1. THE MAN BEHIND AL JAZEERA:
The Life of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani
By Sarah Reichle
2. THE MAN BEHIND AL JAZEERA:
The Life of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani
By Sarah Reichle
3. Agenda
Overview of Qatar
Qatar before the Emir
1995 Coup
Life of the Emir
Why Al Jazeera?
Al Jazeera’s effects on Qatar
Relationship with U.S.
4. Overview of Qatar
population just under 850,000
slightly smaller than Connecticut
government: emirate Iraq
Iran
economy: oil and natural gas Egypt Qatar
Saudi Arabia UAE
world’s second highest per-capita income Oman
Yemen
country with the lowest unemployment
successful 2022 World Cup bid
source: CIA World Fact Book
5. Before the Coup...
Oil discovered in 1940
Qatar claimed independence from Britain in 1971
Became a member of the Arab League and UN
Served as a base for French, Canadian and U.S. armies during
the Persian Gulf War (1990-91)
Emir was Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani (1972-1995)
source: Encyclopedia Britannica
6. 1995 Coup
Former Emir Khalifa bin Hamad was on vacation in Switzerland
Current Emir Hamad bin Khalifa took over in a bloodless coup d’état
Hamad bin Khalifa had been running the country in cooperation with
his father 2 years prior to the coup
Former emir lived in exile in France until 2004 when he returned to
Qatar
Since the coup, the Emir has liberalized many aspects of Qatari culture
sources: Lambert, Encyclopedia Britannica
7. Who is the man behind Al Jazeera?
born in Doha in 1952
education: Qatar, UK
3 wives, 24 children
developed athletics programs
personal website
8. Why Al Jazeera?
Disbandment of Ministry of
Information
Creation of Al Jazeera
self-control of editorial
content
Emerge as a global power in
the region
sources: Kraidy, Rathmell
9. Is Qatar really an example of
freedom in the Middle East?
2010 Freedom in the World Report, Press Freedom Report
“feeding stories to the press”
Al Jazeera silent on Qatari issues
“the regime has offered material largesse in return for loyalty and
non-participation”
“no taxation and no representation”
postponing national elections
sources: Freedom House, Lambert, Rathmell, Zayani
10. “Not only has the network left a permanent mark on
broadcasting in the Arab world, but it is also developing the
potential to influence Arab public opinion and Arab politics.”
Mohamed Zayani
11. Effects of AJ on Qatar
banned in some Arab countries
over 500 complaints from Arab governments
propelled into the national spotlight after 9/11
prominence disproportionate to its size
Sources: Kraidy, Zayani
12.
13. Qatar’s relationship with U.S.
Complaints of anti-american bias, “terrorist network”
U.S. bombings of Al Jazeera bureaus
Discrimination against U.S. AJE employees
Military base - a main launching site of U.S. invasion of Iraq
Emir Hamad’s April 2011 meeting with President Obama
sources: Burns, Jackson, Kraidy, UPI
14. Future for Qatar, AJ
Will Al Jazeera ever become financially independent of the Emir?
Relationship with new Middle Eastern, North African
governments
Attempted coup - March 2011
15. References
Amiri Diwan. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.diwan.gov.qa/
english/
the_amir/
default.htm
An attempted coup in Qatar. (2011, March 3). Retrieved from Voice of Russia website: http://english.ruvr.ru/
2011/
03/
03/
46914201.html
Burns, R. (2002, July 2). US beefs up air base in Qatar. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/
2002/
0702/
p07s02-wosc.html
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. (2011). Retrieved from Carnegie Mellon University website: http://www.qatar.cmu.edu/
Editorial: Qatar passes on U.S. democracy. (2011, April 19). United Press International. Retrieved from http://www.upi.com/
Top_News/
World-News/
2011/
04/
19/
Editorial-Qatar-passes-on-US-democracy/
UPI-80331303219157/
Freedom in the world: Qatar. (2010). Retrieved from Freedom House website: http://www.freedomhouse.org/
template.cfm?
