Abdul Rahman al-Nuaimi…Qatar’s arm of terrorism financing in Somalia

Abdul Rahman Al-Nuaimi was born on 1954, taught Islamic Studies at Qatar University. He also served as President of the Qatar Football Association. He also was a member of Eid bin Mohammed Al Thani Charitable Association and a past board member of Qatar Islamic Bank.

Al-Nuaimi was a history professor at Qatar University. He was known as a Muslim brotherhood member, promoting their ideals within the Qatari society.

“The tax of humiliation is heavier than the dignity once, and the costs of freedom are less than the costs of slavery, and those who prepare for death, the life is given to them” Al-Nuaimi said in a statement after the June 30, 2013 revolution in Egypt.

Al-Nuaimi was a staunch critic of the domestic policies of the former Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa. In 1995, He was detained and prisoned for 3 years.

His views and ideas completely changed after he left prison. He turned from a fierce and staunch opposition to an absolute supporter of Hamad regime in all its foreign policies.

Al-Nuaimi was appointed as an advisor to the Qatari government. He was assigned to be responsible for several tasks related to collecting donations outside Qatar under the guise of the “Islamic Call”. He played a role in transferring these donations to extremist terrorist groups in various places. Al-Nuaimi’s activity coincided with the growing role of Al- Qaeda in the Horn of Africa, especially with the bombing of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Al-Nuaimi is considered one of the top financiers known for their support of terrorism, which, according to the US Treasury Department report, has a close relationship with the leader of the Somali youth movement Hassan Aweys. He paid 250 thousand dollar to two leaders in the movement, according to the US report, 2012.

On December 18, 2013, al-Nuaimi was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the United States Department of the Treasury, which described him as “a Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and material support and conveyed communications to al-Qa'ida and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade.

The Treasury Department reported that, al-Nuaimi funneled over $2 million per month to Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He is also provided $600,000 to Al-Qaeda representatives in Syria. The reports unveiled his relation with Al-Shabaab leaders in Somalia, such as Mukhtar Robo Ali and Hassan Taher Aweys. Reports indicate that the US Congress maintains a serious file about some figures close to the Qatari government who funding Libyan extremists who led an operation killed the US ambassador in Libya at the US consulate in Benghazi.

The designation by the United States was followed by similar designations by the United Kingdom, after reports assured his involvement in financing extremist groups. This movement resulted a travel ban and a freeze of al-Nuaimi’s assets.

Washington also blacklisted him in 2014 on charges of “financing extremist and Tachfiri groups, including al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria, al Shabaab in Somalia, and other groups in the Middle East”.

He was also listed by the four countries combating terrorism in the Middle East (Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain), as well as 59 other names on the terrorism list.

Al-Nuaimi is one of the most important symbols in the history of Qatari support for terrorist entities under various names of fictional entities in the Horn of Africa. His drastic support for extremist organizations was not coincidental, as it was the result of a fundamentalist and extremist ideology, supported by the Qatari policies for backing terrorism in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.