[Order Michael Finch’s new book, A Time to Stand: HERE. Prof. Jason Hill calls it “an aesthetic and political tour de force.”]

Jonathan Speyer discusses meretricious Qatar, the chief supporter of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, that pretends to be a good-faith mediator between the terror group and Israel, here: “Playing arsonist and firefighter: How the West is falling for Qatar’s deadly game,” by Jonathan Spyer, The Jewish Chronicle, September 16, 2025:

Amidst the heated discussion over Israel’s assassination attempt on Hamas leaders in Qatar, the silence about Doha harbouring these terrorists is deafening. Worse still, while condemning Israel for striking those who orchestrated October 7, Western leaders are lavishing praise on the Gulf emirate as if it were a trustworthy ally rather than a funder of global Islamism and terror. Qatar exploits its cosy ties with Hamas to cast itself as an indispensable “mediator” – and the West allows it to get away with this charade.

The gas and oil rich Emirate has long provided a safe haven, finance and even arms to the who’s who of Global Terrorism Inc. It has shown a remarkable willingness to embrace every group from Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah through to ISIS and the Taliban, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the 9/11 attacks.

The same red carpet treatment was proudly given to Hamas. The terror group’s so-called ‘political’ leaders relocated to Doha from Damascus amidst the Syrian civil war and enjoyed their billionaire lifestyle until Israel showed its hand last week.

Qatar has made no secret of its support for this Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, becoming the terror groups’ principal political and financial backers. Former Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani was the first head of state to visit Gaza after Hamas took power, and the cash rich country has disbursed north of £1 billion into Gaza ever since, including suitcases of cash for Hamas which Israel had mistakenly thought would buy quiet.

All the while, Doha-based Al Jazeera news network relentlessly pumps vitriolic Hamas propaganda around the world. This is the same channel that gave a programme to Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader, who endorsed the tactic of suicide bombings but was still regularly welcomed as the guest of honour at events hosted by Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

As the atrocities of 7th October were unfolding, Hamas leaders were filmed celebrating in their luxury Doha quarters. This chilling footage may have long-since been forgotten by most, but for the State of Israel it left an indelible mark and signalled that a new security paradigm was required.

Hamas’ leaders have been on borrowed time ever since. Israel’s security and military apparatus have successfully hunted and eliminated Hamas’ leaders one by one, with daring strikes in Tehran, Damascus and amidst the grinding house-to-house combat Hamas has imposed in Gaza.

For all their apparent outrage over Israel’s attacks, the leaders of Western capitals would do well to consider how their actions have enabled Qatar to execute their double game of promoting extremism across the world, while positioning itself as a key strategic ally. This hybrid war against Western interests has been conducted in plain sight….

For too long, Qatar has been permitted to pursue and gain from a regional strategy premised on support for extremism and fanning the flames of Islamist sedition and violence. Israel last week demonstrated the intrinsic limits of such a strategy – it only works for as long as its victims acquiesce to it. Israel has now made clear that it will no longer play its allotted role. Western governments would be well advised to do the same.

After the IDF attack on Doha, American media consistently referred to the emirate as being both a “friend and ally” to the United States. It is neither. It has been the financier of Hamas and other Islamic terror groups, including Al-Qaeda and ISIS, worldwide. It provides refuge to Hamas leaders. It plows tens of billions of dollars into the U.S. and the U.K. to buy influence, especially in universities where its money pays for Middle East study centers that promote the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar owns Al-Jazeera, one of the world’s largest media companies, that devotes much of its attention to maligning the state of Israel. The Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha underlined the role of Qatar as the protector and financier of Hamas. The West should reconsider its naïve faith in Qatar as a “friend and ally.” It is using its billions to buy up influence worldwide, under the noses of those Infidels whose civilization it wishes to undermine.