Wake Up! What You Should Know But May Not Know… Or May Not Want to Know - Part 7: Wake Up! Qatar… The Second Head of the Octopus
Dear Friends,
This is the seventh monograph in my eight monogram Wake Up! series. The first six were:
Part 1: Wake Up! We are Already in a Wider Conflict. (Published on February 20, 2025)
Part 2: Wake Up! It’s Not About Dividing the Land. (Published on February 25, 2025)
Part 3: Wake Up! The Path to Peace Lies Through Victory Not Ceasefires. (Published on February 28, 2025)
Part 4: Wake Up! The United Nations is Deeply Biased, Antisemitic and Profoundly Broken… And It is Not Alone. (Published March 7, 2025)
Part 5: Wake Up! Islamofascism is a Threat to the West and Not Just to Israel. (Published March 14, 2025)
Part 6: Wake Up! Iran… The First Head of the Octopus. (Published March 24, 2025)
If you did not receive them, but are interested in reading these earlier monographs, they can be accessed at Substack.com by clicking on the following link that will take you to all of my earlier monographs, including those five: tonybrenner.substack.com
Please note that unfortunately on Substack.com, the footnotes – which I think add a great deal of background information and depth – can only be found at the end of the monograph. On the PDF version, the footnotes are shown on the page upon which they first appear, making them easier to access and integrate while reading the monograph. Please also note I have attached a PDF version at the end for those of you who prefer to print it out and read it in that format.
In Part 6 of the Wake Up! series, I discussed the role played by Iran in fostering unrest and instability throughout the Middle East and beyond, sowing the seeds of death, destruction, and misery. In this monograph, I will turn my attention to Qatar, the second head of the octopus.
While the threat from Qatar is less visible than the threat from Iran, its global reach is far greater and the nature of the threat even more pernicious due, in part, to the very opaqueness of the threat, with much of the danger it poses hidden from plain sight.
Despite housing a major American military base and ostensibly playing the role of impartial mediator between Hamas and Israel over the hostages’ release, Qatar has played a significant role in the spread of Islamofascism over many decades. Before delving deeper into Qatar’s activities, it might be useful to do a quick “compare and contrast” of Iran and Qatar.
Where the Iranian regime of Ayatollah Khamenei doesn’t hide its objective of spreading the Islamic Revolution to other countries, Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamid Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, seeks to present a modernized image to the West. This has allowed Sheikh al Thani to be welcomed in Western capitals, even as Qatar supports Islamofascist causes behind the scenes. Unlike Ayatollah Khamenei, Qatar’s leaders clothe themselves in suits and ties and their wives sport European designer fashion outfits, carefully camouflaging their true objectives.
Like Iran, Qatar is an autocratic regime. Whereas, Iran is a fundamentalist Shi’ite state, Qatar is a fundamentalist, Sunni state that embraces a strict Salafi interpretation of Islam. Unlike Iran, which seeks to export the Islamic Revolution principally through its military might, and the military capabilities of its proxies (which Iran also finances), Qatar seeks to support Islamofascism through more surreptitious efforts. For neither is this a new path.
In its goal of exporting the Iranian Islamic Revolution, Iran has been willing to support both Shi’ite and Sunni extremists.[1] By contrast, Qatar has only supported Sunni extremist entities such as Hamas, al-Qaeda, and the Muslim Brotherhood.[2]
Qatar supports Islamofascism through the two tools at its discretion – vast sums of money and a sophisticated propaganda empire.
Qatar’s support of Islamofascism can be broken into three principal buckets:
· Direct support of Islamofascist entities
· Control of Al Jazeera
· Extensive foreign influence operations
Even though I will present these as three distinct categories, they are in reality interwoven activities supporting a single objective: the spread of Islamofascism.
In each of these domains, Qatar operates from the shadows, creating some measure of deniability, while doing just enough to appease the West into thinking it’s an honest broker. In the 1976 film, All the President’s Men, Deep Throat, the informant, said to the reporter, “Follow the Money”.[3] And, so we will… because as they say, “Money talks.”
I. Direct Support of Islamofascist Entities
In order to understand the role played by Qatar, it is necessary to break the problem into two components: 1) what are the entities that Qatar supports, and 2) what are the objectives of those entities? Let me focus on three Qatari-supported entities: the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and al-Qaeda. Each share in common the same underlying Salafist-Jihadist, Islamofascist ideology. Although Hamas, al-Qaeda, and Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) are all better known in the West than the Muslim Brotherhood, the Muslim Brotherhood is the root from which all others grew.
