Dubai: Qatar is hitting back at suggestions that it supports the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), saying that “determined, collective action” is needed to end sectarian violence gripping Iraq and Syria.
A German official last week suggested that Qatar may also play a role in funding Isil, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria and was behind the recent beheading of American journalist James Foley.
Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Attiyah unequivocally denied funding the extremist group.
“Qatar does not support extremist groups, including Isil, in any way,” he said in an emailed statement dated Saturday. “We are repelled by their views, their violent methods and their ambitions. The vision of extremist groups for the region is one that we have not, nor will ever, support in any way.”
Qatar was one of the first Middle Eastern countries to condemn Foley’s murder, saying it was “a heinous crime that goes against all Islamic and humanitarian principles, as well as international laws and conventions”.
Qatar has supported Syrian rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Al Assad. Isil is battling Al Assad’s forces, but also clashes with other rebel groups.
The group has carved out a self-declared Islamic state, or caliphate, taking in wide expanses of territory on both sides of the Syria-Iraq border.
Germany’s development minister, Gerd Mueller, on Wednesday suggested that Qatar could also be supporting the group.
In a television interview with public broadcaster ZDF, Mueller said it was important to examine who is financing the group, and that “the key word is Qatar”.
German officials quickly tried to smooth over that allegation.
Mueller spokeswoman Katharina Maenz told reporters on Friday that he had merely been referring to media reports about Qatar’s involvement. Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schafer said German diplomats in the Qatari capital Doha had met Qatari officials to reassure them that Berlin considers the country a partner and that “if there were misunderstandings then we regret this”.
In his statement, Al Attiyah said the killing of civilians and the forced flight of hundreds of thousands of people threatens both Iraq’s existence and “the peace and security of the entire region”. He called for collective action to end the sectarian violence raging in Iraq and Syria.
“There is no single answer but it must include cutting off the flow of funds to support extremist groups throughout the region,” he said.
Qatar has also come under fire over its perceived support for Hamas.
The Gulf state is home to exiled Hamas leader Khalid Mesha’al and is a key financial patron for the Gaza Strip, which Hamas controls. Qatar denies financially backing Hamas, however, and has sought to play a role in brokering a truce to end fighting between the group and Israel.
The Qatari emir, Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, last week held talks in Doha with Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement has strained relations with Hamas.
