Beirut: An ailing and supposedly retired autocrat, former Qatari Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani is the voice whispering into current leader Tamim’s ear, urging him to confront Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
He erroneously believes that three factors will prevent his son from collapse: money, Israel, and Iran.
Shaikh Hamad was born during the rule of Qatar’s fourth emir, a distant relative named Shaikh Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani, back in 1952.
Shaikh Hamad with former Egyptian president Mohammad Mursi. QNA
Growing up in Doha he underwent strict schooling at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in London, joining a list of prestigious alumni such as King Hussain of Jordan, King Abdullah II, and Prince William.
He graduated in 1971, the year his country gained independence from British rule, and joined the armed forces, helping his father seize power from another distant relative, Shaikh Ahmad, less than one year later.
Under his father’s rule, Hamad rose to the rank of Major General, becoming commander of the Qatari Army and Defence Minister.
He staged a bloodless coup against his father in 1995, during the latter’s vacation in Switzerland, becoming emir at the age of 43.
He kept his father in exile ruled for the next 18 years, living in constant fear of a counter coup, until abdicating in favour of his son and success, the present emir, in the summer of 2013.
By the early 1990s massive gas reserves had been discovered in Qatar, making it one of the richest countries in the world — and briefly, one of the most stable as well.
Liquefied natural gas production reached 77 million tonnes in 2010, enabling Hamad to transform his tiny country from an underdeveloped nation in the desert into an international economic heavyweight, toppling powerful regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya while trying hard to bring down the one in Damascus.
His prized Al Jazeera TV, set up in 1996, helped project the country’s newfound image to the outside world, marketing Qatar as a progressive country focused on entrepreneurship and higher education, while using its studios to host notorious figures such as Khalid Meshaal of Hamas and his spiritual godfather, firebrand Muslim Brotherhood cleric Yousuf Al Qaradawi. Wealth, rather than good government, was the main reason for Hamad’s success and international exposure.
According to the Qatari opposition, the 6,000-member Al Thani family is presently worth €4.5 billion (Dh19 billion), while according to Forbes magazine, Hamad himself is worth $2.2 billion (Dh8 billion), making him one of the world’s richest leaders.
That wealth, of course, is partially shared with his three wives and 24 children (11 sons and 13 daughters).
Most of it is scattered across the world in mansions, yachts, and a wide assortment of international brands.
Much of Hamad’s investment is centralised not in Doha but in London — the city where he spent his college years and reportedly admires greatly, where he bought a 13-bedroom mansion on Cornwall Terrace, overlooking Regent’s Park, for £120 million (Dh582 million). He also acquired 20 per cent of Camden Market and all of Harrod’s, the famous department store on Knightsbridge, buying it for $2.3 billion in 2010.
He also bought 95 per cent of the Shard (formerly London Bridge Tower), the tallest building in the UK, and 87 stores in the Olympic Village in East London, in addition to Park Lane’s InterContinental Hotel.
He also owns a quarter of Sainsbury’s supermarket, 8 per cent of the London Stock Exchange, and 7 per cent of Barclays Bank.
The former emir made a bid for Manchester United, offering to buy them for £1.6 billion, and signed a £125 million sports jersey deal with Barcelona, in addition, of course, to winning the rights to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
In a 2010 interview with The Financial Times, Hamad’s then-prime minister Hamad Bin Jassim, put it bluntly: “We are investing everywhere. Even your Harrod’s — we took it.”
Outside of London, Hamad owns the Paris department store Printemps, a French football team, 10 per cent of Porsche, 75 per cent of Miramax in the US (which he bought from Disney), 1 per cent of Louis Vuitton, and 6 per cent of Credit Suisse.
REAL FRIENDS
He also bought a series of hotels on the French Riviera in Cannes, like the Majestic, Grand Hyatt, and Carlton.
All of that money, however, couldn’t buy him real friends or allies in the Arab Gulf and beyond.
Mainstream media around the world has accused him of being a spoiled Arab royal who is desperate for attention, while lacking substance and fortitude. Westerners scoff at his investment spree, complaining that Europe is at risk of losing its identity if too much of it was bought off by the Qataris.
Since his standoff started with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in early June, none of the international brands and businesses he has a stake in stood up for the ex-Emir — far from it, they stood at arm’s length, seeing him as more of an embarrassment than an asset.
The only countries supporting him, unsurprisingly, are Iran, Turkey, and Israel.
The Israelis have always feigned disagreement with Qatar, reportedly over the pro-Palestinian coverage of Al Jazeera TV.
Recently, a leaked report emerged in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, saying that Tel Aviv was toying with the idea of closing down al Jazeera’s Occupied Jerusalem bureau — comparing it to Nazi propaganda.
That has not happened, however, it and the story is increasingly appearing to be aimed at giving Hamad a facelift in the Arab world by appearing to be a foe of Israel.
In fact, Tel Aviv remains supportive of the House of Al Thani, albeit discretely.
The two countries have maintained cordial relations, with former President Shimon Peres twice visiting Qatar. But this doesn’t mean Israel will protect Qatar.
The first was in 1996 when he inaugurated Israel’s trade mission to Qatar, followed by a 2007 trip to appear on al Jazeera’s popular Doha Debates.
“Hamad and Tamim cannot bet on Israel. Nor can they rely on their money amid this standoff,” Syrian analyst Amer Elias told Gulf News.
Former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni visited Doha in 2008, meeting with Shaikh Hamad and in January 2008, Defence Minister Ehud Barak met with former Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani in Switzerland.
Qatar unilaterally closed the Israeli Trade Mission in Doha in 2000, during the highest violence of the second intifada but low-profile trade links remain open between Tel Aviv and Doha, which Qataris hope to tap into now, as Gulf markets have been sealed off since last June.
Doha also signalled that Israeli athletes would be welcome to participate in the FIFA games, and a stadium was named after the Qatari capital in the Israeli city of Sakhnin in the Galilee.
Four years ago, Qatar transported 60 Yemeni Jews to Israel, at the direct request of the Israeli Government, giving them a connection via Doha, while in 2015 they hosted talks between Israel and Hamas.
This relationship can be very useful — Hamad Bin Khalifa believes — to break Qatar’s current isolation and save Tamim’s government from collapse.
Qatar is always ready — on standby alert — to jump to Israel’s assistance, triggering conflict in the Middle East (when needed) or mediating with non-state players who have the ear of Qatari royals, like Hezoullah and Hamas.
As the Qatari crisis will soon enter its third month, money and support from Iran and Israel has been unable to break Qatar’s growing isolation in the region or end the boycott.
According to Kemal Alam, a Fellow at the London-based Royal United Service, Qatar has made it a point to “stick its fingers in every conflict in the Muslim World, from the Horn of Africa to the Afghan border.”