Support of the Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Islamofascist political movement, founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in 1928, with branches, affiliates, and inspired groups in over 70 countries. The Muslim Brotherhood advocates for the implementation of strict Sharia law as the foundation for governance and society. In the words of its founder, Hassan al-Banna, “It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and extend its power to the entire planet.” The Muslim Brotherhood rejects all notions of Western influence and opposes any secular tendencies in Muslim countries.
The Muslim Brotherhood has sought to spread Islamofascism throughout the world and has vehemently opposed the existence of the state of Israel. The movement’s goals and methods vary by region, adapting to local context. In some countries, it focuses on political participation, while in others it has been directly linked to violence. In the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood has been designated as a terrorist organization by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain.
The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt is the original and central branch of the movement. It has long sought to eliminate all secular influences in Egypt, overthrow its government, and replace it with an Islamic state. Members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a splinter group of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 following the signing of the Camp David Accords, in which Egypt recognized Israel’s right to exist.
During Hosni Mubarak’s rule (1981-2011), the Muslim Brotherhood became Egypt’s largest opposition party. As a result of the mass protests that took place in Egypt during the Arab Spring, President Mubarak fell from power in February 2011. Days later, the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt formed the Freedom and Justice Party. Its leader, Mohamed Morsi, was elected President in June 2012.
Shortly after becoming President, Morsi took radical actions to change the Egyptian constitution granting himself sweeping powers, including immunity from judicial oversight, and enshrining Islamism as the governing structure for the society. In July 2013, Morsi was ousted by the Egyptian military in a military coup led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, who subsequently became President.
Qatar’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood emerged from behind the shadows during the Morsi regime. Qatar provided Egypt with more than $7.5 billion in loans and grants during his brief tenure in power. However, Qatar’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, both financial and political, dates back decades. Prominent Muslim Brotherhood figures have found welcome receptions in Qatar, beginning with Yusaf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, who fled Egypt in 1961.
Qaradawi played a central role in shaping Qatar’s Islamofascist agenda and enjoyed a close and longstanding relationship with Qatar’s ruling family. He served as the personal religious teacher during Ramadan to Shiekh Ahmad bin Ali al Thani, the ruler (Emir) of Qatar from 1960 to 1972. Qaradawi was treated as a guest of honor by successive Qatari rulers, including Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad al Thani, Qatar’s current leader, who embraced him repeatedly and frequently sat Qaradawi next to him in the place of honor, at celebrations.
Estimates of Qatar’s funding of the Muslim Brotherhood over the past 20 years vary wildly from $200 to $300 million per year to well over a $1.0 billion per year.[4] Even at the low-end of this range, Qatar is the Muslim Brotherhood’s principal financial supporter. Beyond its financial support, Qatar has provided ongoing political support to the Muslim Brotherhood, principally via al Jazeera, Qatar’s state-owned media network. I will elaborate on al Jazeera role later in this monograph.
Support of Hamas
As with the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar has played an essential role in supporting Hamas both before and after the October 7, 2023 attack upon Israel. First, a little background on Hamas.
Hamas has been closely linked with the Muslim Brotherhood ever since its founding in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassi, a Palestinian cleric deeply influenced by the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. In its original charter, Hamas explicitly called itself a “wing of the Muslim Brotherhood of Palestine.” Throughout its history, Hamas has received significant financial support from the Muslim Brotherhood and has closely aligned their actions with them.
In an effort to curry favor with President Sisi (who banned the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt shortly after taking power) and maintain its critical arms smuggling routes into Gaza from Egypt, Hamas severed “official” relations with the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt in 2017. Despite “officially” severing relations, Hamas continued to closely coordinate their actions with the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. In addition, the same underlying Islamofascist ideology guides their actions.
As with the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar has provided very significant financial and political support to Hamas over the decades. In a highly symbolic act, the former Emir of Qatar, Hamad al Thani, was the first world leader to visit Gaza after Hamas seized the territory in 2007. Since 2007, Qatar has pumped an estimated $1.8 Billion dollars into Hamas-run Gaza and in 2021 pledged $30 million of monthly support ($360 million per year), principally to subsidize government salaries in Gaza.
After they were expelled from Syria in 2012, Qatar welcomed Hamas’ top political leadership, led by Khaled Mashal (former Chairman of Hamas’s Political Bureau), his successor, Ismail Haniyeh, and Khalil al-Hayya (head of Hamas’ Communications Office), all of whom lived in luxury in five-star hotels in Doha. If you thought that Qatar simply gave Hamas political leadership safe refuge, think again.
