A report by the European Eye on Radicalization revealed how much the Qatari regime has penetrated the UK and how it funds extremist groups. Britain is making a big mistake by not monitoring Qatari funds and there are many questions about Qatari funding for charitable organizations linked to extremists.
Qatar is now said to own more property in London than the Queen. Its holdings include The Shard, which is Europe’s tallest skyscraper, financial headquarters buildings in Canary Wharf and the City of London, Claridge’s and other top hotels, the fabled department store Harrods, and the former US Embassy in Mayfair, which is being converted to a luxury hotel.
On the export front, in September 2018 the government announced a £5 billion deal with Qatar for 24 Typhoon fighter jets.
The UK also imports substantial amounts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar. In 2017, Qatar dominated the LNG UK import sector with an 87% share of all supplies, according to the business information group S&P Global. The Qatari volumes in 2017 were enough to cover 14% of the UK’s total natural gas consumption on the year.
Even without government assistance, Qatar’s funding of religious groups in the UK can be profiled. As is often typical in this field, there is some controversy, but overall the record is mixed.
The Nectar Trust is a place to start. It is a registered UK charity backed by Qatar Charity. It was established in 2012 and originally called Qatar Charity UK. Its name was changed to Nectar Trust in 2017.
In 2017, the Telegraph published a critical review of Yousef al-Kuwari, at the time the chief executive of Qatar Charity UK. It noted that he was a founder of Islamweb, a site featuring anti-Western social separatist messages, antisemitism, and support for jihad against Israel. The article also noted that al-Kuwari was previously head of information technology at the Qatari Ministry of Endowments.
Some in Europe would like to see all foreign funding of religious institutions banned. Considering the wider context and the UK’s strong tradition of religious freedom, this appears unlikely in the UK.
At the very least, though, one can argue that more government transparency is in order, though this too is not likely to be forthcoming.