Mali: Qatar is funding Islamists to support Doha's influence in region

Michael Stephens of the the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies writes in Doha News that the  main motivation behind Qatar's support of Mali's Islamists is to ensure its business and the growth of its influence in the Arab and Islamic world.

Qatar has denied that it is helping the islamist jihadis and say their activities are limited to humanitarian aid in Mali.However if evidence proves that Qatar has been helping the terrorists then Michael Stephens thinks it could affect Qatar's close relations with France.He suggests that Qatar's interest in Mali and the Sahel is pragmatic focusing on its reserves of hyrdocarbons and minerals.

Rumours abound about Qatar funding islamists across North Africa but the truth is no one knows how close Qatar is to extremist islamist organisations and terrorists. Qatar is a major investor worldwide but it is a small country in a turbulent and threatening neighbourhood.It is buying into other nations and businesses to secure its own future. However  in the circumstances of the tense confrontation in North Africa between societies which  have close european secular  links as well as being islamic, Qatar will need to be very clear about its objectives in an increasingly divided world.