Protests against the ruling family started taking place in the first half of the 1950s. One of the largest protests took place in 1956; it drew 2,000 participants, most of whom were high-ranking Qataris allied with Arab nationalists and dissatisfied oil workers.[1] In a protest in August 1956, the participants waved Egyptian flags and chanted anti-colonialism slogans.[7] In October, protesters tried to sabotage oil pipelines in the Persian Gulf by destroying the pipelines with a bulldozer. Hamad Al Attiya, who went on to co-found the movement, was blamed by the British for spearheading the sabotage.[7]