The emir of Qatar denied accusations on Thursday that the Gulf sheikhdom is a sponsor and supporter of Islamist terrorist organizations.
In an interview with CNN, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani rejected suggestions that Doha was bankrolling organizations that the West regards as terrorist groups.
“We have to see the difference between movements,” Al-Thani told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “I know that in America and some other countries they look at some movements as terrorist movements. In our part of the region, we don’t.”
The Qatari leader did say that his government opposed “certain movements in Syria and Iraq,” a reference to the Islamic State. He denied accusations that Qatar was funding IS or that his government was turning a blind eye to private citizens’ activities in support of the group.