Emir of Qatar is a friend of the West, so why are his people funding terrorism?

A Qatari man has been identified as a major financier of terrorist operations Syria and Iraq. Qatar, which is a major ally of the U.S. and U.K. is in an awkward political position because its people are being repeatedly linked to terrorist operations across the Middle East.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A Qatari man named Hkalifa Muhammad Turki al-Subaiy, 49, has been publically identified by The Telegraph as a major terror financier. The man is a Qatari Central Bank employee, and he has spent time in prison for financing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

For bankrolling Mohammed, al-Subaiy spent 6 months in prison in 2008. Since his release, he has increased his involvement in financing terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

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Al-Subaiy is not alone. U.S. and U.N. officials have identified at least 20 wealthy Qatari citizens as major terror financiers. Many of those people are on terrorist watch lists and are not permitted to travel to other countries. Still, they remain free in Qatar where they move money-mostly money from oil sales, to terror networks that are spreading a particularly malignant brand of Islam around the Middle East.

For his part, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, has denied his nation finances terrorism. He told CNN, "I know that in America and some countries they look at some movements as terrorist movements. ... But there are differences. There are differences that some countries and some people that any group which comes from Islamic background are terrorists. And we don't accept that."

"We don't fund extremists," he said. However, the numbers tell a different story. The fact is, many Islamists would love to see Islam spread and they have no problem with seeing it spread by the sword. Does that include the Emir? Possibly, although The Telegraph exposé simply suggests that the Emir is a busy man and a micromanager with little time to investigate such cloak-and-dagger affairs for himself.

Publically, Qatar has invested heavily in the West, particularly in England where Qataris own Harrod's, have built The Shard, which is the tallest building in Europe, and have a number of other smaller investments in the U.K. It just doesn't make common sense that a nation which is so heavily invested in the West would also seek to undermine it.

Yet, Qatari money has been linked repeatedly to terror networks across the Middle East.

Qatar is supposed to be an ally of the West, which is largely funded by consumption of oil extracted in that country. It is possible that a policy that punishes Qatari terror links with a stop to the purchase of Qatari oil could motivate the Emir to look a little more closely at his own people and their behavior.

However, most of the oil products sold by Qatar go to Asia, with Japan consuming the majority, according to OPEC figures. While Asian countries might not have as much concern with Qatari ethics and where that nation's money goes, they do have close relationships with the United States. Japan in particular has a close relationship with the U.S.A. It may be appropriate to leverage that relationship to compel the Emir to take a closer look at his people and the causes they support.

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