page=22&year=2010&country=7902
Gallery: The world’s 100 most powerful women. (2010, October 16). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/
profile/
sheikha-
mozah-bint-nasser-al-missned/
gallery
His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. (2011). Retrieved from Qatar Embassy website: http://www.qatarembassy.net/
emir.asp
Jackson, D. (2011, April 16). Obama: ‘No big move toward democracy in Qatar’. USA Today. Retrieved from http://
content.usatoday.com/
communities/
theoval/
post/
2011/
04/
obama-no-big-move-toward-democracy-in-qatar/
1
Kraidy, M. M., & Khalil, J. F. (2009). Pan-Arab news channels. In Arab Television Industries (pp. 77-98). London: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Lambert, J. (2011, Spring). Political reform in Qatar: Participation, legitimacy and security. Middle East Policy, 18(1), 89-101.
Retrieved from EBSCOhost database.
Press freedom: Qatar. (2010). Retrieved from Freedom House website: http://www.freedomhouse.org/
template.cfm?
page=251&year=2010
Qatar. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/
EBchecked/
topic/
485603/
Qatar
Rathmell, A., & Schulze, K. (2000, October). Political reform in the Gulf: The case of Qatar. Middle Eastern Studies, 36(4), 47-62.
Retrieved from JSTOR database.
School of Foreign Service in Qatar. (2011). Retrieved from Georgetown University website: http://qatar.sfs.georgetown.edu/
Texas A&M University at Qatar. (2011). Retrieved from Texas A&M website: http://www.qatar.tamu.edu/
World Fact Book: Qatar. (2011, April 6). Retrieved from Central Intelligence Agency website: https://www.cia.gov/
library/
publications/
the-world-factbook/
geos/
qa.html
Zayani, M. (2005). Al Jazeera and the vicissitudes of the new Arab mediascape. In The Al Jazeera Phenomenon (pp. 1-46)
[Introduction]. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
Editor's Notes
For my topic, I will focus on the current Emir of Qatar, his life and the reasons he created and funds Al Jazeera. I will also go over how Al Jazeera has affected the country of Qatar.\n
First, I will give a brief overview of the country of Qatar along with a short history of the country before the current Emir. Next, I will talk about the 1995 bloodless coup when the current Emir took power from his father. I will then talk about the Emir’s personal history and background and go over some reasons why he started Al Jazeera. Lastly, I will discuss the network’s affects on the country of Qatar and its relationship with other nations, specifically the United States.\n
Qatar is a miniscule peninsula located on the larger Arabian Peninsula bordering Saudi Arabia and projecting into the Persian Gulf. The population is just under 850,000 and the total area of the country is just slightly smaller than Connecticut. The system of government is an emirate in which the amir is hereditary and will pass to the current emir’s son. The emir is the head of state, Commander and Chief of the Armed Forces, and Minister of Defense. There is also a legislative branch that the people are supposed to elect but no elections have been held since 1970 and legislative members simply have their terms extended every year. The country is governed by Islamic law.\n\nAs for Qatar’s economy, oil and gas account for more than 50% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Qatar is home to some of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, which will sustain the country financially even after oil sources deplete. \n\nThe country’s rich oil and natural gas reserves also give the economy a huge boost and Qatar has the world’s second highest per-capita income after Luxembourg. The 2010 estimate was $145,300. Qatar is also estimated to be the country with the lowest unemployment. It’s booming economy also helped Qatar win the bid for the 2022 World Cup to be held in its capital, Doha. It will be the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup.\n\nSources:\nWorld Fact Book: Qatar. (2011, April 6). Retrieved from Central Intelligence \n     Agency website: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ \n     geos/qa.html\n\n
Oil was discovered in Qatar in 1940. Before this, the country was very underdeveloped and mostly barren because of its many deserts and unusable land. The discovery of oil helped stimulate the economy and create growth, but Qatar was under British rule during this time until its independence in September of 1971. A month later, Qatar joined the Arab League and the UN and established itself as an independent nation-state. Qatar has long had a friendly relationship with the United States and during the Persian Gulf War, Qatar served as a base for U.S. and coalition air attacks on Iraq. During this time, the emir was Khalifa bin Hamad, the current emir’s father.\n\nSource:\nQatar. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from \n     http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/485603/Qatar\n\n
