Al Shindagah

Al Shindagah | Issue 137 | 9 saying that the situation in Qatar will not have any impact on the Emirates. “During the war between Iran and Iraq, and the invasion of Kuwait, the UAE economy was always stable and prosperous. We thank God that our economy is moving forward. The occupancy in our hotels is always high with guests from Asia, Europe and across the world. We are not harmed by the Qatari boycott, we are just sad to see the embargo affecting Qatari people.” Al Habtoor highlighted that the UAE leaders have taken a wise and patient stance in relation to the Muslim Brotherhood. “The UAE is a unique society, a society built on tribes. We are unified with our leaders. Let us set aside diplomacy and political talk, the law must apply, otherwise this crisis will never be resolved. My interest is the safety of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the whole world against terrorism.” Kaled Abou Bakr said, “Egypt is the country that suffered the most from Qatar. We have shed our own blood because of them. Mothers have lost their sons and this has all been supported by Qatari funds… Is this the Arab spirit, an Arab killing another Arab? A Muslim killing another Muslim?” Tarek al Zarouni, author of the book ‘Alone in Al Jazeera’ and former Al Jazeera reporter, who joined the session via teleconference commented, “Al Jazeera is Qatar’s Trojan horse, the main supporter of terrorism, shaming Islam by making Yusuf al-Qaradawi the Mufti of the country. Until now, al-Qaradawi has a weekly presence on the news channel and he has the foreign ministry’s support. He is a symbol of terrorism. We need a strong media apparatus to broadcast true facts, a soft power to fight against Al Jazeera English. One hand of the beast has been cut but the other is still in motion.” Open Talk 4 was attended by more than 100 of Al Habtoor’s social media followers and was watched live online by more than 5,000.