Mrs. Muslim Brotherhood Wears Prada: The Comprehensive Islamist Activity Of Sheikha Moza, Mother Of The Qatari Emir, And Her Support For Islamic Terrorism, Antisemitism, The Muslim Brotherhood And Hamas

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser bin Abdullah Al-Missned, the wife of Qatar's former Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani, and the mother of the current Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Aal Thani, is considered one of the most influential women in the Middle East and even worldwide, and as the driving force behind Qatar’s branding as a global power. Unlike the wives of other Gulf leaders, whose public appearances are rare, and despite being the second of the former Emir's three wives,[1] Sheikha Moza has stood at the forefront for over three decades – first as the wife of the former Emir and later as an active and prominent figure in her own right. Many regard her as the one pulling the strings in the oil-rich emirate.

Sheikha Moza is well-known, respected and active not only in the small Gulf state and in the Middle East but also in the West, in the corridors of the UN and among many leaders in Europe and America. Over the years, she has skillfully leveraged Qatar's immense wealth and employed "soft power" to raise Qatar's profile. This is accomplished through a network of organizations in the fields of academia, education, healthcare and humanitarian aid, with budgets of billions of dollars, which she founded and operates around the world and which collaborate with various UN institutions such as UNICEF and UNRWA. These organizations serve as a conduit for channeling vast Qatari funds to the UN, earning Sheikha Moza and the oil-rich emirate a position of honor in this organization and among Western leaders. Sheikha Moza's institutions also funnel millions to prestigious universities in the U.S. and elsewhere in the West, granting Qatar influence within these institutions.

Additionally, according to Raven Project documents obtained by MEMRI, in 2009 Qatar transferred six million euros through Sheikha Moza's office to Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the wife of then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy.[2]

Sheikha Moza also uses her connections with international fashion houses such as Prada and Valentino, whose brands she wears, to gain favorable media coverage. It is worth noting that the investment company Mayhoola For Investments, which she manages, has acquired several international fashion houses, including Valentino itself.

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser (Image:Jamalouki.net, June 1, 2023)

Sheikha Moza with supermodel Naomi Campbell, Prada owner Miuccia Prada and Vogue Italia chief editor Franca Sozzani (Image: Tumblr.com/sheikhamozafashion, accessed September 9, 2024)

However, in contrast to the Western image Sheikha Moza seeks to cultivate for herself and her country, she and the Qatari ruling family, of which she is a prominent member, espouse Islamist values and are close supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which spreads a discourse of hate and terrorist incitement against Israel and the West.[3] According to well-known Egyptian intellectual Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who passed away in 2023 and was close to Sheikha Moza, she herself said that "the entire nervous system of the Qatari state... is in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood."[4]

Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad kisses MB spiritual leader Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi (Image: Samanews.ps, July 6, 2017)

MB spiritual leader Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi (1926-2022), who settled in Qatar in 1961 after fleeing Egypt due to his affiliation with this organization, was a close associate of Sheikha Moza. Al-Qaradawi was known for his support of terrorism and suicide bombings, for which he was denied entry to many Western countries, including the U.S. and the U.K. The Qatari ruling family and Sheikha Moza also support the Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), founded by Al-Qaradawi, which promotes a rhetoric of hate and violence, as well as the Hamas organization, which calls for and acts toward the destruction of Israel and is designated as a terrorist organization by many Western states.

According to some reports in the Arab media, Sheikha Moza's connections to the MB are the legacy of her father, Nasser bin Abdullah bin Ali Al-Missned, who was one of the founders of the MB in Qatar. According to these reports, it was the MB that ultimately helped her to bring her son, Emir Tamim, to the throne, while pushing aside his elder brothers who were ahead of him in the line of succession. In 1996 Sheikh Mish'al bin Hamad, the eldest son of Emir Hamad with his first wife, who had been named crown prince one year earlier, was deposed from this position in favor of Sheikha Moza's eldest son, Jassim bin Hamad. In 2003 Jassim himself was deposed or forced to resign in favor of his younger brother, Tamim.[5]

Under the sponsorship of Sheikha Moza and with funding from the foundations she manages, multiple educational and academic institutions have been established in Qatar over the past decade, headed by figures affiliated with the MB. Among these figures are Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of MB founder Hassan Al-Banna Center, director of the Center for Research in Islamic Legislation and Ethics (who has been convicted in Switzerland of the rape and sexual assault of several women),[6] and Dr. Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti, who serves as deputy head of the Al-Qaradawi Center for Islamic Moderation and Renewal, established by Sheikha Moza (see below) – both of them prominent shapers of public opinion in Qatar and the Arab and Islamic world.

