Meanwhile, many have begun to wonder why relations have soured between Qatar and an increasing number of Sunni Arab nations. Some believe that Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim, as well as the friendly stance he takes with Shiite-led Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, together with accusations that Qatar has been seeking to interfere with affairs of other countries through its state-funded media, Aljazeera, are the reasons. Al Jazeera, a satellite news network funded by Qatar's royal family was launched in 1996. It was in the days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks that the world first encountered Al Jazeera when the channel broadcast its first Osama bin Laden's admission tape. The clip was the first of the numerous statements AJA would broadcast of the All-Qaeda or terrorist group leaders over the past years. This time, Saudi Arabia and seven other countries decided to cut diplomatic relations with Qatar over its alleged support of terrorism. Another reason believed to be why these countries decided to sever ties with Qatar, is because the Qatar News Agency previously published a story quoting the Emir of Qatar saying "There is no wisdom in harboring hostility towards Iran." Even though the network has since called the report a shameful cybercrime, the rift between Qatar and nearby nations reached a diplomatic low after Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim made a call to the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. ==LIU PI-JUNG Prof., Dept of Political Science, Soochow University== Trump supports the Sunnis, which means he is siding with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia then takes the chance to pressure the Shia supporters. Doesn't matter if it's about the Shia or the Sunni or whether Qatar used to support the AJA. I think Saudi Arabia is trying to take this opportunity to make things right. Qatar's population is about 2.3 million but only about 313,000 of them are Qatari citizens. In 2015, its GDP per capital went up to US$74,686.6 while its gross national income is at US$83,990. After adjusted by purchasing power parity, the GNI goes up to US$138,480, which is ranked number one in the world. Scholars believe that over the past few years, Qatar tried to utilize its significant financial resources to meddle with politics in the Middle East. In 2013, Qatar signed the Riyadh Agreement, which calls for all member states to abide by the principles that there should be no direct or indirect meddling in regional affairs or backing of any party that threatens regional security and stability. Since Qatar did not honor the terms of the agreement, countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain decided to recall their ambassadors from Qatar in March 2014. Eight months later, the three countries decided to return their ambassadors to Qatar when Qatar again promised to uphold the Riyadh agreement. ==LIU CHANG-CHENG Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic, NCCU== Qatar used its financial resources and expanded its political influence through the media in the Middle East. It shows that a small country can also play like the big ones. However, I think they have gone too far this time. Liu Chang Cheng believes, the dispute is unlikely to be quickly resolved, and it might ultimately need countries such as Oman, Turkey and Kuwait to mediate the rift. TRANSLATED BY STELLA TU 卡達斷交風波，有學者認為日前卡達國營通訊社報導，卡達國王塔米姆批評「反伊朗情結」事件，是重要導火線，後來塔米姆和什葉派的伊朗總統羅哈尼通電話，更讓遜尼派國家不滿。還有卡達王室投資的半島電視台，長久以來對其他國家內政的報導，也引發阿拉伯世界國家忿怒，種種因素都造成這次斷 交事件。 1996年由卡達王室出資成立的半島電視台，可以說是阿拉伯世界的重要媒體之一，尤其從911恐怖攻擊之後，半島電視台多次獨家播出多個恐怖組織的談話或資訊，不但提高半島電視台的知名度，也讓卡達的國際能見度大增。這次沙烏地阿拉伯等多個國家，以卡達支持恐怖主義組織為由決定斷交，重要導火線更直指日前卡達國營通訊社報導卡達國王塔米姆批評「反伊朗情結」事件，雖然卡達說是駭客所為，但後來塔米姆和什葉派的伊朗總統羅哈尼通電話，更是讓遜尼派的沙烏地阿拉伯等國強烈不滿。 ==東吳大學政治系教授 劉必榮== 川普他是支持遜尼派 就是沙烏地阿拉伯這邊 沙烏地阿拉伯這邊 當然就趁著這個勢頭 他就對所謂支持什葉派的 這些勢力要加以打壓 所以不管是因為這個 什葉派 遜尼派的問題 或者是卡達過去支持半島電視台 比較自由派的問題 這些問題都是 我想沙烏地阿拉伯想趁這個機會 把這些事情好好的做一個了斷 不過這只是導火線，生產石油和天然氣資源的卡達經濟富裕，卡達公民僅有31萬3000人，但來到卡達工作的外國人高達230萬人，2015年每人GDP高達74686.6美元，國民所得高達83,990美元，經過購買力平價模式調整後更是高達138,480美元，全球第一，有學者分析卡達多年來想透過財力、與半島電視台的媒體影響力影響中東政治，就引發其他阿拉伯世界國家不滿，於是卡達在2013年11月簽下利雅德協議，同意節制媒體報導內容，但依然沒改善，2014年3月沙烏地阿拉伯、巴林、阿拉伯聯合大公國召回大使8個月，後來卡達再度簽下利雅德二號協議，同意不干涉他國內政才平息。這次事件科威特5月24日就開始介入調停，不過沙烏地阿拉伯鐵了心，還是決定斷交。 ==政大阿語系助理教授 劉長政== 所以卡達藉由他的財力 藉由他的媒體影響力 他其實在這所謂的 中東政治外交上面 他所展現的是小國有大國的能耐 可是這一次我們必須要說是 玩火玩過頭了 劉長政認為未來這個事件，未來還是會有一段時間的紛擾，最後可能還是要像是阿曼、科威特、土耳其等等兩邊都能接受的國家調停才有辦法平息。 記者 張志雄 陳保羅 台北報導