Qatar allowed Hamas to open its political office in Doha in 2012, from which Hamas was able to coordinate all of its external activities and conduct its communications efforts. Moreover, Hamas leadership maintained close relations with the Qatari royal family. Mashal, Haniyeh, and Mashal were reportedly worth a combined $11 billion, and undoubtedly a significant portion of their fortune came, either directly or indirectly, from Qatar.
Following Hamas’ invasion of Israel on October 7 and its ensuing massacre of Israeli civilians, Qatar’s foreign ministry released a statement that very same day holding “Israel solely responsible” for Hamas’s rampage. The Qatar foreign ministry has consistently ignored Hamas’ war crimes, while repeatedly accusing Israel of violating international law. As with its coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood, al Jazeera echoes and amplifies Qatar’s ideological, Islamofascist views.
Support of al-Qaeda
In addition to its support of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Qatar has a long history of supporting terrorist organization and providing them with safe refuge, including both al-Qaeda and the ISIS.[5] Like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Al-Qaeda and ISIS are Sunni jihadist groups that espouse a radical Salafi ideology.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) labeled Qatar a “safe haven for religious extremists expelled by other countries.” This is not without basis. U.S. officials have tied members of Qatar’s royal family to al-Qaeda and its offshoots.
The Qatari government employed al-Qaeda financier Salim Hasan Khalifa Rashid al-Kuwari in the Ministry of the Interior, despite al-Kuwari’s designation as a terrorist by the United States. Making matters far worse, according to U.S. officials, al-Kuwari’s boss, Qatar’s former Interior Minister and royal family member Abudallah bin Khalid al Thani, tipped off the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, before he could be captured by the United States.
Note that al-Kuwari was not the only Qatari financier raising money for al Qaeda. He was but one of many individuals linked to al-Qaeda fundraising organizations that were allowed by the royal family to operate freely within Qatar. According to a March 2014 address by former U.S. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen, terrorist-fundraisers in Qatar “aggressively solicit donations online from supporters in other countries.”[6]
Beyond their own largesse, Qatar became the channel through which small donors around the world were able to direct their donations to Islamofascist groups. Little has changed since 2014, and Qatar remains the principal financing channel for Sunni extremists.
In addition to providing safe refuge for radical extremists and allowing them to fundraise from Qatar, state-run Qatari mosques have frequently hosted extremist speakers and religious leaders over the decades, giving them an important platform from which to spread radical Salafi-Jihadist ideology. The Grand Mosque[7] (Qatar’s largest mosque) was named after the 18th century founder of Wahhabism.[8] Can anyone question its ideological bent given who it was named after?
In keeping with this heritage, the mosque’s religious leadership has been accused of fomenting radicalism by inviting extremist speakers. For example, in late January 2015, Saudi cleric Sa’ad Ateeq al Ateeq gave a sermon at the Grand Mosque calling for Allah to “destroy the Jews, and whoever made them Jews, and destroy the Christians and Alawites and the Shi’ites.”
If you think that al Ateeq’s address occurred without the consent of the Qatar government and the Emir, think again. It was al Ateeq’s sixth visit to the Mosque over the course of two years and Qatari government officials actively promoted the January address by al Ateeq on al Jazeera and Twitter.
*****************************
In keeping with Qatar’s two-faced and duplicitous approach, Qatar condemns terrorism, while defending terrorist-designated organizations. Qatar is a master at messaging, telling the West what it wants to hear. But ultimately, it is actions that count rather than words, and Qatar’s actions speak volumes. Given its financial and political backing of each of these Sunni extremist entities, there can be no doubt as to Qatar’s underlying objective – to foster the spread of Islamofascism across the world.
II. Control of al Jazeera
Control of al Jazeera is the second means by which Qatar supports Islamofascism around the globe. Al Jazeera is the Qatari state-owned news service. It was launched on November 1, 1996, with the financial backing of Sheikh Hamid bin Khalifa al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. Al Jazeera initially operated as a single channel with six hours of daily programming in Arabic. Like other cable networks, al Jazeera expanded to a 24-hour broadcast in January 1999. It launched al Jazeera English on November 15, 2006, giving al Jazeera a global platform.
Headquartered in Doha, Al Jazeera continues to be funded exclusively by the Qatari government. In addition to its cable network, al Jazeera has a robust online presence around the world, both in Arabic and English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Al Jazeera is the principal means by which Qatar exercises “soft power” to shape the narrative around events. It focuses its coverage mainly on events in the Middle East and presents them in a fashion consistent with Qatar’s ideological bent.
