In a world where image is currency, Qatar has built itself a gleaming facade. From hosting the 2022 World Cup to owning elite clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and pouring billions into European football leagues, this small Gulf nation has placed itself center stage on the global map.
But behind the glittering surface of stadiums, billboards, and superstar athletes lies a far more troubling reality. According to multiple reports in the American press, Qatar is not just an emerging sports powerhouse; it is also a key player in financing international terrorism. And sports, it seems, are a convenient smokescreen.
As early as 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported: “Qatar is playing a double game – on one hand presenting itself as a modern global hub and on the other, continuing to funnel money to terror groups like Hamas and al-Qaeda.”Is the soccer field being used as a political tool?
Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, The New York Times noted that “Qatar’s use of soccer is not just a marketing tactic – it is a political instrument for shaping a new global narrative.” Football is no longer just a pastime or investment; it is a statecraft strategy.
Qatar Sports Investments, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, owns Paris Saint-Germain and ranks among the most influential entities in global sports. Beyond sports, Qatar has made massive investments in Western media and infrastructure – including direct stakes in ESPN, hotel chains in London, real estate in Manhattan, and global advertising networks – all designed to secure vast cultural influence.
However, the question remains: How does the United States, which maintains a major military base in Qatar, continue to turn a blind eye to this double game? How can the world’s leading superpower allow this tiny nation to serve as a lifeline for extremist Islam?
Qatar often labels its financial transfers to Gaza as “humanitarian aid.” However, a 2020 US Treasury report revealed that significant portions of those funds ended up in the hands of Hamas, used for military purposes such as paying salaries to terrorists, digging tunnels, and producing rockets.
In the American press, Qatar is frequently cited as the principal financial backer of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement linked to numerous terror attacks in Europe over the past decade.
What’s most alarming is the West’s silence in the face of this mounting threat to the free world.
Countries ignore the darker side of the Qatari regime
MANY COUNTRIES benefit from Qatari investments and prefer to ignore the darker side of its regime. Some even reward Qatar with awards, contracts, and favorable media coverage.
One of the organizations receiving Qatari patronage is the International Union of Muslim Scholars. Founded in 2004 and headed by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure, the union’s clerics have consistently claimed that Palestinian suicide bombings against Israelis are istishhad (martyrdom) and that Hamas is not a terrorist organization.
In his latest publication, the union’s current head, Sheikh Ali al-Qaradaghi, elaborated on the importance of issuing a fatwa (legal ruling) calling for jihad against the “Zionist enemy.” Among his declarations: “It is the duty of every able Muslim in the Islamic world to take up arms against the occupation in Palestine.” The fatwa further states that a full blockade by land, sea, and air must be imposed on the Zionist occupier.
The union is headquartered in Qatar, enjoys Qatari funding, and its leader resides in Doha.
Qatar’s influence over Europe has also grown, particularly in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which forced the European Union to urgently seek alternatives to Russian gas. As of Q2 this year, Qatar ranks as the EU’s third-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, trailing only the US and Russia.
At the same time, several mosques across Europe funded by Qatar have become hubs of radicalization and terrorist sympathies.
Militarily and strategically, the US and Qatar share strong ties. The US Central Command’s headquarters in the Persian Gulf is located in Qatar, home to the Al Udeid Air Base and the As Sayliyah Army Base. While Qatar relies on the US for security, it is also a strategic asset for Washington.
A report by the National Association of Scholars, a US-based conservative academic watchdog, revealed that Qatar donated $4.7 billion to American academic institutions between 2001 and 2021.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has maintained a notably warm relationship with Qatar. In 2018, Qatar signed a series of agreements with him, pledging $500 million to various UN programs and funding new offices in Doha.
Qatar also finances the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism
IRONICALLY, QATAR, which funds Hamas, also finances the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. As of October 31, 2023, Qatar was the office’s top donor, providing nearly 40% of its total budget, almost $140 million.
According to Bloomberg, Qatar’s sovereign wealth funds now control more than $450b. in assets worldwide, giving it powerful leverage over banks, investment firms, academic institutions, journalists, and politicians alike.
And Qatar’s reach doesn’t end on Earth; it extends into space. The country’s satellite company, Es’hailSat, partnered with Eutelsat to launch two major communication satellites into orbit via the European Space Agency’s Ariane 5 rocket. The satellites serve civilian, radio, television, and governmental purposes.
Qatar has also begun developing satellite surveillance capabilities and a military satellite program. The nation claims these are for defense, yet no one at the ESA seems to have asked: Why does Qatar need a military satellite?
It’s not unreasonable to suspect that intelligence gathered via this satellite could be shared with Iran or used to disrupt Western satellite communications.
The consequences are already evident: Terror networks are growing stronger, religious extremism is spreading, and Western democracies are struggling to combat the rising Islamist wave. The gap between Qatar’s polished global image and its actual role in security destabilization is dangerous. It breeds moral and political paralysis and enables terror infrastructures to thrive under a veil of money.
If the West wants to preserve its values and independence, it must act decisively. That means enforcing transparency in foreign investments, requiring every sports club, university, and financial institution to disclose its funding sources.It also means legislating oversight over international sports bodies and enforcing accountability against countries that exploit the arena to whitewash regimes like Qatar’s.
Qatar should be officially designated a state sponsor of terrorism, at least until it halts the flow of funds to terror-linked organizations.
Sanctions should be placed on journalists and influencers funded by Qatar, and their financial ties must be brought to light, even if that means challenging powerful interests.
Qatar has successfully branded itself as a Western-friendly, open, touristic, and sporty nation. But the truth – repeatedly reported by American media – is starkly different. Behind the cosmopolitan image lies a consistent policy of funding Islamic extremism and terror.
It’s time for the world to wake up and start asking questions about the money reshaping Western democracies – before it’s too late.
The writer is the CEO of Radio 100FM, an honorary consul, deputy dean of the Consular Diplomatic Corps, president of the Israel Radio Communications Association, and a former NBC TV correspondent.