The rift with Qatar is with its government, not its people

Some columnists want us to take a breather from all the Qatar-hate, urging a little restraint. Egypt may have severed its diplomatic ties with the Qatari government, but this decision should not apply to the Qatari people, Al Masry Al Youm’s Hamdy Rizk and Mohamed Amin write in separate pieces. There are many Egyptians living in Qatar and vice versa, and officials have made it clear that these citizens will not be affected by what’s happening on the political level, Rizk points out. Amin condemns the Religious Endowments’ Ministry’s decision to strip the names of Qatari benefactors from various mosques and charitable organizations, reiterating that the Qatari people are not to blame for their ruler’s actions. Let bygones be bygones, says Al Shorouk’s Fahmy Howeidy. He writes that, regardless of what has happened in the past, Arab countries must now put aside disputes and focus on solving common regional challenges.