US lobbyists quit Qatar as emir dines with Brotherhood leader

US consultants engaged by Qatar as part of its influence operations have quit in recent days, including one in protest after seeing pictures of the emir and Muslim Brotherhood leader Yusuf Al Qaradawi, who has a long record of incitement to violence.

Mort Klein, who travelled to Qatar in February as a part of a bid to woo influential Jewish Americans, said he could no longer be associated with Doha.

“I’ve lost confidence that they’re serious about changing,” he told the Politico news site.

Joey Allaham, a Syrian-born businessman who has been an active proponent of Qatar, has also cut ties over the meeting in Doha during a Ramadan gathering for religious leaders. Nick Muzin, a former adviser to Senator Ted Cruz, had been engaged in lobbying since the boycott of Qatar by the Arab Quartet over its support for extremism and interference in the internal affairs of its neighbours. He has also quit.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim was seen laughing with Al Qaradawi, who was seated next to him at the gathering. Al Qaradawi has been hosted by Doha for decades but the Brotherhood leader is banned from entering Britain and the US because of his record for hate speech.

“Qatar enjoys portraying themselves as the purveyor of peace in the region but this could not be further from the truth,” Mr Allaham said.