It has been widely alleged that al Jazeera priorities Qatar political interests over journalistic independence, and with good reason. Al Jazeera was first accused of media bias by U.S. officials following the September 11 attacks in 2001. The network faced criticism for broadcasting videos of Osama bin Laden defending the attacks, which led to accusations of promoting anti-American propaganda. During the Arab Spring (2010-2012)[9], al Jazeera faced accusations of media bias, particularly for its perceived support of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.
This condemnation came from within al Jazeera as well as from the outside. Following the overthrow of Egyptian President Morsi on July 3, 2013, al Jazeera provided extensive and sympathetic coverage of pro-Morsi demonstrations, portraying the Muslim Brotherhood’s prospective during the political unrest. In response, 22 journalists from al Jazeera’s Egyptian bureau resigned citing biased coverage favoring the Muslim Brotherhood, openly criticizing the network for prioritizing political agendas over journalistic integrity. This reinforced the widespread, external accusation that al Jazeera was acting as a propaganda tool, rather than as an independent news outlet
Since al Jazeera’s launch, coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a central aspect of its editorial identity. It has lauded Hamas as a righteous defender of Palestinian rights. In addition, al Jazeera has been an ardent, longtime supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist ideology.
Israel has long accused al Jazeera of highly-biased reporting, ignoring the facts, and supporting the narrative of Hamas exclusively. If you discount the Israeli perspective or think that Israel is alone in this view, think again.
In the United States, lawmakers have repeatedly called for al Jazeera to be designated under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), arguing that it operates as an extension of the Qatari government. Al Jazeera played a pivotal role in amplifying protests against Sunni regimes across the Arab world during the Arab Spring. Its coverage was particularly sympathetic to Islamist movements like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. This has led Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern governments to accuse al Jazeera of inciting unrest.
During the Gulf Crisis of 2017, a Saudi-led coalition comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade on its land, sea and air routes. In June 2017, the coalition issues a list of 13 demands to lift the blockade including closing al Jazeera, reducing ties with Iran, shutting down Turkish military bases, and severing support for “Islamist” groups. In addition, Saudi Arabia accused al Jazeera of promoting narratives that favored Iran and Houthi rebels in Yemen as well as amplifying criticism of Saudi Arabia domestic policies.
This Saudi criticism of al Jazeera, however, was nothing new. In 2002, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador from Qatar over al Jazeera’s critical coverage of Riyadh’s peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian, and diplomatic relations were not restored until six years later.
In addition to being banned in Israel, al Jazeera continues to be banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. Perhaps most strikingly, the Palestinian Authority in early 2025 suspended al Jazeera broadcasts and shut down al Jazeera websites, accusing al Jazeera of incitement due to its relentless support of Hamas, and has not reinstated them.
Al Jazeera has long sought to influence media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In my monograph entitled, Tools to Identify Media Bias[10], I provided a link to a CBS 60 Minutes documentary from 2000. The expose showed how “so-called Israeli atrocities” were staged and manufactured, by an industry known as Pallywood, in which Al Jazeera played a central role. For those of you who are interested, I have reattached the link: Pallywood: A CBS 60 Minutes Expose.
Since then, the propaganda techniques have become even more refined, as witness by the staged spectacles surrounding the releases of Israeli hostage. Al Jazeera continues to play an active role in not only covering these events, but in creating them... often acting as the producer. Documents reveal Hamas’ coordinated effort with Al Jazeera to reshape the narrative of the October 7 attack on Israel.
A recent report published by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Center presented some of the materials seized from the tunnels in Gaza by the IDF, Sin Bet, and the IDF Intelligence Directorate. These documents expose direct communication between senior Hamas officials in Gaza and al Jazeera producers about how al Jazeera should cover the October 7 attack.
Al Jazeera broadcasts regularly emphasize Hamas’ messaging that the attack was a “religious jihad justified by Islam”, portraying Palestinian resilience, heroism and sacrifice against the aggression of the Israeli oppressors. Here is a link to an in-depth article in the Jerusalem Post about Al Jazeera’s effort to reshape the narrative: Al Jazeera's Role Shaping the October 7 Narrative. Images of civilian deaths in Gaza are a regular staple in al Jazeera broadcasts, inflaming audiences worldwide, and particularly so in Muslim countries. This should not be surprising given that Israel has identified, and provided extensive documentation, that at least six al Jazeera reporters are active members of Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The veil that al Jazeera represents the voice of Palestinians was lifted by al Jazeera coverage, or more accurately lack of coverage, of recent events in Gaza. Tellingly, al Jazeera has refrained from even mentioning the protests against Hamas that have emerged across northern Gaza, with thousands and potentially tens of thousands of Gazans taking to the streets to demand that Hamas leaves Gaza. The silence clearly demonstrates al Jazeera’s pro-Hamas bias. Here is a link to a video (with translation into English) of one of the protests in northern Gaza: Beit Lahia Protest Against Hamas.
