Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in protest at alleged interference in their internal affairs by the oil-rich Gulf state.
Following a “stormy” meeting between foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, the three countries released a joint statement declaring the GCC has “exerted massive efforts to contact Qatar on all levels to agree on a unified policy… to ensure non-interference, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any member state.”
At the centre of the dispute is the demand by the three countries that Qatar “not to support any party aiming to threaten security and stability of any GCC member.” This is interpreted as a criticism of Qatar’s perceived support for the Muslim Brotherhood and the Al-Jazeera satellite channel’s allegedly favourable coverage of the group.
The statement also complained that Qatar was not abiding by emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s promise of non-interference at a meeting with the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Saudi King Abdullah in November 2013.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies have long been hostile towards the Muslim Brotherhood, fearing that its brand of grass-roots activism and political Islam could undermine their authority.
Most Gulf states hailed the Egyptian military’s overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July and promised billions in aid, while Qatar, which had strongly supported him, has seen its influence in Cairo evaporate.
The move by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE is the latest development in increasing tensions between the Gulf states and Qatar.
A top UAE court, which has already jailed dozens of Emirati and 20 Egyptian Islamists, on Monday sentenced Qatari national Mahmud al-Jidah to seven years in prison followed by deportation after he was convicted with two Emiratis of raising funds for a local Muslim Brotherhood-linked group, Al-Islah
A Qatar rights body on Tuesday slammed the ruling as “unfair,” saying he had been convicted based on confessions made under torture.
In February, Abu Dhabi summoned Doha’s ambassador to protest “insults” to the UAE made by Egypt-born cleric Yusef al-Qaradawi, who is based in Qatar and holds a passport from the Gulf emirate.
