The government of Qatar would not be facing the current imbroglio had it simply considered the wishes of its citizens: A vast majority of them seek normalisation of their country’s relations with the Arab quartet. They see themselves as an indivisible part of the Gulf Arab family; 81 per cent support “a compromise, in which all the parties make some concessions to each other”, according to a survey conducted in August by a leading Arab market research firm.

In another stark divergence from the stance of the Doha regime, a whopping 79 per cent of Qatari citizens believe Iran’s regional policies are inimical to Arab interests.

Despite their government’s closeness to Tehran, only 16 per cent of Qataris hold favourable views of the Islamic Republic. And their animosity towards Iran’s regional proxies is almost total: Ninety per cent disapprove of groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Al Houthis in Yemen.

The Qatari royal family has uniquely close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. But its citizens do not share this enthusiasm for the group; a majority — 56 per cent — is opposed to the Brotherhood, while 41 per cent approve of it.

The clear message that polls like this send to Qatar’s rulers is that their citizens are uneasy about the path the Qatari rulers have set the country on. The ties that bind Arabian Gulf societies are strong, and it irks Qataris that the distance between them and other Gulf Arabs is increasing as a result of the policies of their government. It bothers them that they can no longer do things that they had taken for granted for long, such as driving across the border into other Gulf Cooperation Council states — without needing a visa — to meet friends and family.

The only issue on which they see eye-to-eye with their government is Turkey, with 81 per cent holding a favourable view of Ankara. They also seem proud of their TV station, Al Jazeera.

The government needs to be respectful of the views of its people. It needs to, once and for all, make a clean break with the policies it has pursued over the years in the region, which have been widely discredited. It must cut its ties and change its attitude towards countries and groups that are a source of instability and extremism in our region.

Qatar must act in good faith, and return to the Arab and Gulf fold. Time is running out.