Ahmed Charai
Peace will not be handed to us by extremists or slogans. It will be built by courage—the courage to confront terror and to replace despair with dignity.
The recent emergency summit in Doha, bringing together Arab and Muslim leaders, revealed both the promise of regional leadership and the contradictions that threaten it. I have no problem with the gathering itself, nor with speeches condemning Israel’s strike on Doha, which targeted Hamas operatives hiding on Qatari soil. But what left me speechless was the sight of the Iranian president arriving in Doha—the same leader whose regime had violated Qatar’s sovereignty just months ago—now speaking of “national sovereignty” and “solidarity against the aggressor.”
What peace is he talking about? The peace financed by Iran when it arms Hamas, which on October 7 murdered innocents in their homes, kidnapped children, and brutalized women? The peace imposed by Hezbollah, a fascist movement holding Lebanon hostage? The peace of the Houthis, who devastate their own people? Or the peace of the Revolutionary Guard, which jails and executes anyone who resists the mullahs’ rule?
Qatar does not need this kind of partnership. With its global investments, its skyscrapers rising over Doha, and its role in high-tech ventures in the West, Qatar has already demonstrated what forward-looking leadership can be. It has the capacity to serve as a positive influence, one that looks to the future of its own people and to new generations across the region.
That potential is not theoretical. Qatar’s leaders played a vital role in negotiating the release of hostages held by Hamas. They proved they can shape outcomes when they choose to act. My hope is that this influence will now extend beyond the battlefield of hostages—to freeing minds and communities from the grip of extremism, from the dead end of radical ideologies, and onto the path of modernity, development, and prosperity.
Qatar’s leaders are capable of this, and history would remember them for choosing the path of reason and light.
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