Your Highness, welcome to the program. Thank you for joining me.
Thank you.
We are here at a remarkably historic time. Qatar is one of five Arab nations taking part in these strikes against ISIS. Why are you doing this and are you in it for the long haul?
Well, we're in it because we believe that dangerous movements are happening in our own region. And we're going to stay in it - as you said - unfortunately it looks like we're going to stay for a while - everybody, not only Qatar. So we are, yes, we are in it. We believe that we have to counter terrorism and that was why we are in it. We've been asked by our American friends if we can join and we did.
Secretary of State Kerry, President Obama himself have said that this is not about President Assad at the moment. Yes, there's been a three-year war. Yes, everybody said Assad must go. But this is only about ISIS. Do you agree with that?
Honestly, no. I don't agree. I agree that we have to counter terrorism, yes. But I believe that the main cause of all this is the regime in Syria and this regime should be punished. As you said, it's more than three years now: war. And the environment that the Syrian people have been living in, it will create this violence.
And we've been saying from day one that if we don't stop the bloodshed in Syria and we don't stop Bashar committing genocide on his own people, this is where we - unfortunately, we are in a situation now that the Syrian people, who demanded their freedom, are between a regime, a brutal regime, and terrorist acts.
So I think that it's a whole thing that has to be solved. If we think that we're going to get rid of terrorist movements and leave those regimes doing - this regime especially, doing what he is doing - then terrorist movements will come back again.
So how far can you just agree to be striking ISIS? Will Qatar do something else? Strike Assad targets, regime targets?
Well, Qatar cannot do that by itself, of course. There is a coalition that will help us protect the Syrian people - we will be part of it. As you know we were part of a coalition that helped to free the Libyan people. So we will be part of it because we believe that what caused all this chaos is the Syrian regime.
Are you afraid of backlash? Obviously these terrorists have been telling their operatives, sympathizers: “Kill anybody who is cooperating in this campaign”. Are you afraid for your own targets?
Well, terrorist movements, of course it is a threat around the world. Not only Qatar or the coalition, any country, any stable country, any modern country, it is a threat. And Qatar is part of it as well. We take this seriously. So as you said, it is a threat and we take it seriously.
But it won't derail you?
No, it won't. It won't. Terrorism is something that is not acceptable in our culture and our religion. So it will not stop us.
You mentioned you're also in this to stop the funding of the terrorist groups. As you know, this is something that President Obama, in fact, all the world leaders are saying: the only thing that's really going to stop it is the funding. Qatar has been blamed, criticized over the years, for either funding or allowing sympathetic sheikhs, mullahs, sympathetic rich people, to fund these movements.
Well, we have to see the difference between movements. I know that in America and some countries they look at some movements as terrorist movements. In our part of the region, we don't. But if you're talking about certain movements, especially in Syria and in Iraq, we all consider them terrorist movements. And we don't accept any funds for those and we don't accept anybody funding those groups.
Will you stop them? The people who go to the mosques and whip people up and say we've got to, you know, help jihad?
We have a strong law against funding terrorist groups. But as I said, there is a difference between some countries, of who are the terrorists and who are the, maybe Islamist groups, but we don't consider them as terrorists.
Such as?
Such as groups in Syria, groups in Libya, groups in Egypt.
But isn't that a problem then? Because you then have a fundamental difference with some of your coalition partners. And you have been criticized. Qatar has over the years been criticized of sort of throwing money at a lot of these groups. And some of them are troublemakers in Syria. Some of them are extremists. So you're saying that you don't buy that. You don't recognize them as extremists?
No, no, we do recognize extremists. We believe their actions, we believe that they're extremists. And we don't fund extremists. But there are differences. There are differences that - some countries and some people think that any group which comes from an Islamic background are terrorists. And we don't accept that. And all this is because of political difference. We don't accept that.
But people, especially in Syria and Iraq and other Arab countries, who don't believe in the freedom of speech, who don't believe that they have to live with others and accept others, and also accept the choice of the people, their own people - those are the people that we don't fund. Other than that, I believe that it is a big mistake to say this for any Islamic movement. But we have differences, ideological differences with them. I'm talking about some countries, to consider them extremist, I think this is a big mistake and it's a danger. Other than that, extremists are well-known. Terrorist groups are well-known and we know them. Everybody knows them.
So let me ask you specifically then, because this is obviously key to all of this. Some of the Arab coalition partners taking part with you have had differences with you over, for instance, the Muslim Brotherhood. You supported the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Now they're out. You housed them, a lot of them, once they were flushed out. And also Hamas. Obviously the United States believes - and Israel and many other nations - that that is a terrorist organization. You don't. So does that mean you keep funding them?
Going back to the first point that you mentioned, that we had differences with some of our brother neighboring countries. It is true, yes, we had differences. There was a confusion in the beginning of the Arab Spring for everybody, especially in our region, because it happens in our neighboring countries. Everybody took a different step. We took our foreign policy, which we believe was right at that moment, and we helped and we stood by the Arab people who demanded their dignity and freedom.
