Qatar urges West to embrace Islamists in wake of Arab Spring

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani was quoted on Thursday as saying Islamists were likely to represent the next wave of political power in the Arab world and that the West should embrace them.

Thani said in an interview with the Financial Times that moderate Islamists could assist in fighting what he called extremist ideology.

"We shouldn't fear them, let's cooperate with them," said Thani, whose Gulf Arab state is home to Al Jazeera television.

"We should not have a problem with anyone who operates within the norms of international law, comes to power and fights terrorism," he said. (...)