As part of the ideological partnership between the Qatari ruling family and the Islamists, the former provide sponsorship, support and funding for projects that promote the Islamists' vision, and the latter, in turn, grant legitimacy and endorsement to the Qatari regime in the Arab and Muslim world.

It should be noted that, since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Sheikha Moza has used her position to promote Hamas' narrative, without condemning or distancing herself from the atrocities committed by this terrorist organization against Israeli civilians, including women and children. Sheikha Moza even claimed that Israel uses artificial intelligence to "invent stories and fabricate events." Since October 7, she has consistently praised the "steadfastness" of the people of Gaza and even eulogized slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 massacre.

The Beginning Of Moza's Path: From An Advantageous Political Marriage To The Forefront Of The Stage

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser bin Abdullah Al-Missned was born in 1959 in Al-Khor in northeastern Qatar to a distinguished Qatari family. Her grandfather, Abdullah bin Ali Al-Missned, was a notable of the Al-Mahannadi Tribe, one of the largest in the emirate. Her father Nasser (d. 2007) was a prominent opponent of the ruling family, then headed by Emir Khalifa bin Hamad. He agitated for governmental and civil reforms in the country and was jailed for his activity. According to some accounts he was a founder of the MB in the emirate. In 1964 he emigrated with part of his tribe to Kuwait and Egypt.[7] Thirteen years later the Al-Missned family reconciled with the ruling family, partly through the marriage of the 18-year-old Moza to then-crown prince Hamad bin Khalifa. The two have seven children. Sheikha Moza holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from Qatar University and a master's degree in public policy in Islam from Hamad bin Khalifa University. Both these universities were established by the ruling family, and the latter, founded in 2010, operates under the Qatar Foundation for Education, which Sheikha Moza heads.[8]

Despite being the second of the former Emir's three wives, Sheikha Moza managed to sideline his other two wives and position herself as his right hand, and according to many, as the de facto ruler of the emirate. Unlike the wives of other Gulf leaders, Sheikha Moza accompanied her husband on state visits and meetings with world leaders.

A statement made by her husband, Emir Hamad, to Egyptian sociologist Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who was close to Sheikha Moza for many years, attests to her power and status within the Qatari royal palace. Emir Hamad said: "She [Moza] pushed my father aside and took over all the areas that interest her: women, youth, education, culture, social development and now [the promotion of] democracy. What more can I do so she will forgive what my father did to her father?"[9] (The reference is to the aforementioned jailing and ultimate expulsion of her father from the country for his political dissent).

Sheikha Moza and Sheikh Hamad during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (Image: X.com/QatarNewsAgency, November 21, 2022)

Since her son Tamim ascended to the throne, Sheikha Moza continues to meet with world leaders and their wives who visit the country, unlike the Emir's own wives who seldom appear in public.[10]

Support For Western Academic Institutions Alongside The Spread Of The Extremist MB Ideology In The West

Over the years, and thanks to the vast budgets at her disposal, Sheikha Moza has established organizations and institutions, primarily in the fields of education and services for vulnerable populations, many of which operate worldwide. She places strong emphasis on education, viewing it as a tool to "enhance opportunities and transform societies."[11] This network of organizations plays a significant role in positioning Qatar and its ruling family as a positive and contributing force in the world. However, it apparently also serves to spread the extremist Islamist ideology that is promoted by Qatar across the globe.

In 1995, Sheikha Moza established the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), a philanthropic organization focused on education. The flagship project of the foundation, which Sheikha Moza heads to this day, is Education City, home to the Hamad Bin Khalifa University, which was established in 2010.

Over the past two decades, Qatar has devoted significant resources to penetrating prestigious universities in the U.S., such as Yale, Cornel, and Columbia, whose alumni hold senior positions  in American financial institutions, in the U.S. government and in other centers of decision-making across the country. Tens of millions of dollars have been funneled to these universities through two QF subsidiaries: the U.S.-based Qatar Foundation International (QFI), concerned with the teaching of Arabic worldwide, and the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).

