire Net

Ruling Tunisia by remote control

Tunisia has a new caliph: the emir of Qatar. Although a year has passed since the inspiring Jasmine Revolution, and dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is no longer in power - Tunisia's democracy is still in danger. Now the problem seems to be the emir, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who many perceive as a threat to Tunisia's sovereignty.

Ruling Tunisia by remote control

Let's talk about Qatar

The rise of Qatar has been one of the most remarkable developments in the recent history of the Middle East. How this small, oil-rich Gulf state built Al Jazeera and parleyed the TV station's influence into a diplomatic role across the region is an insufficiently explored issue. The list of the monarchy's achievements is impressive, even putting aside how they secured the football World Cup for 2022. Qatari diplomats have mediated in Lebanon, helped rejuvenate the Arab League, led condemnation of Bashir al-Assad and joined the fight against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. In a way, Qatar has become one of the region's lynchpins, second only to Saudi Arabia as the West's go-to country. The Prime Minister is said to speak regularly to his Qatari counterpart as part of a relationship that may now have surpassed the considerable UK-Omani link.

Let's talk about Qatar

Secretary Clinton on Qatar-US collaboration

SECRETARY CLINTON: Qatar is and remains a very valuable American partner. As we look back on the year just finished, I’m not sure there was any one like it. It was an extraordinary time, and during it, our partnership evolved to address new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities, including the unprecedented joint operations with NATO over the skies of Libya.

Secretary of State Clinton Remarks With Qatari Prime Minister After Their Meeting

Exxon's Partner In Giant Qatar Project To Help Exporting U.S. Shale Gas

Golden Pass (which is owned 70% by Qatar, 17.6% by Exxon and 12.4% by ConocoPhillips) would be just one of a handful of LNG export terminals on the gulf coast. Cheniere Energy, which was among the earliest to build an LNG import terminal at Sabine Pass, has already had its plans approved by the feds, and expects to begin exporting U.S. gas in 2015. In addition to the gulf coast export plans, ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhillips have been working on plans to export gas stranded in Alaska to the Asian market. This is all a huge change from just a few years ago, when the big players assumed the U.S. would need gas from the rest of the world. “People used to say that shale gas couldn’t compete with natural gas,” al Attiyah reportedly said. “In my 40 years in the industry, I have learned one thing: don’t believe in forecasts.”

Exxon's Partner In Giant Qatar Project Says It Wants To Reverse LNG Terminal To Export U.S. Shale Gas

A Mistaken Case For Syrian Regime Change

Al-Jazeera has, and continues, [18] to provide technical support, equipment, hosting and "credibility" to Syrian opposition activists and organizations. Reports show that as early as March 2011, al-Jazeera was providing messaging and technical support to exiled Syrian opposition activists [19] , who even by January 2010 were co-ordinating their messaging activities from Doha. Nearly 10 months on, however, and despite the daily international media onslaught, the project isn't exactly going to plan: a YouGov poll commissioned by the Qatar Foundation [20] showed last week that 55% of Syrians do not want Assad to resign and 68% of Syrians disapprove of the Arab League sanctions imposed on their country. According to the poll, Assad's support has effectively increased since the onset of current events - 46% of Syrians felt Assad was a "good" president for Syria prior to current events in the country - something that certainly doesn't fit with the false narrative being peddled. As if trumpeting the success of their own propaganda campaign, the poll summary concludes: The majority of Arabs believe Syria's President Basher al-Assad should resign in the wake of the regime's brutal treatment of protesters ... 81% of Arabs [want] President Assad to step down. They believe Syria would be better off if free democratic elections were held under the supervision of a transitional government. [21] One is left wondering who exactly is Assad accountable to - the Syrian people or the Arab public? A blurring of lines that might perhaps be useful as two main Syrian opposition groups have just announced [22] that while they are against foreign military intervention, they do not consider "Arab intervention" to be foreign. Unsurprisingly, not a single mainstream major newspaper or news outlet reported the YouGov poll results - it doesn't fit their narrative.

