Doha – The “Arab Spring” will now have a young Emir as its leader. In recent months, 33-year-old Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, crown prince and son of the Emir of Qatar, gained increasing influence in the country’s affairs, having been entrusted with major decisions while his father was abroad.

Tamim initiated contacts with Taliban leaders and proposed the idea of establishing a Qatar office. 

It’s not yet clear what changes Sheikh Tamim will bring along with him, but most Western leaders and Gulf monarchs know that the young prince is quite fond of the Muslim Brotherhood, something that many of them see as a real threat.

Tamim is not expected to bring the kind of change that would transform Qatar into a democracy or usher in a new kind of foreign policy. For one thing, Qatari policy in the region and the world follows the path delineated for it by the U.S. administration.

The new Emir, an auto and sports enthusiast, shares many of his father’s attitudes on domestic development policies, and being at the forefront of the so-called revolutions of change in the region. Just like his father, Tamim meets regularly with senior US foreign policy and military officials for advice.

The personality, hobbies and traits of the new Emir epitomize all the contradictions of Qatari policy; he is a modern young man who is sometimes seen donning a track suit, jogging along the oceanside corniche in Doha, or driving his small sports car.

At the same time, Tamim has taken two wives, and is a close friend to famed cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, whom he visits frequently for consultations. Tamim is also advised by Azmi Bishara, the “liberal democratic” thinker, who feeds him the latest revolutionary ideas and buzzwords.

Tamim played a large role in pushing Qatar into Arab and international politics so as to better compete with Saudi Arabia, its big brother in the Gulf. Of particular note is his role in supporting Lebanon in the July 2006 War and Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.

He also played a role in the mediation with the Taliban, which has since opened a representative office in Qatar. Tamim initiated contacts with Taliban leaders and proposed the idea of establishing a Qatar office. Many find it odd how this young man was able to win the confidence of the Taliban and convince it to come to Qatar.

Tamim likes to pontificate to all his visitors about the need to support change and the aspirations of young people in the countries that have been hit by popular uprisings. From time to time, he invites young activists from Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya to discuss their aspirations and efforts. However, Tamim may be best described as emir of the “Sunni-Muslim Brotherhood Spring.” To be sure, most of those he invites are Islamists.

The new Emir maintains an intimate relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood and its various regional chapters. Tamim is known for his close friendship with Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Tunisian al-Nahda Party, and has even established a fund to support the party.

Tamim also recently provided Egypt with five free shipments of natural gas worth $300 million to help with the problem of summer power outages, and in the process, give a boost to the Brotherhood regime, led by President Mohamed Mursi.

In addition to his unlimited support for Hamas in Gaza, Tamim had a major role in turning the Palestinian resistance movement against the Syrian regime, and convincing the head of its political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, to relocate from Damascus to Doha. Now, Tamim and Meshaal are gym buddies, and while the young Emir plays ping pong or jogs on the treadmill, Meshaal talks to him about Palestine, or shares some jokes.

Over the past two years, Tamim made significant decisions that helped him earn the support and admiration of the Qatari people and the attention of the international community, such as passing the largest budget in the history of Qatar and approving a 60 percent salary hike for Qataris. Some military officers and soldiers received raises of 100 to 200 percent.

At the time, these measures were seen as an attempt by the Qatari regime to buy itself more popularity and support from its people, in parallel with its decision to back and fund the uprisings to topple certain Arab regimes.

In the Gulf region, Tamim sought to mend faltering relations with Saudi Arabia. As the president of the Qatari-Saudi Higher Council, he was able to chart a new roadmap for this relationship, guaranteeing a minimum level of permanent contact and coordination between the two countries, after years of competition, tension and public spats.

Tamim is also in quasi-permanent contact with the Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz. Furthermore, the Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz is often heard praising the new Emir in front of his Arab and foreign visitors. It is rumored that Prince Muqrin backed the handover to Tamim.

Although the outgoing Emir Hamad is still physically and mentally able to lead the country for a longer period of time, Hamad saw that handing over power to his son now would advance the country and the Arab World, thanks to his stances and efforts at home and beyond.

Some Qataris say that the outgoing Emir came to accept the idea of the handover upon the insistence of his wife Sheikha Mozah. According to them, she has argued that the Emir must abdicate in favor of his son while he is still alive, fearing any medical emergency that could place Tamim at odds with many foes at home and abroad.

Sheikh Tamim was born in 1980, and is the outgoing Emir’s fourth son and second son by his second wife Mozah. He was appointed crown prince on 5 August 2003 after his older brother Jassim – also Mozah’s son – resigned.

Tamim is also the commander of the armed forces, chairperson of the Olympic Committee, and vice-chairperson of the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment. He supervises Qatar’s future hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He was educated at the prestigious Sandhurst Academy in the United Kingdom, like his father before him, and is fluent in French.

According to diplomatic sources, the transition may not be that significant because the outgoing Emir may not retire permanently. The sources said that the outgoing Emir may undertake some ceremonial functions to allow his son to take on more responsibilities and lead the country more effectively.

The sources, who are familiar with the climate within the ruling family, said that the “stakes are very high, because Qatar is at the forefront of developments taking place in a very sensitive region.” g   

– Al-Akhbar, TAAN, Reuters