In a brilliant, but highly disturbing strategic move, al Jazeera English (AJE) has successfully used the growing distrust of Western media by large swaths of the public to its advantage. AJE has been able to counter-position itself as the source of “real” news on the Middle East and the arbiter of truth, a truly shocking achievement given its clear bias and ideological bent.
Because AJE’s audience in America and Europe skews both younger and to the progressive left, AJE has been able to play a major role in the indoctrination of many young Americans and Europeans. Making matters worse, al Jazeera’s impact is not limited to their direct audience. AJE’s reporting is often picked up and amplified by leading Western media outlets, including the NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, and the BBC, as well as many others.
III. Foreign Influence Operations
Beyond its control of al Jazeera, Qatar has funneled vast sums of money to influence and arguably buy support in the West and foster the spread of Islamofascism. Sometimes, the payments are made directly by the Qatar government, but far more often they are made by Qatari-owned NGO’s, often going through multiple layers to obfuscate the money source.
Qatar has strategically used its wealth to exert influence in Europe, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States. These efforts involve a mix of donations, lobbying, and strategic investments – some of which are legal and others illegal.
In this section, I will present some of the principal Qatari influence operations. In my next monograph, I will address the implications within the broader context of the battle over Western civilization.
Qatar’s Political Donations (aka, Bribes)
In Europe, the UK, and the United States, donations to political candidates by foreign entities are banned. Qatar, however, has found ways to circumvent these restrictions, through methods both legal and illegal.
While prohibited from directly contributing to Political Action Committees (PACs) in the United States, Qatar can donate to 501 (c)(4) social welfare organizations which can then contribute to Super PACs in the United States. And, if properly structured, these PAC’s can avoid disclosing their contributors.[11] As a result, it is difficult from the outside to ascertain the level of Qatari political funding in the U.S.
The most common way that Qatar has curried support, however, is not by direct political contributions, but rather by showering elected officials from Europe, the UK and the United States, with extravagant gifts and fully-funded lavish trips, including to the 2022 FIFA World Cup that Qatar hosted under questionable circumstances.[12] In the U.S., these trips are legal under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (MECEA), which allows foreign governments to cover expenses for congressional travel, provided they are disclosed in annual financial reports.
In 2021, five House members reported going on trips to Qatar paid for by Qatar or Qatar-backed entities tied to “preparations for the 2022 World Cup”. In 2022, eight House members attended the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[13] Who knows how many other U.S. government officials traveled to Qatar without disclosing who funded the trips. It would appear that we have a lot of House members who have a deep interest in educational and cultural exchange….
In the United Kingdom, Qatar took this program to another level. Between 2017 and 2022, at least 56 MPs accepted Qatar-funded trips and gifts, including flights, luxury accommodations, and meals.
In Europe, Qatar sought political influence the old fashion way, via bribes. In 2022, the European Qatargate scandal broke out. Members of the European parliament were accused of accepting cash payments (otherwise known as bribes) from Qatari representatives in order to influence EU policy decisions in their favor. The scandal came to light in December 2022 when Belgian authorities conducted raids, leading to eight arrests and the seizure of over one million Euros in cash.
Even Israel is not immune to Qatari money and influence campaigns. In Israel’s Qatargate scandal, currently under investigation, it is alleged that two close associates of Prime Minister Netanyahu accepted bribes in return for running a PR campaign to enhance Qatar’s image while spreading negative narratives about Egypt, another mediator in the hostage deal. Payments were made via an American lobbyist. No surprise, Qatar continues to deny involvement. Sadly, Qatari money is everywhere…
Qatar’s Lobbying and Public Relations Efforts
Between 2016 and 2024, Qatar spent $251 million on lobbying in the United States to influence U.S. policy and public opinion. No, that is not a typo. The only positive thing I can say about the level of Qatar lobbying is that at least it trails China ($447 million) and Saudi Arabia ($275 million) over this time period.[14]
After President-elect Trump in 2017 sided with Saudi Arabia and neighboring states that had imposed a blockade on Qatar and demanded changes to Qatari policy during the 2017 Gulf Crisis, Qatar launched an aggressive and widespread lobbying effort during President Trump’s first term that has continued unabated.