According to reports from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), which has monitored Qatari donations to academic institutions in the U.S. since 2012, Qatar is the largest donor to these universities. For example, between 2001 and 2023, Qatar donated $1.95 billion to Cornell University and over $15 million to Yale. According to ISGAP, several of these institutions failed to report a significant portion of the donations, in violation of U.S. law.[12]

Some of the funds were likely funneled through research funding. For example, in 2018, Sheikha Moza launched a research project at New York's Columbia University on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of Arabic-speaking immigrant adolescents in the U.S., conducted in collaboration with Qatar Foundation International.[13]

In addition, the Qatar Foundation (QF), led by Sheikha Moza, has worked to establish branches of some of the world's most prestigious universities, including Cornell and Georgetown, at Doha's Education City. The universities were apparently chosen with care. As noted in an ISGAP report, one of the universities that set up a branch in Qatar is Texas A&M, a leader in nuclear research. According to the university’s agreement with Qatar, the intellectual property of research and development at the branch belongs to Qatar. The report also noted that Qatar has access to students' personal details and that both parties agreed to collaborate in the development of military technology.[14] Following public and legal pressure in the U.S., the Texas A&M board of directors announced in February 2024, nearly two decades after the opening of the branch in Doha, that the branch will be closed by 2028.[15]

According to a report by the Network Contagion Research Institute and the New York City Public School Alliance, the U.S.-based Qatar Foundation International (QFI), focused on expanding and improving Arabic education from kindergarten to high school,[16] donated over $1        million to the New York City Department of Education between 2019 and 2022. The educational programs funded by the organization included materials that deny Israel's right to exist – a position that aligns with that of Sheikha Moza, as will be shown below.[17]

Sheikha Moza inaugurates a new building of Georgetown University’s Qatar branch at the Doha Education City (Image: Edarabia.com, February 2011)

In 2012, Sheikha Moza established the Education Above All Foundation, which consolidates educational projects initiated by Qatar and works in collaboration with various UN agencies to provide education to underprivileged populations in many regions around the world, including in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. One of the organization’s projects in Gaza is the Al-Fakhoura Project, which helps to rehabilitate schools, supports educational institutions and provides scholarships to students.

As stated, the Qatari organizations led by Sheikha Moza operate in collaboration with various UN institutions, such as UNRWA and UNICEF. For example, according to a UNICEF report from February 2024, in the course of a decade of cooperation with Education Above All, approximately $600 million was invested in 19 educational projects across 18 countries.[18]

In addition, the UN has appointed Sheikha Moza to several roles in the field of education. Among other positions, she served as a Special Envoy for Higher Education on behalf of UNESCO also as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, a role she recently resigned from, citing the organization's failure to protect the children of Gaza.[19]

It should be noted that, in 2018, the Qatari Foreign Ministry and the Qatar Fund for Development announced the allocation of half a billion dollars to various UN agencies, including UNICEF, UNRWA, and the UN Development Program (UNDP).[20]

This access to international organizations and the UN gives Qatar significant influence in this organization and helps it to cultivate a positive image worldwide despite its advocacy and dissemination of an extremist Islamist ideology that encourages violence, as will be shown below.

Sheikha Moza's Ties With The MB

Sheikha Moza and the Qatari regime have for decades provided sponsorship and funding to the MB and to the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), founded by Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, which promote a discourse of hatred and violence and are known for their support of terrorism.

According To Reports, Sheikha Moza's Father Is The Founder Of The MB In Qatar, And She Herself Used The MB To Catapult Her Son To The Throne

According to some reports in the Arab media, Sheikha Moza "inherited" her connections with the MB from her father, Nasser bin Abdullah bin Ali Al-Missned. MB leader Ali Ashmawy wrote in his book The Secret History of the Muslim Brotherhood that "Nasser Al-Missned was a dear friend... and we engaged together in the organization's activities."[21] Similar claims were made by opponents of the group. Abd Al-Hamid Khayrat, a former deputy head of Egypt's National Security Agency, alleged that Al-Missned was a member of the MB.[22] Abd Al-Haq Al-Snaibi, who describes himself as a security and strategic expert, wrote in the UAE daily Al-Bayan, which opposes Qatar, that Al-Missned was a senior MB official. He wrote that "there is clear evidence that Qatar supports the MB, since… Sheikh Nasser Al-Missned, together with MB figure Sa'id Ramadan, planned and established the MB branch in Qatar."[23]

Despite her efforts to project a modern image, Sheikha Moza holds conservative views and has repeatedly expressed opposition to what she refers to as "Westernization." For instance, at a conference on family issues held in Doha in late October 2024, she addressed the impact of technological developments on Arab society, stating, "When we consume digital technology... and succumb to its temptations, it distances us from the real world to a virtual one, which we sometimes choose in an attempt to escape the harsh reality. This is dangerous Westernization that could detach [people of every] generation, [but] especially the younger generation, from their culture, and sometimes from their language, and most concerning of all, from their identity."[24]

It is important to note that the ties between figures in Qatar and the MB are not unique to Sheikha Moza's family. In the 1950s and 1960s, Qatar, like other Gulf states, served as a refuge for leaders of the organization who fled Egypt. Many of them became part of Qatar's education system and helped to shape it.[25] As mentioned, the most prominent of these figures was Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, who arrived in Qatar in 1961.