What happened after that election? The Egyptian people elected a government, elected the Muslim Brotherhood. We gave aid to the Egyptian government before the Muslim Brotherhood, during the military government after the step-down of Hosni Mubarak. People were saying that we support the Muslim Brotherhood. We don’t support that, we support the Egyptian government. We supported them during Mr.Tantawi. We supported them also during the Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf. We supported them during Mr. Morsi and we supported them also during the former President, Adly Mansour, and we still support them.
So it's nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood. We know that the Muslim Brotherhood, after what happened in Egypt a year ago, after the coup that happened in Egypt, many of them left and some of them came to Qatar because they were threatened and they were afraid. So, yes, they were in Qatar and they were safe in Qatar as long as they didn't practice any politics or any ideas. They're always welcome in Qatar.
Are they still there?
Some of them are still there. Some of them are leaving because they believe that this is the moment for them to practice politics and they know the rules of the country, that as long as you're here, you can't practice politics against any other Arab country.
As long as they're in Qatar?
As long as they're there in Qatar.
Hamas: Will you continue to support Hamas?
We support all Palestinian people. We believe Hamas is a very important part of the Palestinian people. As I said, we have differences with friends. For example, the United States considers them as terrorist groups. We don't, simply because they're a very important component of the Palestinian people.
Going back to history nearly 10 years ago, we were asked by the Americans if we could talk to Hamas to make them participate in the election which happened in Palestine. And we spoke to them very honestly - it was my father who spoke to them - that, you know, we were asked from our American friends that you participate in the next election.
And so their answer was “we will, but will the international community accept us?”
So my father said “yes, because I was asked by the Americans for you to join”.
So it happened. So the thing is what is the difference between Hamas 10 years ago and Hamas now? I believe the difference is that Hamas are more realistic now. They believe in peace and they want peace. But that's for the other party to believe in peace as well and to be more realistic.
Under your father, there was a certain reach-out between yourself and Israel, Qatar and Israel. That seems to have gone by the wayside; in fact, an Israeli top diplomat calls Qatar "Club Med for terrorists". What happened, and how do you react to that?
Well, we believe in peace. And since 1991 and '93 at Oslo and after Oslo, we believed in peace and we helped a lot in trying to make a bridge between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I think the war in Gaza a few years ago - of course after we cut our relations, our official relations with Israel, the amount of dead people and innocent people, that is why, as I said, we've stopped. We cut our relations with Israel.
But at the same time we believe that the only way to get out of it is to have peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, because we believe in peace. And this is the only way that we should all work together, to put pressure on both sides to reach the peace solution.
Could you imagine restarting such a relationship? I mean, it was an important relationship with an Arab nation. It was an important relationship.
We can't start the relations. It’s not will we or will we not. I don't think we have a problem in starting the relations with the Israelis as long as they are serious in making peace and providing and protecting the Palestinian people.
Qatar, over the last decade plus, has gone from being the little emirate that could, that everybody wants to be friends with, that people have been so impressed that you've been breaking out of what was perhaps the conventional wisdom kind of mentality in the Middle East, to neither friend nor foe. People are wondering what is your vision? What is your strategic vision of foreign policy? Some have suggested that, yes, you have a relationship with the United States, but you're neither an ally nor are you really an enemy, because you sometimes back different sides of the coin. And for Qatar, money is the instrument of your foreign policy. What is it? What is it that Qatar stands for?
Well, first of all, money, we're not the only the only country that has money. I mean, thanks to God, yes, we are a wealthy country and we have money.
Our foreign policy is very simple. As I said, before I answer the question, since four years now, with all the Arab Spring and things going on, there was a confusion.
But if you go back to our real foreign policy, we believe in dialogue. We provide dialogue. We believe in peace. We are a mediator and, as you know, we were very successful in many, many parts. I believe this is the thing that I am concentrating in and I will continue concentrating. I'm not in a camp against another camp. I have my own way. Our country has our own way of foreign policy, our own way of thinking. And I think people should respect that.
And it's not about a matter of being a friend or not a friend. I have my own way of thinking. I believe in our relations with the United States and other countries as well. But as I said, we are a mediator. We believe in dialogue between nations and countries to solve problems.
Will you continue your father’s foreign policy, or do you see yourself expanding in certain areas, retreating in certain areas?
Well, I think every person has his own policy. But going back to the policy of my father, I think it was the best policy that Qatar could take, especially in dialogue and trying to solve problems around the region and around the world, and being a mediator. I think this is a policy that we are trying to work on that my father started, and this is going to be my policy.
Of course there are differences. You never know what happens in the future, it depends on what goes on. But I think this is the main thing that we’re going to concentrate on in the near future.
For instance, can you see a negotiated solution somehow in Syria? Because again, you are blamed, others are blamed, for backing, funding certain groups who you are allied with. But that doesn’t further the interest of peace; it furthers the interest of continued war.
Yes, I think our aim was to protect the Syrian people, to help them. As you know, at the beginning of the demonstrations or the revolution in Syria - the first three months, it was peaceful and everybody was demanding freedom and dignity. But what happened? The regime started killing and committing a massacre on its own people.
Then we said it and we announced it, that we have to protect the Syrian people, we have to provide them even with weapons to protect themselves. So the reason why we helped them is for them to protect themselves. And if we didn’t, we will see more massacres happening in Syria. Although it’s a chaos, yes we understand it’s a chaos, but I think that was the only way that we could have helped the Syrian people.