In 1995, Emir Khalifa bin Hamad was on vacation in Switzerland when his son, current Emir Hamad bin Khalifa took over the country in a bloodless coup. Hamad bin Khalifa had been running the day-to-day operation of the country for a few years alongside his father. The coup occurred in 1995 due to disputes about oil revenues. Khalifa disputed the change of power and it was finally settled years later after a long lawsuit about the distribution of billions of dollars in oil revenues. The former emir lived in France for many years until returning to Qatar in 2004. Since the coup, Emir Hamad has liberalized many aspects of Qatar’s social culture. For example, Qatar was the first Persian Gulf country in which women had the right to vote and run for public office. There are no strict rules on how women must dress, although many do wear traditional Muslim dress and hijab. There is also some tolerance of alcohol consumption in hotels and nightclubs. There has also been an interest in expanding education in Qatar and American universities such as Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown have campuses in Qatar.\n\nSources:\nCarnegie Mellon University in Qatar. (2011). Retrieved from Carnegie Mellon \n     University website: http://www.qatar.cmu.edu/\n\nLambert, J. (2011, Spring). Political reform in Qatar: Participation, legitimacy \n     and security. Middle East Policy, 18(1), 89-101. Retrieved from EBSCOhost \n     database.\n\nQatar. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from \n     http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/485603/Qatar\n\nSchool of Foreign Service in Qatar. (2011). Retrieved from Georgetown University \n     website: http://qatar.sfs.georgetown.edu/\n\nTexas A&M University at Qatar. (2011). Retrieved from Texas A&M website: \n     http://www.qatar.tamu.edu/\n\n\n
Emir Hamad was born in Doha in 1952 and is 59 years old. He was educated in Qatari schools until he attended the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. All of the Emir’s sons also attend or have attended the Royal Military Academy. After his graduation in 1971, he moved back to Qatar and was a prominent official in the Qatari military. \n\nThe Emir has 3 wives and 24 children total. His second wife, Mozah bint Nasser, is a prominent, high-profile international figure, unlike most other monarchial Middle Eastern wives. She is involved in Qatar’s education system and was a driving force behind Al Jazeera’s children’s channel. She was also named the 74th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes ("Gallery: The World's," 2010). She’s also VERY beautiful. \n\nAccording to his biography on Qatar’s embassy website, he is a “keen sportsman and accomplished diver” (His Highness Sheikh, 2011). One of his goals is developing athletics programs in Qatar and he has strengthened Olympic training programs, began the Qatar Open Tennis Championship and won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup (His Highness Sheikh, 2011).\n\nI would then show the class the Emir’s personal website.\n\nOverall, from my research, it seems that Emir Hamad is a man who wants to elevate Qatar’s status in the world. This is obvious both because of the creation of Al Jazeera, his interest in international sports, and taking steps that would please world super powers (such as the U.S.) by talking to Israel. \n\n\nSources:\nAmiri Diwan. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/the_amir/ \n     default.htm\n\nGallery: The world's 100 most powerful women. (2010, October 16). Forbes. \n     Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/profile/ \n     sheikha-mozah-bint-nasser-al-missned/gallery\n\nHis Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. (2011). Retrieved from Qatar \n     Embassy website: http://www.qatarembassy.net/emir.asp\n
