Hend Al-Muftah, Qatar’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, was recently rejected as chair of a UN human rights forum after a detailed report by the UN Watch organization exposed racist, antisemitic, and homophobic views she had expressed on Twitter, as well as false information and conspiratorial views about Western societies and liberalism.
According to reports in the Qatari media, these views were the reason she was denied the position.[1] The affair sparked rage against the West in Qatar, as well as a wave of support and admiration for Al-Muftah and her views.
Al-Muftah's Twitter account was shut down, perhaps by Twitter and perhaps by herself, but on September 30, 2022 she opened a new account, on which she wrote that a systematic smear campaign was being waged against Qatar, and that, as part of this campaign, old tweets of hers had been taken out of context and publicized in order to harm this country. She added that these tweets expressed only her personal opinion.
In response to this affair, a Twitter campaign in support of Al-Muftah was launched using the hashtag "Hend Al-Muftah Is Suitable [for the Position]." According to the Qatari daily Al-Watan, within days this became the top-trending hashtag in the country, with over 300,000 tweets.[2]
On September 29 Al-Watan also published an article by journalist Hamad Hassan Al-Tamimi, which praised Al-Muftah and her positions, and claimed that the West upheld freedom of expression only as long as this "served its own narrow interests." The West, he added, "supports every position that contravenes [the values of Islam]… yet silences all those who do not voice the ideas and values dictated to them."
This report presents Hend Al-Muftah's response to the affair, and the campaign in support of her on Twitter and in the Qatari media.
Al-Muftah: There Is A Systematic Smear Campaign Against Qatar, As Part Of Which Old Tweets Of Mine Were Taken Out Of Context
The UN Watch report, published on September 12, 2022, reviewed the posts on Al-Muftah's Twitter account, and exposed many antisemitic and homophobic tweets. In one, for example, she called Jews "our enemies" and stated that they invested in industry and the media in an attempt to "take over the world." In another she stated that homosexuality was "against human nature" and a sign of "moral degeneracy," and called for "Allah's curse" upon the gay community. She also directed vitriol against Israel, accusing it, for example, of establishing Al-Qaeda and of perpetrating massacres against the Palestinians. [3]
In the first tweet on the new account she opened on September 30, 2022, Al-Muftah wrote in Arabic and English: "I am pleased to launch my official account as a Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations' Organizations in Geneva. Recently, some parties exploited old tweets of mine, some of which date back to more than a decade, and used them in contexts other than the ones they're written in, in what appeared to be a systematic smear campaign against my country.
"I note here that these tweets were published when I was an academic and then a member of the Shura Council (Qatari legislative body) and they expressed my personal opinions according to the freedom of expression guaranteed to all citizens by the Qatari Constitution and global charters. Today, I perform my duties as a Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN organizations in Geneva, stressing the State of Qatar's firm position on the justice of the Palestinian cause, and the support of the brotherly Palestinian people to obtain all their legitimate rights, including the establishment of their independent State according to the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
"The State of Qatar's commitment to protecting and safeguarding human rights globally, supporting tolerance and understanding among followers of all faiths and religions, creating spaces for dialogue among different cultures while preserving Arab and Islamic principles is ironclad, as demonstrated by its track record of accomplishments in these areas for decades." [4]
Hend Al-Muftah's September 30, 2022 tweet
Qatari Newspapers: Al-Muftah Is A Role Model And Source Of Pride For Us
As stated, a campaign in support of Al-Muftah was launched on Twitter with the hashtag "Hend Al-Muftah Is Suitable [for the Position]," as part of which users, including politicians and many journalists, praised Al-Muftah and her views. Qatari former MP Nasser Hassan Dandoun Al-Kubaisi tweeted: "If Qatar's UN Ambassador in Geneva, sister Hend Al-Muftah, lost her bid to become chair of a UN human rights forum due to her tweets against moral degeneration and against the crimes of the [Israeli] occupation, as was published in one of the occupation's newspapers [The Times of Israel], that is a badge of honor for us. Free people do not negotiate about their moral standards and their religion."[5]