According to Egyptian sociologist Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the MB controls Qatar and there are relations of mutual benefit between the two sides. In an interview with the Saudi news website Independent Arabia, Dr. Ibrahim, "who was close to the ruling family and Sheikha Moza and served as her advisor,"  explained that Sheikha Moza had told him that "the MB, through Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, managed to penetrate Qatar’s mosques, institutes, media and economic institutions using money exchange companies as a tool. The entire nervous system of the Qatari state, including the Al-Jazeera Network, is controlled by the MB – by Egyptians and Qataris who were recruited over the past 30 years since Qatar's independence." According to Ibrahim, "the main concern of the former Qatari Emir's wife [Sheikha Moza] was to ensure that her son, who was [her] preferred candidate, would ascend to the throne… The MB was aware of this and helped her achieve this goal..."[26]

Sheikha Moza with Saad Eddin Ibrahim (Image: Al-Watan, Egypt, November 8, 2014)

Sheikha Mozah's Contribution To Promoting The MB Ideology

Throughout the years, Sheikha Moza funded numerous projects conceived and initiated by Sheikh Al-Qaradawi, and established a center that promotes his ideology. Furthermore, MB members employed in the educational and academic institutions she manages use these platforms to spread their beliefs. These institutions lend academic legitimacy to Al-Qaradawi and his supporters, helping to market their extreme views both in the Arab and Islamic world and in the West.

It should be emphasized that, despite attempts to present Al-Qaradawi and the members of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), as well as the centers Sheikha Moza has established, as engaged in combatting extremism, both Al-Qaradawi and the IUMS promote a discourse of hate and incitement to violence, as documented in many MEMRI reports over the years. These figures support Hamas, advocate jihad against Israel and call for its destruction, while promoting antisemitic tropes and even expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler. They also support the Taliban and other terrorist organizations, and attack Western values and leaders.[27]

For example, in a lecture aired on the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel in 2009, Al-Qaradawi stated that, "throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them." Al-Qaradawi added: "Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers [i.e., the Muslims]."[28]

Al-Qaradawi forbade interfaith dialogue with Jews, permitted suicide bombings in Israel and encouraged jihad and martyrdom. He blamed American culture and Judaism for violence around the world and incited jihad against the American forces in Iraq.[29]

His successor as head of the IUMS, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Raissouni, who, according to a report on the Egyptian TV channel Al-Ghad, is "very close" to Sheikha Moza,[30] has also expressed extremist views. For example, addressing the March 2019 attack by a far-right extremist on two mosques in New Zealand, Al-Raissouni blamed  the West, claiming that it is waging campaigns against Islam and Muslims and that there is a "new spirit of Crusader war against the Muslims." In a 2015 article he argued that ISIS is the creation of the West, Syria, Iraq and Iran, which are hostile to the Arabs and the Sunni Muslims, and that the fight against ISIS serves the West's interests by enabling it to sell weapons, train armies, and establish its influence in the region. In an article published on the IUMS website, Al-Raissouni wrote that it is necessary to question the Holocaust, claiming that the subject is surrounded by an exaggerated aura of sanctity and that the number of victims has been inflated.[31]

The IUMS under Al-Raissouni's leadership published several statements inciting the killing of Jews. In an April 1, 2019 statement, it called on Muslim clerics to preach armed jihad against Israel and to stress that "worshipping Allah and waging jihad for His sake are the path to liberating the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque." As evidence of this, it pointed to the well-known hadith in which the Prophet Muhammad says that "Resurrection Day will come only when the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, and if a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree, the rock or tree will say: Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'" In a statement issued June 23, 2019, the IUMS called on the leaders of the Arab world and the entire Muslim nation to support the jihad in Palestine, since this is "a religious and human duty."[32]  

Sheikha Moza's Ties With Al-Qaradawi, Who Is Known For Inciting Terror And Violence Against The West And Was Barred From The U.S. And U.K.