Seeking to build goodwill during the first Trump Administration, Qatar launched a campaign to influence hundreds of people close to Trump, according to foreign lobbying disclosures that broadly describe a series of “introductions” to “facilitate collaboration” and discuss “business opportunities”.
According to these disclosures, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and EPA head Lee Zeldin all received money from Qatar in exchange for consulting or lobbying services, while reportedly Mike Huckabee, President Trump’s nominee to be Ambassador to Israel, reportedly received $50,000 to visit Qatar in 2018.
Perhaps most tellingly, Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s longtime friend and now his special envoy to the Middle East, was among those targeted by Qatari lobbying efforts, again based on foreign lobbying disclosures. But the lobbying efforts were insignificant compared to what came later. In the summer of 2023, Witkoff sold Manhattan’s troubled Park Lane Hotel to the Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, for $623 million. In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff, not surprisingly, described the Qataris as “well-motivated… good, decent people.”
This is not to say, that Witkoff or the others receiving Qatari largesse are corrupt, but it does suggest that they are likely to be less than objective on the topic of Qatar and reluctant to hold the Qataris to account for their actions.
Qatar’s Donations to Think Tanks
Along a similar vein, Qatar has donated tens of millions of dollars to think tanks in Washington DC and other Western capitals to influence policy discussions on Middle Eastern geopolitics outside of directly engaging with lawmakers. Most often these donations are made through Qatari state-owned NGOs such as the Qatar Foundation, rather than by Qatar directly. Among the U.S. think tanks that have benefited from Qatari largesse are the Brookings Institution, Stimson Center, the Rand Corporation, the Middle East Institute, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
As with the lobbying effort, the Qatari goal is to shift the overall narrative in Western societies by influencing thought leaders in the West. It would defy credulity to believe that the Qataris are doing this out of the goodness of their heart.
Qatar Donations to Universities
From a dollar expenditure point of view, Qatar’s donations to universities dwarf all other Qatari influence channels. Similar to Qatari lobbying efforts and donations to think tanks, Qatar is seeking to shape hearts and minds. Using a long-term playbook, Qatar has shrewdly decided to provide vast sums of money to American colleges and universities to fund programs that reflect Qatar’s ideology and views, focusing on the most elite institutions where tomorrow’s future American leaders are most likely to come.
A 2022 report by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) identified Qatar as the most significant foreign donor to American universities, principally via the Qatar Foundation. The research revealed that from 2001 to 2021, U.S. higher education institutions received $13.0 billion in funding from foreign sources with Qatar contributing $4.7 billion, representing over 35% of the total received from all foreign sources.
Amassing this information was far from easy. Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, mandated that U.S. colleges and universities report foreign gifts and contracts exceeding $250,000 annually to the Department of Education (DoED). Compliance, however, was dismal with many colleges and universities failing to report or minimizing foreign donations.
This failure was brought to light in a July 2019 presentation to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) by Dr. Charles Asher Small, Director of the Institute for the study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). He presented the findings of an ISGAP research project started in 2012, entitled “Follow the Money”. The project revealed, for the first time, the existence of substantial Middle Eastern funding (primarily from Qatar) to U.S. universities that had not been reported to the DoED, as required by law. Prior to Dr. Small’s bombshell disclosures, the extent of foreign funding and was not broadly known by either U.S. government officials or the American public.
In fact, ISGAP’s original research focused on undisclosed Qatar funding to Yale University (my alma mater, I’m sorry to say). ISGAP was able to prove that despite Yale only declaring one grant from Qatar worth $284,668 between 2012 and 2019, Yale had actually received $15.925 million from Qatar during that period, virtually none of which was disclosed by Yale. The ISGAP reported that this failure was not unique to Yale but rather was widespread and endemic.
The ISGAP investigation found that many or the most elite institutions in the United States were in breach of these rules and regulations, and if the laws were properly enforced, these colleges and universities could face serious legal consequences. The report highlighted that these financial activities could be classified as criminal and could potentially form the basis for criminal prosecution against these institutions.
When confronted with these findings, the DoED reached out to the DOJ to open a federal government investigation. This precipitated the 2019 DOJ crackdown, which led to mass disclosures of vast amounts of previously unreported foreign funding, confirming ISGAP 2019 findings. The DoED 2020 report revealed that “Yale University apparently failed to comply with federal reporting obligations when it underreported its foreign gifts and contracts by $375 million [from all foreign sources, including Qatar].” Oops, I guess we just missed it, guys!