Qatari journalist Jaber Al-Harmi wrote: "We are proud of our honorable sister Hend Al-Muftah, who is an exemplary Arab and Muslim woman, as are her fellow Qatari women, who are on the forefront in many areas. She has a rich record of defending the affairs of her nation and moral issues, which is a source of pride for any free and honorable person."[6] Qatari journalist Ebtesam Al-Sa'd tweeted: "[Al-Muftah] lost a temporary post in this world, but earned her religion, this world and the next, her principles and her faith. May Allah compensate her with the best rewards and gifts."[7]
Qatari journalist and sports commentator Khaled Muhammad Al-Qahtani shared a report from The Times of Israel stating that Al-Muftah had been rejected for the UN post due to her views against Jews, Israel and homosexuals, and wrote: "When this is the reason for losing [a post], it is not a loss, but a victory, an achievement, and [a source of] honor and pride."[8]
Journalist Amal 'Abd Al-Malik, a columnist for the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, tweeted: "Only inferior people are offended by the truth. Those who live by their Islamic and moral principles will continue to be strengthened, appreciated and honored by the collective. Dr. Hend Al-Muftah is the best example of this in an age when all principles are collapsing and morality and humanity are rare. May God protect you from all harm and elevate your words."[9]
Post on Twitter page of Qatari Al-Watan daily: "Dr. Hend Al-Muftah lost a post but won over the hearts of millions" (Twitter.com/al_watanQatar, September 28, 2022)
Qatari Journalist: The Voice Of Truth Is Heard From Qatar; The West Silenced A Free Voice That Opposes Its False Values
Qatari journalist Hamad Hassan Al-Tamimi, a columnist for the Al-Watan daily, wrote on September 29 under the headline "The Voice of Truth in the Age of Lies": "Today, when truth is mixed up with lies, hypocrisy is rampant, shame is gone and injustice prevails, telling the truth has become a rarity, for many people are afraid to tell the truth, lest they pay dearly for it...
"We are honored that [Al-Muftah's] voice emanates from our good land, and reverberates throughout the world. It is the voice of a woman who has consistently followed our righteous ancestors, armed with moral principles and values, with science and with enlightened thinking. The honorable Dr. Hend bint 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Muftah, Qatar's permanent ambassador to the UN's European headquarters in Geneva, paid a price for her statements, her free voice and her commitment to her deeply-held principles. She lost [the bid] to head the UN's human rights forum after it became known that she had posted a series of tweets condemning the actions of the occupation against the Palestinian people and criticizing the phenomenon of homosexuality, which contravenes normal human nature.
"This decision was welcomed by the Qatari people, who stood up as one to support their homeland. They regarded the UN's reaction to [Al-Muftah's] position as a badge of honor and a proud achievement. As far as we [Qataris] are concerned, there can be no bargaining over our main cause, and no argument over what our religion demands… Whoever is silent [and refuses to acknowledge] the truth is a silent devil. True, Al-Muftah lost a position we hoped would augment her record and Qatar's, but before anything else she [honored] herself and her principles and won our respect, our trust and our hearts. What good is holding positions if they do not serve our values and our messages? What good is a position if it is not a platform for expressing our essence and out values[?]
"This discriminatory decision proved to us once again that the democracy and freedom boasted by the West are nothing but vague terms used to serve its narrow interests and impose its unhelpful approaches. They [the Westerners] support every position that contravenes [the values of Islam], but silence any free voice that opposes their false principles, which contravene the values of every religion and the norms of every society. [The West] silences all those who do not voice the ideas and values dictated to them, thinking that it can thus silence the voice of truth.
"Dr. Hend represented us and gave voice to the honorable Qataris and Arabs, and indeed managed to convey our message clearly: We shall not abandon our cause or compromise our principles and our humanity. We are proud of you, [Hend Al-Muftah]… You are as unbending as a sword and do not stray from your principles… We hope that the world learns a lesson…"[10]
[1] See e.g., al-sharq.com, September 26, 2022.
[2] Twitter.com/al_watanQatar, September 28, 2022.
[3] See Report: Qatar U.N. Ambassador Hend Al-Muftah is Rabid Antisemite, Homophobe, Anti-Western Conspiracist, UNwatch.org, September 12, 2022. MEMRI has also exposed some of Al-Muftah's homophobic statements. See Special Dispatch No. 8590 - Homophobia In Qatar: Cancellation Of Event With Rock Band Whose Lead Singer Is Gay; Article Against Children’s Book 'Promoting Homosexuality' – February 26, 2020.
[4] Twitter.com/QatarPR_Geneva, September 30, 2022.
[5] Twitter.com/_NasserHassan, September 25, 2022.
[6] Twitter.com/jaberalharmi, September 30, 2022.
[7] Twitter.com/Ebtesam777, September 26, 2022.
[8] Twitter.com/drkhaled_83, 2022.
[9] Twitter.com/AmalAbdulmalik, September 25, 2022.
[10] Al-Watan (Qatar), September 29, 2022.
