‘UK universities have Islamic radicalisation risk’: UAE cuts student scholarships after London refuses to ban Muslim Brotherhood

From Op India

In a major move aimed at preventing Islamic radicalisation of youth, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has slashed funding for its citizens interested in studying in the United Kingdom (UK). The UAE’s decision comes after the UK refused to ban the Islamic terrorist organisation Muslim Brotherhood.

The UAE excluded UK institutions from the list of global universities for which scholarships would be approved and qualifications certified, amidst deteriorating relations with the UK. Abu Dhabi’s decision stems from the concerns that there is a risk of Islamist radicalisation on UK campuses, a report in FT stated.

When the UK officials asked the UAE about the names of their universities missing from the revised list of overseas universities eligible for state scholarships and official recognition, the UAE officials confirmed the omission was deliberate, as per the report.

“[The UAE] don’t want their kids to be radicalised on campus,” one person privy to the discussions was quoted.

Over the past decade, the UAE has cracked down heavily on Islamists within the country, and in 2014, it designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. The UAE has long advocated that the UK must proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood. However, the latter remains reluctant.

In January 2025, the UAE blacklisted 8 United Kingdom-based organisations for their ties to the Islamic terror outfit ‘Muslim Brotherhood.’

The 8 outfits were identified as Cambridge Education and Training Centre Ltd, IMA6INE Ltd, Wembley Tree Ltd, Waslaforall, Future Graduates Ltd, Yas for Investment and Real Estate, Holdco UK Properties Limited and Nafel Capital.

Notably, the Islamist outfit Muslim Brotherhood has been banned even in Muslim-majority Arab countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the UK, a ‘secular’ country, has neither banned the outfit nor declared it a terrorist organisation.

The United Kingdom has been grappling with rapid Islamic radicalisation and conversions to Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood is reported to have expanded its presence in the UK through students coming to study there and Islamist exiles who fled repression in their home countries. Muslim Brotherhood-linked organisations collaborate with Islamists from South Asia, established to promote the work of Abu A’la Mawdudi and representing Jama’at-e-Islami.

In 2024, former Communities Secretary Michael Gove MP named the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) as an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood. Back in 2015, the UK government’s review of the MAB revealed that the outfit was “dominated” by the Muslim Brotherhood.

What a damning indictment of our education standards