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Sheikh Meshal also reiterated his rejection of claims that Qatar “influences” U.S. higher education with its hosting of six university campuses. The Embassy of Qatar in the United States has categorically denied allegations of “threatening” Congressman Randy Fine, asserting that the claims are part of a wider disinformation effort orchestrated by far-right actors. Qatar’s Ambassador to Washington, Sheikh Meshal Al Thani, sent a letter to Fine on Wednesday addressing inaccuracies he made in an interview with far-right American activist Laura Loomer on her show on October 18. During the episode of Loomer Unleashed, the representative of the 6th Congressional District of Florida accused Qatar of funding college protests, echoing past allegations by Republicans and Israel-backing figures against the Gulf state. Loomer, a staunch Qatar critic, then took to her social media on Sunday to spread allegations over the Gulf state sending Fine “a threatening letter” in an alleged attempt to “silence” his criticism. In a post on X on Monday, Qatar’s embassy in Washington, DC, responded to the accusations with evidence of the letter Sheikh Meshal sent to Fine on October 22. The embassy noted that it engaged with Fine at the time “to open a direct dialogue and clarify the facts”. “Our goal was to correct false claims through open communication, something we consistently support, even with those with whom we do not always agree,” the embassy said. “As you can see below, the letter contains no ‘threats’ as some have alleged, just factual statements in the spirit of open dialogue,” it added. The letter provided evidence dismissing the allegations over Qatar’s funding of college campus protests, which emerged in the wake of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023. Israel has killed at least 68,527 people throughout the genocide, mainly women and children. Ambassador Al Thani highlighted a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on May 2, 2024. At the time, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines categorically said there was no evidence of Qatar backing campus protests. Separately on December 18, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives’ report found no evidence that Qatar had been involved in the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. Sheikh Meshal also reiterated his rejection of claims that Qatar “influences” U.S. higher education with its hosting of six university campuses. “Qatar does not influence university policy, and has neither the interest nor the means to influence any behaviours at the universities’ home campuses,” Sheikh Meshal explained. Figures like Loomer were also quick to criticise the recent agreement between Qatar and the U.S. over hosting Qatari F-15 fighter jets and pilots in Idaho, where they will also train alongside American troops. The agreement was among the key areas of focus in the interview with Fine, where he agreed that “everyone should be afraid” of Muslim fighter pilots training on a U.S. air base. “I assume you did not intend your remarks to be understood as a categorical fear of Muslims. According to my information, there are about 3.5 million Muslims in the United States. 127,000 live in your home state, making Florida the 12th largest Muslim population in America,” Sheikh Meshal noted. “I am proud of Qatar’s record as an ally and friend of the United States, and surely we can all celebrate our joint achievements[…]but I do not expect everyone to be ‘a fan of Qatar,’ as you put it. We expect only to be judged on the basis of accurate information,” he added. Sheikh Meshal ended the letter by saying he “would be happy to address any questions” about Qatar. Qatar has been at the centre of a major disinformation campaign spearheaded by Israeli figures and Israel’s backers after the Gulf state assumed its pivotal mediation role since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza. The campaign criticised Qatar for hosting the Hamas political office despite its crucial role in mediating the release of Israeli captives. Doha had agreed to host the Hamas political office in 2012 at Washington’s request in order to maintain a channel of communication with the Palestinian movement, a move that has proven effective in past and current mediation efforts.