Before Emir Hamad even took over the country in 1995, he proposed plans to expand television broadcasting and begin satellite broadcasting in Qatar. When he overthrew his father in 1995, a satellite television channel became one of his personal missions and with Qatar’s oil and natural gas wealth, the creation of a pan-Arab channel was economically feasible. The Emir began Al Jazeera with a decree in January 1996 and a start-up grant of $137 million. BBC Arabic had just failed and the network started with 120 former employees of the BBC. Two years later in 1998, the emir disbanded the Ministry of Information, which was known for its corruption and censorship (Kraidy & Khalil, 2009, p. 80). Contrary to the Ministry of Information, the Emir of Qatar has always stated that Al Jazeera is in control of its own editorial content. According to Zayani, the network “questions authority,” “challenges common political discourse,” and “may be loosely described as a culture of accountability” (Zayani, 2005, p. 2).\n\nOne of the emir’s main goals with the creation of Al Jazeera was to establish Qatar as a presence on the region. Qatar is located between huge regional superpowers Iran and Saudi Arabia and Emir Hamad resented Qatar being overshadowed by these countries. The emir’s father was close to the Saudis and almost under their control and Emir Hamad wanted to end this (Kraidy & Khalil, 2009, p. 80). The Emir also wanted to follow in the footsteps of Kuwait. In May 1998 the Emir told the Kuwait News Agency that “with the start of the next millennium, Qatar hopes to have the same level (of democracy) as Kuwait” (Rathmell & Schulze, 2000). Starting a pan-Arab news network that was not under complete government control was the way in which he sought to do this.\n\nsources:\nKraidy, M. M., & Khalil, J. F. (2009). Pan-Arab news channels. In Arab \n     Television Industries (pp. 77-98). London: Palgrave Macmillan.\n\nRathmell, A., & Schulze, K. (2000, October). Political reform in the Gulf: The \n     case of Qatar. Middle Eastern Studies, 36(4), 47-62. Retrieved from JSTOR \n     database.\n
Is Qatar really the poster child for liberalization and freedom in the Middle East? Freedom House, an organization that publishes reports on worldwide freedom and press freedom, seems to think not. In 2010’s Freedom in the World Report, Qatar was ranked ‘not free.’ With 1 being the most free, Qatar was ranked 6 for political rights and 5 for civil liberties. They cite the failure to hold elections and the pressure put on the director of the Doha Center for Media Freedom, an institute that promotes free speech and journalists’ rights, to resign (Freedom in the World:, 2010).\n\nQatar does not get good marks for press freedom either. In the 2010 report of worldwide press freedom, Qatar is again listed as ‘not free.’ The country received a total score of 66 when once again, 1 is the most free. Finland was ranked the most free with a total score of 10 (Press Freedom: Qatar, 2010).\n\nTwo journalists, speaking confidentially, indicated that senior Qatari officials “essentially fed stories” and “encouraged positive coverage of anything to do with women’s participation.” One Qatari official said the press was essentially “under orders” to portray women’s political rights positively. Two public employees indicated that the regime “took measures” to make sure the press knew it was “on order” to only supply positive coverage of women voting (Lambert, 2011, p. 93). Therefore, even the government of Qatar wants to do something positive by encouraging women’s rights, they are interfering on the rights of the press. One can only wonder what other pressures they put on journalists.\n\nZayani also states that Al Jazeera is basically mute when it comes to issues that affect Qatar negatively. Critics of AJ state that the network is “under the thumb” of the Emir, whose policies it never criticizes. For as much as Al Jazeera probes into the issues of other Arab nations, this same level of questioning authority does not happen in Qatar. Zayani questions if the network is really just a public relations tool for Qatar to elevate itself in the region and the world (Zayani, 2005, p. 10).\n\nAnother article from the journal of Middle Eastern Studies states that “the regime has offered material largesse in return for loyalty and non-participation” or in other words, “no taxation and no representation” (Rathmell & Schulze, 2000, p. 48). The article states that Qatar has adopted a policy of liberalization not out of economic necessity or the will of the people, but for other reasons such as foreign policy and relationships with other nations. This article also states that Qatar has had to offer some of these political reforms in return for the people’s economic loss when allowing more privatization in businesses. Qatar has allowed more privatization in the country, which has produced a slight economic loss for the people. To make up for this, they offer reform in theory, but no true changes to the autocratic rule of the country (Rathmell & Schulze, 2000).