Most Emiratis in favour of lifting Qatar blockade

Most UAE citizens think their government should end its blockade of Qatar, according to a new poll. The survey by the Washington Institute found a narrow majority, 52% to 46%, think a softer line should be taken with the Gulf neighbour.

It is more than four months since the UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in a diplomatic trade blockade of Qatar over its close links to Iran and support for extremist groups, which Doha denies.Since then the quartet has refused to call off the boycott or negotiate with Qatar until it complies with a string of demands which include closing down the Al Jazeera TV station.However, the new survey found that a clear majority of Emiratis (72%) want a "compromise, in which all the parties make some concessions to each other to reach a middle ground."According to David Pollock, Kaufman Fellow at the Washington Institute, the Emirati split is based on divided support in the country for the Muslim Brotherhood organisation.The Brotherhood was once tolerated by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt but the group is now outlawed and denounced as a terrorist organisation. It is the quartet’s claim of Qatari support for the Brotherhood which is at the heart of the dispute.According to the poll, the UAE public is divided on the key question: Should each Arab country "have every right to decide for itself what political and religious groups to host or support, no matter what others think?"While a small majority of Emiratis disagreed with this assertion, a significant proportion (44%) agreed, effectively siding with Qatar in the row.One third of Sunni Emiratis, who comprise 90% of all citizens, say they have at least a "somewhat positive" opinion of Muslim Brotherhood.Pollock said: "It suggests a significant minority still harbours some quiet misgivings about their own government's uncompromising position on this point. As a result, either policy or public diplomacy adjustments would be useful to secure greater consensus on this still very controversial question."But while UAE citizens were softer in their attitudes towards Qatar and Muslim Brotherhood, the poll found they were more in tune with their government’s hardline approach towards Iran.An overwhelming 86% agree with the quartet – and President Trump’s - negative view of Iranian policies in the region, with just 11% supportive of Tehran.Even among the country’s Shia Muslims, about 11% of the total population, there was disagreement with what Iran was doing, albeit by a smaller majority (59% to 39%).According to Washington Institute, more than 1,000 Emiratis were questioned in face-to-face interviews during August.