According to Al-Qaradawi himself, his relationship with Sheikha Moza was one of mutual respect and admiration. In a conference held in his honor in 2005 in Doha, Al-Qaradawi praised Sheikha Moza for her "courage to take on major projects and her ability to carry them out."[33] In 2007, Sheikha Moza and her husband the Emir visited Al-Qaradawi after he was hospitalized.[34] Al-Qaradawi's children work in Qatari government institutions: his son, Osama Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, serves as Qatar's Ambassador Extraordinary to Romania;[35] his daughter, Dr. Ilham Al-Qaradawi, is a lecturer at the Qatar University Physics Department, and another daughter, Dr. Siham Al-Qaradawi, is a lecturer in the Chemistry Department at Qatar University and was dean of the university's Sharia Faculty.[36]

For years, the Qatari regime provided Sheikh Al-Qaradawi with media platforms to spread his ideology to millions of Muslims. One of the prominent platforms was a weekly program on the Qatari Al Jazeera channel called "Shari'a and Life," in which Al-Qaradawi expounded his views on various issues. Among other things, he expressed support for suicide operations in Israel[37] and justified the beheading of American national Nicholas Berg who had been kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[38]

Sheikha Moza and the Qatari Emir with Yousuf Al-Qaradawi at celebration of Al-Jazeera’s tenth anniversary (Image: Aljazeera.net, November 2, 2006)

Sheikha Moza financed many of the projects initiated and directed by Sheikh Al-Qaradawi to spread his ideology. One of them is the popular website "Islam Online," which he led and used as a platform for promoting extremist ideology and encouraging jihad. According to Al-Qaradawi, Sheikha Moza donated approximately one million riyals and organized fundraising dinners for the establishment of the website. Over the years, MEMRI has published numerous reports on the content of this site, including fatwas and statements against the West, calls for jihad against U.S. forces in the region, Islamist antisemitism, and advocacy of wife beating. The following are some examples:

Incitement Of Jihad Against U.S. Forces In Iraq

In November 2004 the website posted a message on behalf of the IUMS, signed by its head Al-Qaradawi, stating that "resistance against the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq is a personal duty of every Muslim who can carry it out, Iraqi or not."[39]

In April 2006 the site hosted Wasef Mansour, a diplomat with the Palestinian mission in Morocco, who responded to a message by a user of the site expressing hope that Allah would liberate Iraq and Palestine, as well as the North African cities of Ceuta and Melilla, which are ruled by Spain. Mansour said: "We must comply with the precepts of the Messenger of Allah, according to which, when the lands of Islam are occupied and their men are unable to stop the attackers, jihad becomes a personal commandment (fardh 'ain) for every Muslim man and woman. Prayer alone cannot liberate these usurped lands…"[40]

Spreading Islam In The West

In a fatwa posted by Al-Qaradawi on the site he wrote that "Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror and victor… [by means of] preaching and ideology."[41]

Islamist Antisemitism

In reply to a question on the site's chatroom regarding "the traits of the Jews" according to the Quran,  Sheikh Atiyyah Saqr, who had formerly been the head of the Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, said that the Jews have 20 bad traits, including fabricating; listening to lies; disputing and quarreling; hiding the truth and supporting deception; rebelling against the Prophets and rejecting their guidance; hypocrisy; wishing evil on people; feeling pain at others' happiness and feeling happiness at others' afflictions; rudeness and vulgarity; murder of innocents; mercilessness and heartlessness; breaking promises; cowardice; and miserliness." He added that Allah will punish the Jews for these traits, and that if the Muslims are faithful He will grant them victory over the Jews.[42]   

Women's Status

The site also posted fatwas and messages by clerics in favor of wife beating, including a fatwa by Al-Qaradawi that said: "It is forbidden to beat the woman, unless it is necessary, and she 'is in a state of rebellion' against the husband and flouts him. This is temporary discipline [ta'adib] that is permitted to him according to the Qur'an in exceptional circumstances, when other efforts of admonishing [the wife] have failed, including banishing her from the husband’s bed, as Allah said: 'As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them, refuse to share their beds, (and) beat them; but if they return to obedience, seek not vengeance against them: for Allah is Most High, Great.'[Qur'an 4:34] Despite this permission for the hour of necessity, the Prophet said: 'The good men among you do not beat [their wives].'"[43]

Using Educational And Academic Platforms To Spread The MB Ideology

The educational platforms initiated and established by Sheikha Moza serve to promote the worldview of the MB. For example, the Faculty of Islamic Studies at Hamad bin Khalifa University houses MB and IUMS members who promote a discourse of hatred and violence. These figures are responsible for shaping the faculty's philosophy and the content taught there. Sheikh Al-Qaradawi reported that Sheikha Moza asked him "to formulate the [faculty's] philosophy, set out its goals and objectives, and establish a supreme committee to plan and supervise it."[44]

Sheikh Moza inaugurates the Islamic Studies Faculty building at Hamad bin Khalifa University (Image: Mozabintnasser.qa, March 20, 2015)

Over the years, additional academic centers affiliated with this university have been founded, headed  by members of the MB and the IUMS.

