To understand the motives behind the allegations raised by Imam Tawhidi, you have to zoom out and look at the broader “Great Game” of the Middle East—a long-running contest where Qatar, a tiny but extraordinarily wealthy peninsula, has spent decades perfecting a survival strategy built on hedging, soft power, and political entryism. Within that frame, the alleged Qatar–Muslim Brotherhood nexus becomes less an ideological romance and more a calculated geopolitical partnership.
Why Qatar Bet on the Brotherhood
For Qatar, aligning with the Muslim Brotherhood was never about theology. It was about leverage.
Hemmed in by its far larger neighbor, Saudi Arabia, Qatar spent much of the 20th century searching for a way to avoid being politically absorbed. The Brotherhood offered something Riyadh couldn’t control: a transnational movement with deep networks, grassroots influence, and operatives embedded across the Arab world.
The Educational State-Building Pact
In the 1950s and 60s, Qatar lacked the institutional machinery of a modern state. Into that vacuum came exiled Brotherhood members from Egypt and Syria, who were invited to build the country’s education and judicial systems. The result was a generational bond between Qatar’s ruling class and Brotherhood intellectuals—an ideological imprint baked into the state’s early bureaucracy.
The “Middleman” Doctrine
Qatar’s next move was to turn itself into the indispensable switchboard of the region. By hosting the Brotherhood, Hamas, the Taliban, and the U.S. military simultaneously, Doha positioned itself as the one capital everyone eventually had to call. If Washington needed a backchannel to an Islamist faction, Qatar was the conduit. That made the country too useful to sideline and too connected to isolate.
2017: The Blockade and the Alleged Shift in Strategy
The 2017 blockade by Saudi Arabia and the UAE was a watershed moment. With its only land border sealed, Qatar viewed the crisis as existential. According to the allegations, this is when Doha recalibrated its influence operations toward Washington.
The “Progressive Pivot”
The claim goes like this: Qatar recognized that the ascendant progressive wing of the U.S. Democratic Party was already skeptical of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. By cultivating relationships with these voices, Qatar could ensure that its most vocal critics in Congress were focused on its rivals instead.
Cognitive Warfare and Soft Power
Through Al Jazeera, university funding, and think‑tank patronage, Qatar allegedly built a soft‑power shield designed to make criticism of the Brotherhood politically costly. The framing often relied on casting anti‑MB positions as Islamophobic or reactionary, thereby discouraging bipartisan pressure.
The “Entryism” Allegation
This is where Imam Tawhidi’s claims enter the picture. He describes a system of political entryism—embedding sympathetic actors within U.S. institutions to influence policy from the inside.
According to the allegations:
- Qatar doesn’t just want friendly legislators; it wants strategically placed assets.
- These individuals could, in theory, block legislation targeting the Brotherhood or share information with regional partners such as Iran.
- The mechanism allegedly relies on a mix of incentives (funding routed through nonprofits) and deterrence (media pressure or reputational attacks via Al Jazeera).
Summary of Alleged Motives and Methods
| Motive | Qatari Strategy (Alleged) | Intended Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Independence | Support the Muslim Brotherhood as a counterweight to Saudi influence. | Qatar becomes a kingmaker for Islamist movements. |
| Security | Host the U.S. Air Base while cultivating anti‑establishment U.S. politicians. | Creates political gridlock preventing U.S. pressure on Qatar. |
| Diplomacy | Fund Brotherhood‑aligned soft‑power institutions (Al Jazeera, universities). | Western elites view the Brotherhood as a moderate alternative. |
| Defense | Allegedly share intelligence with Iran to protect shared gas fields. | Iran becomes a deterrent against Saudi/UAE aggression. |
Written with the help of Gemini AI and Copilot AI.
Writing by Dr. Dannielle Blumenthal 