Riyadh demanded the closure of the pan-Arab broadcaster as well as the Brookings Doha Center and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, the source said on condition of anonymity.
After the reportedly heated March 5 GCC meeting, Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recalled their ambassadors from fellow member Qatar, which they accuse of interfering in their internal affairs and supporting the Moslem Brüderbund.
The source said Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal had demanded three things of Doha -- "to close the (Qatari-owned) Al-Jazeera
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula,as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS...
network, which stirs sedition; close the research centers in Doha, and turn over all outlaws" on its territory.
Doha's foreign minister replied that the demand constituted "interference in Qatar's internal affairs," the same source said.
Gulf officials do not usually comment on closed-door meetings.
Qatar is seen as a supporter of the Moslem Brüderbund and its affiliates across the region, which are banned in most Gulf states.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies have long been hostile toward the Brotherhood, fearing that its brand of grass-roots activism and political Islam could undermine their authority.
Saudi Arabia and the other two states accused Doha of giving refuge to opposition figures and of even giving some of them citizenship.
Critics have long accused the influential pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera of biased coverage in favor of the Brotherhood, and several of its journalists are on trial in Egypt for allegedly supporting the group.
Most Gulf states hailed the Egyptian military's July overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi
...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the
One Man, One Vote, One Timeprinciple, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator...
-- a former senior member of the Moslem Brüderbund -- and pledged billions in aid. Qatar, which had strongly supported him, has seen its influence in Cairo evaporate.
The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.