Al-Qaradawi Center for Islamic Moderation and Renewal

One of them is the Al-Qaradawi Center for Islamic Moderation and Renewal, inaugurated in 2008, which  Al-Qaradawi described as his major life's work.[45] According to the center director, Muhammad Khalifa Hassan, its goal is to improve the image of Islam in the West, defend women's rights and promote interfaith dialogue, in light of "the extremism and the distortion of Islam's image not only in the West but worldwide, especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S."[46] However, statements and writings by the center heads cast doubt on this claim.

Wasatiyya is an Islamic approach that advocates adopting the "middle way." Proponents of this approach, led by the Cairo-based Al-Azhar institution and by Sheikh Al-Qaradawi, who largely shaped the modern understanding of this concept, claim that this approach is antithetical to extremism as represented by Islamist organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS. However, it should be emphasized that the supporters of this view do not promote moderate or liberal values. Al-Qaradawi himself stated, "wasatiyya does not mean always embracing permissiveness or tolerance. True wasatiyya means being extreme where necessary and permissive where possible. It involves flexibility and compassion toward those who deserve it, and extremism and violence toward those who deserve it."[47]

Like Sheikh Al-Qaradawi himself, the directors of the center are supporters of Hamas and the MB, and its deputy director also has connections with religious figures close to Al-Qaeda.

Center director Dr. Muhammad Khalifa Hassan is an Egyptian researcher who has written books on Zionism and Judaism, including The History of the Jewish Religion and Islamic Attitudes to Judaism: An Islamic View on the Contemporary Sources of the Torah. In an article published December 22, 2004 on the Al-Jazeera website, Hassan rejected the use of the term "Arab antisemitism." The term "anti-Semitism," he said, was "coined by European Jews, who are not of Semitic origin," to describe hatred of Jews alone, although the term "Semitic" also refers to other peoples who lived in the Middle East, i.e., to Arabs."[48]

The center deputy director, Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti, who is also a lecturer at Qatar University and a member of the IUMS,[49] was a student of prominent Yemeni cleric Sheikh Abd Al-Majid Al-Zindani,[50] who was designated by the U.S. as a terrorist for his ties with Osama bin Laden and recruitment for Al-Qaeda. Al-Zindani was reportedly a founding member of the IUMS and the founder of the MB branch in Yemen.[51]

Al-Shinqiti is known for his support of Hamas and the MB and for condoning terrorism against Israel. On the 57th anniversary of the execution Sayyid Qutb, a prominent ideologue of extremist Islam and the MB, Al-Shinqiti took to X to praise the role of the martyrs in the lives of nations, calling them "rare treasures, essential for correcting the unsightly tumors in a nation's life and for breaking through the barriers on the path to truth and justice." He added that the willingness of a nation to "generously give forth its martyrs" indicates that it has a great potential for prosperity.[52]

Al-Shinqiti implicitly condoned the activities of Al-Qaeda affiliates in West Africa against the French forces there. In response to French President Emmanuel Macron's support for the decision of the French Education Minister to ban students from wearing traditional Islamic clothing in French public schools, Al-Shinqiti wrote on his X account: "Thank Allah that the Muslims in West Africa are teaching [Macron] a lesson in liberation from the despised French influence every day."[53]

In the same vein, Al-Shinqiti praised terror against Israel[54] and condoned Hamas' decision to execute Israeli hostages kidnapped during the organization's October 7, 2023 attack.[55] He also spoke against homosexuality, calling it an "abomination," "bestiality," and "moral anarchy and nihilism."[56]

