Emir of Qatar faces his toughest challenge

The young 33-year-old Sheikh Tamim is embroiled in an unusually public spat with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.The three states withdrew their ambassadors from Doha last week citing Qatar’s refusal to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the internal affairs of neighbors. By that they meant that Qatar had stubbornly refused to end its support for Islamist groups in the region and its hosting of Islamist sympathizers.