NCRI used this additional government data provided by the DoED to identify a total of $1.2 billion in Qatari funds that were “inexplicably absent” from Section 117 filings. The NCRI report revealed that over the five-year period from 2014 to 2019, Qatar was the largest foreign donor to American colleges and Universities, contributing $2.7 billion followed by England ($1.4 billion), China ($1.1 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($950 million). The report did not reveal, however, Qatar contribution to individual institutions. However, the largest recipients of overall foreign donations were elite universities such as Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, and Yale.
While some of these foreign dollars went to fund legitimate medical, engineering or agricultural research, a great deal of the Qatari funding went to funding other programs that were far more nebulous... perhaps explaining the failure on the part of the universities to disclose the funding.[15] At many of these elite universities, it is not unreasonable to assume that Qatari funds went disproportionately to fund professorships, courses, fellowships, and entire departments devoted to areas such as Middle Eastern studies, anti-colonialism, racism and anti-racism, and gender studies.[16]
Should it come as a surprise that the most rabid pro-Hamas protests on college campuses were at our elite universities and that it wasn’t the students alone that were protesting, but also professors from these very same departments? Follow the money!
IV. An Example at Work: The Economist
As I mentioned earlier, I have chosen to present Qatar’s global activities as three discrete categories. In reality, they are woven together in a mutually reinforcing fashion. Let me provide a current example that involves the well-regarded publication, The Economist. Did I hear that right… The Economist? Yes, The Economist!
For those of you who are not familiar with it, The Economist is a weekly international newspaper founded in 1843, focusing on global economic and political issues with a strong emphasis on economic trends and their impact on investment portfolios. In their stated values, The Economist emphasizes its rigorous adherence to “fact-based journalism”.
Somewhat surprisingly, at least on the surface, The Economist has run two cover stories about Israel that were published about a year apart: the first, in the March 13-29, 2024 edition, and the second, in the March 29-April 4, 2025 edition. Why this intense coverage of Israel?
In light of The Economist’s stated mandate, one might have thought that Israel would be outside of the publication’s principal area of focus. Let us explore why this apparent anomaly might have occurred.
To answer this apparent anomaly, one has to first examine the stories themselves. Both cover stories were highly critical of Israel, providing a distorted and one-sided view of the conflict in the Middle East. Rather than present the facts and delve deeply into the matter, both were, in reality, simply opinion pieces masquerading as an objective analysis. The fact that they were chosen twice by The Economist’s editors to be cover stories is telling in and of itself, given The Economists ostensible focus on economic matters.
To give you a feel for the tenor and tone of the articles, in the more recent cover story, the author wrote:
“The Israeli government has drawn two worrying conclusions from this success. One is that cruel tactics work [emphasis added]… The government’s second conclusion is that, after deterrence collapsed on October 7, it must protect itself by creating buffer zones and striking perceived threats as early as possible.”
In response to this statement, one might reasonably ask:
1. Why “worry” about and criticize Israel’s “cruel” tactics, such as warning Gazans to evacuate to get out of harm’s way, while totally ignoring Hamas’ tactics that feature the torturing, beating, and starving of Israeli hostages held for over a year and a half in unbearable conditions?
2. Why is the creation of buffer zones and pre-emptive strikes unjustified and worrisome when Hamas officials have stated that their plans are to repeat October 7 over and over again?
For those of you who have further interest, here is a link to the most recent article: The Economist - Israel's Hubris.
Now, let me share some light on these apparent anomalies. Both cover stories were written by the same person, Greg Calstrom, a Middle Eastern correspondent for The Economist based in Doha. Interestingly, this very same Greg Calstrom is also an online journalist with al Jazeera English. Adding to the tableau, the Qatar Investment Authority owns a 20% interest in the parent company of The Economist, The Economist Group. Are things starting to become clearer?
Here are the two covers:
Both covers are consistent with long-standing antisemitic tropes: the first, revealing the wandering Jew, powerless and without friends; and the second, portraying the all-powerful Jew controlling the world.
Is it reasonable to assume that all of this is coincidence? I think not! Rather, it is reflective of Qatari propaganda and foreign influence campaigns at work.