In terms of its activity, the Al-Qaradawi Center focuses on holding conferences and lectures and publishing books by religious figures affiliated with the Islamist movement, including Al-Qaradawi himself, as well as Egyptian scholar Dr. Muhammad Salim Al-Awa,[57] who was Secretary-General of the IUMS under Al-Qaradawi's leadership and is known for his support of terrorist attacks against Israel. In his 2006 book Religion and Homeland – Chapters in Muslim Attitudes toward Non-Muslims, Al-Awa, who defines himself as a "moderate Muslim," wrote that the Copts are infidels and must comply with Islamic law.[58] In a 1998  interview with Al-Istiqlal, the weekly of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization, Al-Awa stated that Muslims should acquire weapons of mass destruction to destroy Israel and expressed support for suicide bombings there.[59] In a December 14, 2023 interview with the Qatari Al-Jazeera, he rejected the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, stating that, if ever achieved, it would just be a temporary solution because the ultimate goal is a Palestinian state "from the River to the Sea."[60]

Center For Research In Islamic Legislation And Ethics

Another institute established by Sheikha Moza is the Center for Research in Islamic Legislation and Ethics, inaugurated in 2012. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Sheikh Al-Qaradawi and by Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of MB founder Hassan Al-Banna, who also served as the center's director.

Sheikha Moza with Al-Qaradawi at the inauguration of the Center for Research in Islamic Legislation and Ethics (Image: Nawa3em.com, accessed September 9, 2024)

Sheikha Moza with Yousuf Al-Qaradawi and Tariq Ramadan at the inauguration of the Center for Research in Islamic Legislation and Ethics (Image: Soutalomma.com, October 6, 2020)

This institute, too, is a platform for IUMS members, such as the center's deputy director, Jasser Auda, a founding member of IUMS who is also on councils for Islamic jurisprudence in Europe and North America,[61] and Dr. Mu'taz Abd Al-Latif Al-Khatib – both of whom advocate for jihad and martyrdom.[62] In an article Jasser Auda published on July 31, 2024 in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Isma'il Haniya in Tehran, he incited jihad against the enemies of Islam and glorified Haniya's "martyrdom," stating: "In jihad for the sake of Allah... there must be martyrs. It is impossible to change this world from a corrupt world to a righteous one – which is the mission of this nation – without paying this price." Auda also called on Muslims not to obey their rulers if they do not judge righteously and according to Allah's laws, saying: "This is Islam. If you want it, take it, and if not, declare yourselves to be infidels and stop being hypocrites."[63] In a March 6, 2024 article he urged the Muslims to wage jihad to assist the Palestinians against Israel, and stresses that the "Sykes-Picot borders" have no legal status in the Islamic laws of jihad.[64] An article posted on the Saudi Al-Arabiya website stated that, in his 2017 book Disrupting the Domineering Systems: Jihad and the Folly of State Sovereignty, Auda came out against the concept of state sovereignty and called to restore the status of jihad in the life of the Islamic nation.[65]

Dr. Mu'taz Abd Al-Latif Al-Khatib likewise expressed support for Hamas and implicitly also for Al-Qaeda. In response to Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, he wrote: "What happened is just a rehearsal that proves that the liberation of Jerusalem is possible."[66] On November 16, 2023, Al-Khatib shared a message by a user named Yousuf Al-Awsi, who posted a letter allegedly written by former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to the American people. The letter, which was published in November 2002, justified the 9/11 attacks citing America's support for Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.[67]

Post by Mu'taz Abd Al-Latif Al-Khatib: Hamas' October 7 attack was "just a rehearsal"

Al-Khatib's post sharing Bin Laden's alleged letter

Support For Hamas And Promotion Of An Islamist Anti-Israel Agenda

In line with her support for the MB and its ideology, Sheikha Moza herself supports the MB’s affiliate in Gaza, namely Hamas. In 2012 she visited the Gaza Strip along with her husband, then-Emir Hamad bin Khalifa. This was the first visit by an Arab leader to the enclave after Hamas took control of it in its 2007 coup against the Palestinian Authority, and it served as de facto recognition of the coup.

Sheikha Moza and her husband Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa with Hamas leader Isma'il Haniya during their 2012 visit to the Gaza Strip (Image: Al-Shurouq, Egypt, October 23, 2012)

The Education Above All Foundation, founded by Sheikha Moza and headed by her to this day, has over the years transferred millions of dollars to educational institutions in the Gaza Strip, most of them managed by UNRWA and Hamas. Many of the funds are transferred through the Al-Fakhoura project, which assists in the maintenance and repair of schools, supports educational institutions and provides scholarships to students. The project operated in cooperation with UNRWA and supported 43 schools run by the organization in the Gaza Strip.[68] In 2015, for example, Qatar, through the Al-Fakhura program signed an agreement with several UN organizations (UNICEF, UNRWA, and UNDP) to operate and rehabilitate educational institutions in the Gaza Strip at a cost of $40 million. The project was set to benefit around 900,000 students in the Gaza Strip.[69] The schools teach the curricula of Hamas and of the Palestinian Authority, [70] which include incitement against Israel and promotion of jihad and martyrdom.[71]  The schools also offer military training.[72]

