A man claiming to be a former member of an “underground organisation” in the UAE, appeared on a Sharjah TV programme on Friday, in which he accused Qatar of involvement in seditious activities in the Emirates.
Abdel Rahman Al Suwaidi said he worked for several charitable bodies in the UAE as a cover, but had to flee the country when the authorities disbanded the underground organisation. He fled to Yemen, then Turkey and finally Indonesia, where he was arrested and extradited to the UAE. The name of the underground organisation was not given and there is no indication of whether Al Suwaidi remained in custody.
According to Al Suwaidi, “There is an underground group here in the UAE. We speak of an ideology, not practices. But when a fatwa comes from Al Qaradawi, they are ready to act.” He was referring to Yusuf Al Qaradawi, the head of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, who is based in Qatar.
Al Suwaidi also alleged that groups in Europe, including Muslim immigrants and European Muslims, receive material support from Qatar. Funding, he said, went into the establishment of Muslim centres and summer camps in Belgium and Switzerland. These, according to Al Suwaidi, were “also vehicles for the extremist ideology spread by Al Qaradawi.”
In addition, Al Suwaidi claimed that the May 22 terrorist attack at a pop concert in Manchester, northern England was connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. “Investigations have revealed that the perpetrators belong to one of those groups that met in one of the mosques linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Twenty-three people died in that suicide bombing.
Al Suwaidi further claimed that the “coordination office for the Muslim Brotherhood in the GCC has links to Iran and receives funding from Qatar.”
He went on to say, “Extremism can only grow and thrive in a favourable environment. Qatar is the safe haven they found. These extremists have reportedly entered Qatar, resided there, stayed in hotels, held meetings there to discuss the Arab Spring, the Syrian crisis.”
Al Suwaidi said he appeared on the programme to share his experience and warn others against being influenced by radical groups.