\n\nNational legislative elections have been also been postponed many times in Qatar. The new constitution was approved in 2004 and elections were scheduled for 2005. They have been postponed many times and are now scheduled for June 2013 (Lambert, 2011).\n\nOverall, according to Lambert, “the top-down implementation of reforms, the lack of a contested female victory, and the apathy of Qatari voters all suggest that this reform process is driven by the regime and not the society. Even Al Jazeera’s intense debates and the government-sponsored Doha Debates have not fostered the sort of democratic discussion that the Qatari elite claims to have expected. In confidential interviews, three academics referred to this phenomenon as evidence that Qatari political consciousness still remains low” (Lambert, 2011, p. 95).\n\nSources:\nFreedom in the world: Qatar. (2010). Retrieved from Freedom House website: \n     http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2010&country=7902\n\nLambert, J. (2011, Spring). Political reform in Qatar: Participation, legitimacy \n     and security. Middle East Policy, 18(1), 89-101. Retrieved from EBSCOhost \n     database.\n\nPress freedom: Qatar. (2010). Retrieved from Freedom House website: \n     http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2010\n\nRathmell, A., & Schulze, K. (2000, October). Political reform in the Gulf: The \n     case of Qatar. Middle Eastern Studies, 36(4), 47-62. Retrieved from JSTOR \n     database.\n\nZayani, M. (2005). Al Jazeera and the vicissitudes of the new Arab mediascape. \n     In The Al Jazeera Phenomenon (pp. 1-46) [Introduction]. Boulder: Paradigm \n     Publishers.\n
I thought this quote really summed up the enormous impact that Al Jazeera has had in the Arab world (Zayani, 2005, p. 1).\n\nSource:\nZayani, M. (2005). Al Jazeera and the vicissitudes of the new Arab mediascape. \n     In The Al Jazeera Phenomenon (pp. 1-46) [Introduction]. Boulder: Paradigm \n     Publishers.\n
Al Jazeera’s reporting has created some enemies within the Arab population. Qatar’s relationships with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been strained because of its broadcasts and Jordan and Egypt have threatened to break diplomatic relations after been criticized by Al Jazeera. Through all this, the Emir has refused to give in to this pressure and continues to fund the network and allow it to report on issues important to the region (Zayani, 2005, p. 3). By 2004, Qatar had received more than 500 complaints from Arab governments about Al Jazeera’s reporting (Kraidy & Khalil, 2009).\n\nThe network was also propelled into the spotlight after September 11, when the United States really took notice of their coverage. Overall, the network has propelled Qatar into the spotlight internationally and has given the country “prominence disproportionate to its size” (Zayani, 2005, p. 13).\n\nSources:\nKraidy, M. M., & Khalil, J. F. (2009). Pan-Arab news channels. In Arab \n     Television Industries (pp. 77-98). London: Palgrave Macmillan.\n\nZayani, M. (2005). Al Jazeera and the vicissitudes of the new Arab mediascape. \n     In The Al Jazeera Phenomenon (pp. 1-46) [Introduction]. Boulder: Paradigm \n     Publishers.\n
“Al Jazeera is a showpiece of the Emir of Qatar and a symbol of his resolve to modernize his country” (Zayani, 2005, p. 12).\n\nThese are pictures of Emir Hamad with various world leaders. He is seen with President and Michelle Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, Vladmir Putin, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and even Gaddafi. Al Jazeera has certainly propelled Qatar (AND THE EMIR!) into the spotlight. One can only wonder if he had this in mind when he created the network.\n\nSources:\nZayani, M. (2005). Al Jazeera and the vicissitudes of the new Arab mediascape. \n     In The Al Jazeera Phenomenon (pp. 1-46) [Introduction]. Boulder: Paradigm \n     Publishers.\n
There is obvious tension between the United States and Al Jazeera since September 11 and the U.S.’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Al Jazeera shows images of bombings and killed civilians that the U.S. media tends to leave out. For these reasons and because Al Jazeera showed Bin Laden’s tapes, it has been labeled a terrorist network by some high-profile American politicians and on mainstream U.S. news. \n\nTwo of Al Jazeera’s bureaus have also been ‘accidental’ targets of U.S. missiles. The first missile hit AJ’s Kabul bureau on November 13, 2001. Fortunately, the building was empty at the time and nobody was hurt. The second missile hit their Baghdad bureau on April 8, 2003 and Baghdad correspondent Tariq Ayoub was killed (Kraidy & Khalil, 2009, p. 82). The United States explicitly says that the bureaus were not intentional targets but in light of the U.S. government’s strong criticism and dislike of the network, their true intentions are questionable. \n\nAl Jazeera English employees at the Washington, D.C. bureau also faced discrimination when trying to find apartments (Kraidy & Khalil, 2009, p. 82) and according to the D.C. bureau chief, Will Stebbins, the network itself also had some trouble securing a location in the capital.