A newspaper close to Saudi Arabia has reported that Saudi Arabia has threatened to close its border and airspace with Qatar if Doha doesn’t stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. According to a report posted at the UK Islamist-aligned Middle East Monitor:
Saudi Arabia
February 20, 2014 Saudi Arabia has threatened to close its border and airspace with Qatar if Doha doesn’t stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Arab newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The London-based newspaper, which is considered to be very close to the decision-makers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said a Saudi official had delivered the urgent message from the Saudi government to the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. The message included a ‘threat’ that Riyadh is reviewing its relations with Doha. This could cause a significant change that may lead to the freezing of the relationship.
Saudi Arabia issued the warning saying it is running out of patience towards Qatar’s policies with regards supporting the Muslim Brotherhood movement and breaching the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s guidelines for the policies and positions, particularly towards Egypt.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that the Emir of Qatar did not abide by the agreement he signed in a summit in Riyadh in the presence of the Emir of Kuwait two months ago, to stop the use of the Qatari soil in actions that harm the Kingdom.
Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia, had the emir of Qatar write the vow and sign it in the presence of the Emir of Kuwait because he had doubts about the Qatari’s commitment to the agreement, as had happened in previous agreements conducted with him and his father, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani .
Saudi accuses its neighbour of supporting the Houthis in Yemen with money and weapons through one of the Sheikhs of the Qatari royal family, as well as supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in the Kingdom through the Qatari Sheikh himself.
Earlier this month, the Saudi official news agency reported that the Saudi King had issued a royal decree specifying prison terms for those “involved in hostilities outside the Kingdom” or who join “radical religious and intellectual groups or currents.” It remains to be seen whether the decree applies to the Muslim Brotherhood.
For a useful history of the tumultuous and sometimes difficult to understand relationship between Saudi Arabia and the Global Muslim Brotherhood, go here.
