Hey friends, today I want to talk about a serious issue that’s been making waves in recent times, especially in the Middle East. It’s all about the complicated relationships between Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas, with a new angle about how Trump played a role in saving Qatar from a possible invasion by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. I’ve gathered a lot of information and put it in chronological order so you can follow the story easily. Let’s dive in:
The story begins in the 1990s when Saudi Arabia started seeing the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to its monarchy. The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization pushing for elections and Islamic governance, clashed with Saudi Arabia’s royal rule. Around this time, Qatar began openly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, providing them financial aid, political asylum, and media exposure through channels like Al Jazeera. There were also reports that Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood tried to create instability in Saudi Arabia, including alleged coup attempts in 1996 and 2005, which Saudi Arabia claimed to have thwarted.
In 2013, the military coup in Egypt ousted Mohammad Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader and former president. Saudi Arabia supported the new Egyptian leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, because he was against the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar, however, criticized the coup and continued backing the Brotherhood, deepening the rift with Saudi Arabia. This period also saw Qatar strengthening its ties with Hamas, another group linked to the Brotherhood, providing them with funding and political support.
By 2014, the tensions exploded. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar, accusing it of using the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas to undermine their stability. They demanded that Qatar cut all ties with these groups, but Qatar refused, arguing it was just mediating and supporting legitimate movements. This marked the beginning of a major diplomatic crisis.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia escalated its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. The government arrested several prominent Islamist critics and suspected Brotherhood members, including well-known figures like Salman al-Ouda and Awad al-Qarni. Salman al-Ouda, a popular cleric, had criticized Saudi Arabia’s support for the Egyptian coup, while Awad al-Qarni was accused of spreading anti-government content on social media. These arrests were part of Saudi Arabia’s broader strategy to eliminate the Brotherhood’s influence within its borders.
2017–2018: Saudi and UAE Threaten Invasion, Trump Intervenes:
The situation worsened when, in 2017, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with Bahrain and Egypt, imposed a land, sea, and air blockade on Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism and destabilizing the region. There were even rumors and reports that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were planning a military invasion to topple the Qatari government and install a more compliant regime. This is where Donald Trump, as the U.S. president at the time, stepped in. Trump had initially criticized Qatar but later shifted gears, fearing a larger regional war. He pressured Saudi Arabia and the UAE to back off, emphasizing Qatar’s strategic importance, especially its hosting of the Al Udeid Air Base, a key U.S. military hub. Trump’s intervention in 2018 helped de-escalate the crisis, preventing a full-blown invasion and pushing for dialogue instead.
Fast forward to October 7, 2023, when Hamas and other Palestinian groups took hostages in Israel. Many experts believed that if the Biden administration had pressured Qatar, the hostages could have been released much earlier. Qatar had strong ties with Hamas (which is ideologically linked to the Muslim Brotherhood) and could have influenced the group to free the hostages. For example, Qatar could have issued a 48-hour ultimatum, threatening to expel Hamas leaders and cut their funding if the hostages weren’t released. But Qatar didn’t take such action, raising questions about its true intentions and whether it was more interested in supporting Hamas than resolving the crisis.
As of February 19, 2025, the situation remains tense. Saudi Arabia continues to see Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas as a direct threat. Qatar maintains its role as a mediator but is often accused of bias, using its media and financial power to prop up these groups. The 2014 demands from Saudi Arabia, UAE, and others—that Qatar sever ties with the Brotherhood and Hamas—still linger, unresolved. The regional impact is significant, with many believing Qatar’s policies fuel instability, while Qatar argues Saudi Arabia is trying to dominate the Gulf.
In my opinion, Qatar needs to rethink its strategy. If it truly wants peace and stability, it should distance itself from the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas instead of supporting them. Saudi Arabia’s concerns are valid—it doesn’t want its security threatened—but it should also seek diplomatic solutions rather than just arrests and blockades. Trump’s intervention in 2017–2018 was crucial in preventing a war, but the underlying issues haven’t been resolved. The Biden administration’s failure to pressure Qatar during the 2023 hostage crisis was a missed opportunity.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you think Qatar is in the wrong, or should Saudi Arabia take a softer approach? Is the Muslim Brotherhood the real problem here, or is it just a pawn in a bigger geopolitical game? Let me know your comments!