\n\nBecause of all this hostility, you would think that the United States and Qatar are enemies. However, Qatar is actually home to Al Udeid, the largest U.S. military base in the region. In fact, Qatar is one of the United States’ strongest allies in the region. The Qatari government gave the U.S. permission to move attack planes to the base after September 11. The U.S. has since moved much of its military personnel and equipment from Saudi Arabia, who did not favor invasion of Iraq, to Qatar (Burns, 2002).\n\nRecently, Emir Hamad met with President Obama. During their meeting, Obama praised Qatar for its help in Libya and for promoting peace and democracy in the Middle East. A few hours later, Obama had a different story to tell at a meeting with political donors in Chicago. Obama thought he was making an off-the-record comment when he said that Al Jazeera was promoting democracy in the region but "[the Emir] himself is not reforming significantly. There's no big move towards democracy in Qatar. But you know part of the reason is that the per capita income of Qatar is $145,000 a year. That will dampen a lot of conflict (Jackson, 2011).\n\nObama’s comments sparked a harsh editorial from Qatari media (whether or not this was more ‘feeding stories to the press’ is unclear). “We do not want U.S. to export democracy to us because we do not want to repeat the Iraq experience," the editorial in the Doha daily The Peninsula said. It went on to say "[Maybe] in Qatar, our pace is slow, but we have no doubt we are in the right direction” ("Editorial: Qatar Passes," 2011).\n\nSources:\nBurns, R. (2002, July 2). US beefs up air base in Qatar. Christian Science \n     Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0702/ \n     p07s02-wosc.html\n\nEditorial: Qatar passes on U.S. democracy. (2011, April 19). United Press \n     International. Retrieved from http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/ \n     2011/04/19/Editorial-Qatar-passes-on-US-democracy/UPI-80331303219157/\n\nJackson, D. (2011, April 16). Obama: 'No big move toward democracy in Qatar'. \n     USA Today. Retrieved from http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ \n     theoval/post/2011/04/obama-no-big-move-toward-democracy-in-qatar/1\n\nKraidy, M. M., & Khalil, J. F. (2009). Pan-Arab news channels. In Arab \n     Television Industries (pp. 77-98). London: Palgrave Macmillan.\n
Al Jazeera has been expanding at a rapid rate for the past couple years. There are now Al Jazeera sport, documentary and children’s channels. However, the question remains if the network will ever grow to become financially independent from the Emir. At a time when many U.S. news networks are closing down foreign bureaus and cutting budgets, it does not seem like this will happen anytime soon. There is also the question of whether or not the Emir would be pleased if the network became totally independent and he no longer had any control since the project was basically ‘his baby.’ \n\nPersonally, I think its not completely certain whether or not the Emir had the right intentions when creating the network. He may truly want freedom and democracy to spread, although that is not currently happening in his own country. On the other hand he may just have a brilliant mind for public relations and created the network to further Qatar’s international standing. I guess we may never truly know whether Al Jazeera is his ‘trophy TV channel’ just like his beautiful trophy wife.\n\nThe revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Libya and other Middle Eastern and North African countries can also have major impacts in Qatar and consequentially on Al Jazeera. According to recent reports, there was an attempted military coup in Qatar just this past month but the Emir managed to prevent it. \n\nThe future of Al Jazeera is unclear, but what is completely clear is that the network has, in a very short amount of time, established itself as a credible global news source.\n\nSources:\nAn attempted coup in Qatar. (2011, March 3). Retrieved from Voice of Russia \n     website: http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/03/46914201.html\n