Since October 7, Sheikha Moza Continues To Express Unreserved Support For Hamas, Hope For Israel's Demise

Sheikha Moza's unreserved support for Hamas continued even after the organization's October 7 attack. She has fully adopted Hamas's narrative, accusing Israel of committing genocide without addressing the reasons for Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip or condemning Hamas's atrocities during the October 7 attack. Since the attack Sheikha Moza has been posting on her social media platforms, particularly Instagram, photos and videos documenting the destruction in the Gaza Strip, focusing especially on the destruction of school buildings. She exclusively blames Israel for this, without addressing Israel's claims that Hamas militants use these buildings for military purposes.

For example, in a speech she delivered at an Education Above All event in Doha on September 9, 2024, on the occasion of the UN's International Day for the Protection of Education Under Attack, which she initiated, Sheikha Moza said that she was "angry at leaders who always talk about human rights and international law, yet remain silent about the genocide in Gaza." She added that "people who have chosen to remain silent or to watch what is happening in Gaza from the sidelines are overtly or covertly encouraging this aggression." [73] 

Sheikha Moza eulogized Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 massacre, after his killing by Israeli forces on October 17, 2024. On her X account she quoted Quran 3:169: "Never think of those martyred in the cause of Allah as dead. In fact, they are alive by their Lord, well provided for," and commented in English: "They [the Israelis] thought him dead, but he lives. Like his namesake, Yahya Bin Zakariya, he will live on and they will be gone."[74]

In an August 2, 2024 post on X, shortly after Iran threatened to retaliate for the elimination of Isma'il Haniya on its soil, an operation it attributed to Israel, Moza expressed hope that Israel would perish, quoting Quran 16:26: "Those before them had already plotted, but Allah came at their building from the foundations, so the roof fell upon them from above them, and the punishment came to them from where they did not perceive."[75]   

This desire to see the destruction of Israel was clearly expressed in an event organized by the Education Above All Foundation, headed by Sheikha Moza. On October 24, 2023, about two weeks after Hamas' attack, the foundation held an event in solidarity with the children of Gaza at

Qatar Foundation's Education City in Al-Rayyan, near Doha. The event, which included solidarity marches, a moment of silence, and sports and arts activities, was attended by students from 25 schools. A picture from the event published in the Qatari daily Al-Raya showed one of the signs displayed there, which read: "From the sea to the river, Palestine will be free."[76]

Sheikha Moza: "Israel Spreads Fabricated Historical Narratives" 

As part of the effort to establish Hamas's narrative regarding the war in Gaza, Sheikha Moza has claimed on several occasions that Israel's accusations against the terrorist organization are "invented," and in one instance she even hinted at Holocaust denial.

In a conference on the Gaza war held in Turkey on November 15, 2023, about a month after the October 7 attack, organized by Turkish First Lady Emine Erdoğan, Sheikha Moza said: "For decades, we have witnessed Israel spreading fabricated historical narratives, which were refuted by many historians, including Israeli ones. These narratives have taken over the world's collective mind, and if someone dares to debate any Israeli narrative, he is cast aside, having been accused of antisemitism, which in itself, is another problematic narrative. By 'Semitism,' they mean Jews, having taken a monopoly on the Semitic race…" She added: "Everything we do for our brothers in Palestine, in Gaza and in the West Bank, is less than they deserve. At this point in history, they represent the honor of our nation, in a time of inferiority and determination. To the children of Palestine, I say: You were born men. With your steadfastness, you have proven how feeble and broken are the people who we once thought to be men."

In addition, Sheikha Moza uses the educational platforms she has established to spread conspiracy theories against Israel. Addressing the 2024 World Innovations Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative launched in 2009 by the Qatar Foundation, Sheikha Moza warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence, and claimed that Israel uses this technology to fabricate events and to block reports and videos about atrocities committed by its forces in Gaza and the West Bank. She said: "We have seen, during the Gaza war, how artificial intelligence is used to make up stories and fabricate incidents, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to block images and video clips that show the atrocities perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against the people of Gaza and the West Bank. This prompts us to ask: Whose stories will be selected by AI for the historical archives? Whose history will be told?"[77]

* N. Mozes is a research fellow at MEMRI.