The Doha Farce: When Men of Low Birth Gather to “Condemn”

So, Israel bombs Doha — the capital of a sovereign Muslim state, the very city that bankrolls half the Arab League’s hotel bills — and what happens? The mighty “leaders of the Ummah” descend on Qatar in their private jets, looking like extras in a badly scripted Netflix drama.

They gathered, they talked, they condemned. They even drafted resolutions.

Al Jazeera breathlessly announced: “Leaders gather for Arab-Islamic summit in Qatar after Israeli attack.” Reuters, with typical understatement, observed: “Summit short on concrete action.” Ordinary Muslims everywhere summed it up better: “A photo-op for the cowards.”

And of course, the pièce de résistance: demanding that the United States “rein in” Israel. Yes, the same United States that was gifted Air Force One by Qatar, that has been handed trillions by Gulf royals in weapons purchases, hotels, and golf courses. The same United States whose president, Donald Trump, essentially handed Benjamin Netanyahu the keys to Gaza and said: Drive it into the ground, my friend.

If these rulers were men of noble birth they would have done something. They are not men and definitely of low birth, the whole lot of them.

The Leaders’ Greatest Hits

• Qatar’s Emir: “This is an attack on our sovereignty.”
  Translation: This was not in the contract I signed when I agreed to host your CENTCOM base.
• Saudi Arabia: “We call for restraint.” (Arab News)
  Translation: Please don’t bomb Riyadh, we’re still trying to sell shares in Aramco.
• Turkey’s Erdoğan: “We will not be silent.” (Anadolu Agency)
  Translation: We will, however, continue NATO drills next week.
• Egypt’s Sisi: “This is unacceptable.”
  Translation: Now, back to blocking Rafah so Palestinians can suffocate in peace.
• Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif: “Suspend Israel’s UN membership!” (Dawn)
  Translation: I know it won’t happen, but at least I sound bold before boarding the next IMF flight.
• The GCC statement: “We vow joint defence.” (Al Jazeera)
  Translation: But only against Al Jazeera journalists asking tough questions.

The Theatre of Cowardice

The Guardian reported that Gulf leaders even appealed to Trump directly, as though the man who gifted Netanyahu the biggest blank cheque in U.S. history would suddenly find religion and rein him in.

In Doha’s conference halls, with their gilded chairs and too much perfume, these rulers wagged their fingers at Washington. Washington, the very city where they park their children, their money, and their mistresses.

The irony is obscene: nearly fifty Arab and Islamic officials in one room, commanding oil, wealth, armies, and global markets. And what do they do? They beg the United States to intervene.

They tell America: “Control Israel.” America replies: “Jump.” And they, the oil-rich titans of the Gulf, all ask in chorus: “How high, Mr. President?”

The Sultan and the Sellouts

Here history itself spits in their faces. Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who ruled over a collapsing Ottoman state crippled by debt, was offered mountains of gold if he would hand over Palestine. His answer was simple: “Palestine is not mine to give. It belongs to the Ummah.” He refused to sell even a stone of Jerusalem.

Yet these modern rulers — sitting on oil, gas, and gold — have not only sold Palestine, they continue to sell their dignity, their faith, and, if the price is right, even their own mothers. Compared to Abdul Hamid, their cowardice is not only shameful — it is criminal.

The Verdict

This summit was not about resistance, not about Palestine, not even about Qatar. It was about optics: rulers of low birth dressing themselves in borrowed nobility. If the bombing of Doha teaches us anything, it is this: the Muslim world is not lacking in resources, power, or even unity. It is lacking in men.