V. Concluding Thoughts & Comments
I hope that after having learned more about Qatar and its actions, you now better understand the basis for my admonition at the start of this monograph: “While the threat from Qatar is less visible than the threat from Iran, its global reach is far greater and the nature of the threat even more pernicious due, in part, to the very opaqueness of the threat, with much of the danger hidden from plain sight.”
Given Qatar’s financial and political support of a panoply of Sunni Islamofascist terrorist organizations, its use of al Jazeera to shape the narrative in a manner consistent with its ideological bent, and its foreign influence operations, one would think that the threat from Qatar, the second head of the octopus, would be as visible to Western governments as the threat from Iran, the first head of the octopus.
Yet, why is it that leaders in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States all appear to be so oblivious to it? Often, it is as if they turn a blind eye to the threat emanating from Qatar. Here, too, I think the answer is clear. Money Speaks! Qatari largesse is vast and widespread, and it has infiltrated and tainted Western societies, including the United States, in profound ways.
As I write this, to my shock and dismay (although perhaps I shouldn’t be shocked), the State Department has just recommended that Congress approve a $2.0 billion military package to Qatar, involving the sale of some of our most advanced drones together with other military equipment. Let us all hope that this sale does not move forward.
*****************************
I hope that you have found this monograph informative and of value. In the final monograph of the Wake Up! series, I will discuss the implications of Qatari largesse on the West, within the broader context of the battle over Western civilization.
Please look out for Part 8: Wake Up! The Threat from Within Our Own Borders. It should be in your inbox the week of April 21, 2025, or the following week.
As always, please feel free to distribute this email as broadly as you would like. My goal in writing these emails is to educate as many people as I can.
If you received this email from a friend and would like to be added to the distribution going forward as well as read past monographs, they are all posted on Substack.com and can be accessed using the following link: tonybrenner.substack.com. Conversely, should you no longer wish to receive these emails, please let me know and I will stop sending them to you.
Finally, should you wish to email me directly, I can be reached at tony@pivotpointcap.com.
Take care,
Tony
[1] Despite being a Shi’ite state, Iran has supported Sunni terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) that align with its strategic interests.
[2] Note that Turkey, despite being a member of NATO, is the other major global supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
[3] The true informant, FBI Official Mark Felt, never used this phrase during his interactions with Woodward. It was said by the actor, Hal Holbrok (who played Deep Throat) in the movie to Robert Redford (who played Bob Woodward).
[4] The wide range of estimates is due to a lack of disclosure. For obvious reasons, Qatar does not publicly disclose its contributions to the Muslim Brotherhood and its related entities.
[5] ISIS came into existence as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). It was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2004, who pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden. The split between the two entities occurred during the Syrian civil war when ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared ISIS independent of al-Qaeda after Al-Qaeda refused to support Baghdadi’s unilateral declaration of a caliphate.
[6] Cohen added that Qatar “has become such a permissive terrorist fundraising environment, that several major Qatar-based fundraisers act as representatives for larger terrorist fundraising networks.”
[7] The Grand Mosque’s formal name is Imam Muhammad Ibn Adul Wahhab Masjid Doha.
[8] Wahhabism is the ultra-conservative branch of Sunnis Islam (a form of Salafism) prevalent in Saudi Arabia that inspired al-Qaeda’s leaders, including Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
[9] The Arab Spring began with the protests in Tunisia on December 17, 2010. The wave of protest largely faded by late 2012, marking the end of the Arab Spring.
[10] Tools to Identify Media Bias was published on January 26, 2024, on Substack. If you are interested, you can access it at: tonybrenner.substack.com.
[11] Efforts to close this loophole have failed repeatedly due to political challenges… no surprise there! Money talks!!
[12] There is substantial evidence that Qatar paid bribes to secure the 2022 FIFA cup. Court documents and investigations revealed that Qatar transferred over $330 Million to FIFA officials through Qatar National Bank accounts between 2009 and 2010, when the games were being awarded. These allegations have been corroborated by investigations in multiple countries, and many FIFA officials have been banned or indicted for corruption.
[13] In total, 12 House members went on these trips. Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) went on both trips. All other House members went on a single trip. Of the 12 officials, five were Republicans and 7 were Democrats.
[14] For perspective, note that during this period, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was trying to recover from widespread global condemnation after reportedly ordering the assassination and dismemberment of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi on October 2, 2018, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
[15] Universities were not required to report which programs the foreign funding supported, with most choosing to not do so. One has to wonder why?
[16] While most of these were consistent with Qatar’s Islamofascist ideology, others seem more surprising but make sense when one looks at the broader Qatari strategy, which I will discuss further in my next monograph.
