Salman Al-Dossary
Salman Al-Dossary is the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
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Did the Gaddafi Recordings Surprise You?

The lines of the Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy, which is led by Qatar, are growing increasingly clear: From former Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa to its former Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim, and passing through Muslim Brotherhood leaderships known for their connections to Qatar, the last of whom was Hakim al-Mutairi, the fugitive Kuwaiti academic in Turkey.

Recent leaked recordings of the above figures with late Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi have exposed the extent of the conspiracy plotted by the Muslim Brotherhood members, under Qatar’s guidance, as they seek to ruin their countries and spread “constructive chaos” in Arab countries, specifically the Gulf. Of course, these recordings are but an extension of the famous recordings of Hamad bin Khalifa and Haman bin Jassim that proved their conspiracy to divide the Kingdom.

The beauty of the new dangerous recordings is that they came as no surprise to anyone at all. The Qatari regime’s stance is unchanging and known for spreading chaos and conspiring against countries. The stance of its Muslim Brotherhood ally is also well-known. This means that the awareness of the receiver has become quite high in that he knows who his friend is and who his enemy is. In fact, these recordings confirmed that the billions of dollars being spent on the Qatari media machine have not been able to change firm facts and damning evidence: Chaos and strife follow the Qatari regime and Muslim Brotherhood wherever they go.

When the owners of these recordings urged the Muslim Brotherhood leaderships to explain their conspiracy with Gaddafi, their justifications were even worse than their deplorable actions. They droned the same excuse uttered by Hamad bin Jassim in his famous recording: We are humoring Gaddafi! This means that there is harmony and coordination in not just these secret conspiratorial meetings, but also in the attempt to wash their hands clean of them through laughable excuses.

These are not opinions that have been taken out of context, as one has claimed, but plots to commit crimes against the security and stability of nations. The other scandal was just how fast the people in the recordings turned against their ally and partner in the conspiracy. The Qatari regime was among the first to call for Gaddafi’s ouster in 2011, as did the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the Qatari-Muslim Brotherhood policy par excellence: Conspire against the friend and stab the ally in the back and, above all, the miraculous ability to change positions and adjust to new circumstances.

Recordings such as these may have stirred up political storms had they emerged in other countries or with other organizations. As for the Qatari regime and Muslim Brotherhood, they offered nothing new, because revealing dozens of such recordings will not alter many facts. What we are witnessing is the norm and anything else would be an exception. It is natural in their policy for them to conspire against the friend before the enemy. This is a mark of shame that has been linked to them and will not change regardless of the political circumstances.

Such revelations only come to underline the historic decision taken by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to boycott Qatar in June 2017 and designate the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist. Meanwhile, Mutairi is an extremist who was included in the terrorism list announced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain in 2017. It goes without saying that he is one of the main recipients of Doha’s financial and media support.

Today, after more than three years of the boycott, more and more of Qatar’s conspiracies and meddling in the internal affairs of its neighbors continue to be exposed. Such damning evidence and these scandals will continue to come into the light whenever Qatar attempts to clean its image. I wonder how many decades will it need to polish its black image?