A Mistaken Case For Syrian Regime Change

In the Arab Spring, Watch Turkey

Landlocked Iraqi Kurdistan also needs a conduit to export its oil to the West. The only country that can fulfill both roles is Turkey. That is why K.R.G. officials, instead of supporting their ethnic brethren inside Turkey, have often sided with Ankara against the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K. All this explains why the bombing on Dec. 28, in which the Turks killed 35 Kurdish smugglers whom they mistook for terrorists, provoked little outrage in Iraqi Kurdistan. On the streets of Erbil there are no signs of protests against Turkey. Instead, one notices Turkey’s ubiquitous presence in the form of construction, investment, consumer goods and tourists. Should more pipelines leading from Iraqi Kurdistan to the Mediterranean via Turkey be built, the result will be the de facto creation of an Iraqi-Kurdish buffer state. Dependent on Turkey for its survival, such a state would also form a barrier to Iranian (or American, or P.K.K.) interference in Turkish affairs. In the southern part of Iraq, the situation is just the opposite. There, a Shiite Arab buffer state, buttressed by Iran as a bulwark against Turkish, American or Saudi encroachments, is being created. The last two weeks’ events have removed any doubt that Maliki is “Iran’s man” in Baghdad. Yet despite this de facto partitioning of Iraq over the last month, Turkey and Iran are not challenging each other’s spheres of influence.

In the Arab Spring, Watch Turkey

Qatar, Unveiling Tensions, Suspends Sale of Alcohol

The alcohol ban has raised questions over how easily Qatar can bridge the two worlds. Qatar, where the strict strand of Wahhabi Islam is predominantly observed, wants to retain a conservative Arab culture rooted in Islamic traditions where women are often veiled and arranged marriages are common. Muslims are prohibited by Islamic law from consuming alcohol or pork. Last month, restaurants on the Pearl were instructed to suspend alcohol sales until further notice, according to a person familiar with the matter at Doha-based United Development Company, the real-estate developer that built the island. No reason was given, and it isn't clear how long the ban will be enforced.

Qatar, Unveiling Tensions, Suspends Sale of Alcohol

Taliban strike deal with Qatar on liaison office

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the liaison office will conduct negotiations with the international community. He did not say when it would open.

"Right now, having a strong presence in Afghanistan, we still want to have a political office for negotiations," said Mujahid. "In this regard, we have started preliminary talks and we have reached a preliminary understanding with relevant sides, including the government of Qatar, to have a political office for negotiations with the international community." Mujahid's emailed statement also said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan— the name of Afghanistan under Taliban rule — , has "requested for the exchange of prisoners from Guantanamo." He was referring to a Taliban demand that the U.S. military release about five Afghan prisoners believed to be affiliated with the Taliban from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Taliban strike deal with Qatar on liaison office

Angry Syrians bury Damascus bombing dead

The funerals on Saturday turned into pro-Assad rallies in which mourners called for revenge and condemned Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani whose country, once an ally of Assad, is now one of his main critics. The crowd, carrying posters of Assad and Syrian flags, chanted "We want your head, Hamad" and "We sacrifice our souls and blood for you Bashar" and "God, Syria and Bashar only." The coffins, wrapped in Syrian flags, were lined up inside the city's historic gilded 8th century Umayyad Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites. Many were marked "unknown." Both Muslim and Christian clerics attended the funerals which were led by senior Sunni Muslim cleric Said al-Bouti. Syria's state television aired live footage of the funeral processions.

Angry Syrians bury Damascus bombing dead

Qatar names its largest mosque after Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab

Qatar has named its largest mosque after Imam Mohammad Ibn Abdul Wahab, the influential Muslim scholar who lived in the 18th century in today's Saudi Arabia. "The mosque naming directive by the Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani is in honour of the reformer's position and a reflection of Qatar's keenness on the revival of the nation's symbols and civilization values," Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported on Tuesday. Ibn Abdul Wahab (1703-1792) preached a return to "pure Islam" and called for purging Islam of what he considered "impurities and negative innovations." In his teachings, he urged Muslims to uphold only "the original principles of Islam as typified by the Salaf" and to reject "corruptions introduced by bidah (negative innovations and heresy). The scholar emphasized that there could be no intercession between God and worshippers.

Qatar names its largest mosque after Muslim scholar

Outspoken Egyptian cleric in Qatar guides Arabs on revolution

From his base in Doha, the Egyptian-born Qatari citizen has long been one of the most influential religious authorities in Sunni Islam, an influence derived partly from an unlikely standing as a media celebrity. His weekly show on Qatar’s Al Jazeera draws millions of viewers from across the Muslim world.

Role in Revolution

Victory Speech in Egypt:

Exxon Mobil Corporation Boosts Investment in Qatar

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has decided to invest more in Qatar. According to a report, the US based oil giant Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), which has already invested about $18 billion in the country, is planning to increase its investment in future.
Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) said, “Clearly, Qatar will continue to play a key role in global energy supplies. ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has played a huge role in the development of Qatar’s gas industry; we are proud of that. Obviously, we will be very interested, as an investor, when the country is ready to move forward with the next phase.”

Exxon Mobil Boost Investment in Qatar