Qatar: television, transport and terror

Ask people to point to the country of Qatar on a map and it is safe to say that the majority of people would struggle to find it.  At only 100 miles (160 km) from north to south and 50 miles (80 km) from east to west, Qatar is small in size, yet it wields a tremendous amount of influence throughout the world.  So, where is Qatar and what is it about this country which causes further destabilisation to an already fragile world?  The answer to the first question is straightforward.  Qatar is located in the Middle East and shares a border with eastern Saudi Arabia.  The answer to the second question is far more complex.   

Unlike the influence enjoyed by superpowers through their military and economic power, Qatar relies on its considerable wealth to secure influence throughout the world.  Due to its enormous reserves of natural gas and petroleum, Qatar is in the top 10 richest countries in the world.  In fact, according to the website www.worldatlas.com, Qatar (with a population of only 3.11 million people – 0.04% of global population) is ranked fourth in the world for GDP per capita (measured with purchasing power parity) sitting at $121,605.00 and well ahead of the United States (ranked 9^th) at $89,105.00.  My home country of Australia is 20^th, at $72,137.00.

When it comes to spending its considerable wealth, Qatar has chosen to diversify its investments in everything from television to transport to terror.  It is here that we uncover the majority of our concerns.  Let’s briefly examine each of those categories:-

Television

Al Jazeera (meaning “The Peninsula in English) is, in its own words, an independent news organisation funded in part by the Qatari government.  When Al Jazeera launched from the Qatari capital, Doha, on Friday, November 1, 1996, it was the first independent news channel in the Arab world.  Despite this, Al Jazeera is banned in many Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan and the UAE. 

The simple fact of the matter is that although Al Jazeera believes itself to be a valuable independent news source, it is a project that serves the direct interest of the Qatari leadership and shapes Arab public opinion through carefully crafted propaganda.  In a recent piece in the Australian Financial Review, Jewish journalist Ian Lloyd Neubauer (who worked as a freelance contributor with Al Jazeera) wrote this: “I always knew what Al Jazeera was and is: a highly sophisticated propaganda tool of the Qatari royal family and its global Islamic destabilising agenda that uses critical journalism to sow discontent and incite violence overseas, while at the same time prohibiting the network from saying anything remotely critical about Qatar.”  In his closing comments, he went on to say: “I believe that trying to change Al Jazeera from within is futile. Many of the network’s employees are ideologically opposed to the existence of Israel and harbour anti-American sentiments, and a minority are openly antisemitic, according to my sources in the Middle East and former staff members who were fired or quit.”  

For the record, unfortunately, Al Jazeera is still available to watch in Australia and is given legitimacy by appearing on the channels of taxpayer funded broadcasters.  Others may have seen through the ideological extremism veiled in supposed journalistic integrity, but it appears the Australian Government still believes the lies it is fed.

Transport

Anybody who has travelled internationally may well have travelled by Qatar Airways.  According to their website: “A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways won the ‘World’s Best Airline’ for an unprecedented ninth time at the 2025 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. Qatar Airways was previously named the World’s Best Airline in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2024.” 

Qatar Airways has recently been granted permission by the Australian Federal Government to purchase a 25% stake in Virgin Australia.  Although many perceive that move as positive (due to the anticipated cheaper airfares) others have reservations.  Only two years ago, the Australian Federal Government blocked a bid by Qatar Airways to add additional flights to and from Australia.  One of the reasons cited in the Government’s rejection of the bid was a 2020 episode at Doha airport, when Australian female passengers were forced from planes at gunpoint and subjected to humiliating non-consensual invasive bodily inspections as authorities searched for the mother of a baby abandoned in a bathroom. 

Now that Qatar Airways will own a stake in Virgin Australia, many see this as a way for Qatar to sidestep national interest concerns.  In other words, its significant wealth has allowed it a back door into Australian aviation, without necessarily addressing the many human rights concerns which not only exist within the context of the aforementioned examinations, but also the human rights abuses perpetrated by those the Qatari government finances.  Which leads me to my next point: terrorism.

Terrorism

Just as the world is viewed through a pre and post 9/11 lens, the same is (or should be) true for October 7, 2023.  With state-sponsored terror on full display, ties should have been immediately severed with anybody or anything associated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Ansar Allah (ie. the Houthis) Iran and all of its proxies.  That includes Qatar, who has financed Hamas to the tune of $1.8 billion since it took control of the Gaza Strip.  Furthermore, the Times of Israel recently reported that Qatar has actively been undermining peace efforts in the region while at the same time attempting to bolster the roles of Turkey and Iran.

Not only was Qatar funding the salaries of the leaders and civil servants of Hamas, it has a history of providing refuge to terrorists in its finest hotels.  Yet, not only has Qatar escaped scrutiny and accountability for the October 7 massacre, it has actually strengthened its international standing by positioning itself as an invaluable mediator between Israel and Hamas!  This is despite the fact that on the official website of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they issued a statement on October 7, 2023 which read, in part: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds Israel solely responsible for the ongoing escalation due to its ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people”.  On the very day that demonically inspired hordes broke through the security fence into southern Israel and raped, murdered, beat, tortured, burnt and kidnapped peaceful Israelis, the Qatari government had the audacity to blame Israel entirely for the violence which ensued.  That statement alone proves that Qatar lacks the moral clarity to be a trusted mediator. 

Disappointingly, my home country of Australia also seems to lack the necessary judgement when it comes to collaboration with governments who clearly support terror.  But once again, money buys silence.  The sovereign wealth fund QIA (Qatar Investment Authority) and other Qatari state-owned investment vehicles Hassad Food and Nebras Power, collectively have around $4 billion invested in Australia's property, logistics, energy and agriculture sectors.  Furthermore, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade notes that: “Research links are also healthy, with over 20 Australian universities undertaking collaborative projects with Qatari institutions.”  Rather than being a point of nationalistic pride, this news should heighten concern within Australia considering that universities proved a fertile breeding ground for post-October 7 antisemitic rallies. 

Luke 21:24 reminds us that “Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”  In other words, the Bible clearly tells us that there is an expiry date to Gentile domination.  Because God will soon establish His righteous kingdom with Jesus ruling from His throne in Jerusalem.  So, while the majority of Gentile nations have acted with impunity, there is a reckoning coming.  How nations and individuals treat the Jewish people is of utmost importance to God (Genesis 12:3).  Jesus, judgement and justice are coming to this world.  Maranatha!