Qatar in holy sites escalation
Al Jubeir termed earlier malign campaign to internationalise holy sites ‘declaration of war’
UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have reacted sharply to Qatar’s malign campaign to “internationalise” the two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah.
In Riyadh, Saud Al Qah’tani, a media adviser at the royal court, made a reference to the so-called ‘Global Campaign to End Saudi Politicisation of Holy Places’, whose members held a demonstration after Friday prayers near the Saudi embassy in New Delhi.
“They [Qatari regime] create fictitious organisations in far-away countries and set up shadowy media and then have them call for the ‘internationalisation’ of the two holy mosques so that they can deceive people into believing they have nothing to do with it. They had been warned clearly by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir that this amounted to a declaration of war. Do not test the patience of adults,” Al Qah’tani tweeted.
In an apparent reference to Qatar, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted: “We are accustomed to its falls and failures, and we are aware of its conspiracies and ways [of seeking] to cause harm. It will remain isolated and its actions will not bring it safety.”
Two ministers, in the UAE and Bahrain, have blasted demands for ‘international oversight’ of the holy sites in Makkah and Madinah, and international management of the Haj.
“The call by confused [people] to internationalise the two Holy Mosques will fail, as it has failed before,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted, in an apparent reference to Qatar and its leader. “We are accustomed to his falls and failures, and we are aware of his conspiracies and [his] ways [of seeking] to cause harm. He will remain isolated and his actions will not bring him safety,” Gargash informed his more than 653,000 followers.
In Manama, Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said demands to internationalise the management of the Holy Mosques were prompted by bitter failures.
‘You better shut up’
“Whenever one of your plans falls through, and whenever one of your conspiracies fails, you resume with your tale of internationalising the [management] of the two Holy Mosques. You had better shut up because the world is laughing at you,” Shaikh Khalid posted on his Twitter account, where he has more than 472,000 followers.
Neither minister mentioned Qatar by name.
In the Saudi capital Riyadh, Saud Al Qah’tani, a media adviser at the royal court, accused Qatar of launching the campaign to internationalise the Islamic holy sites.
“They are not ready to face [people] and they live only off conspiracies, lies and degeneration. They create fictitious organisations in far-away countries and set up shadowy media [organisations] and then have them call for the internationalisation of the two holy mosques so that they can deceive people into believing they have nothing to do with it. They had been warned clearly by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir that this amounted to a declaration of war. Do not test the patience of adults,” he tweeted.
Al Qah’tani was referring to the so-called ‘Global Campaign to End Saudi Politicisation of Holy Places’ that held a demonstration after the Friday prayers last week near the Saudi embassy in the Indian capital New Delhi.