Great Britain has caved to Islamist radicals to such an extreme extent that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced it must limit its funding for universities in the United Kingdom. The Muslim Brotherhood is active in the UK as the government refuses to ban the radical group. The UAE is legitimately concerned that young men will go abroad to the UK and return with radicalized, jihadist values.
The Under the Terrorism Act (2000) states that organizations can be banned if they are “concerned in terrorism.” A 2015 review found that the Muslim Brotherhood has an “ambiguous relationship with violent extremism,” meaning that the group as a whole cannot be disbanded. “The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism,” former PM David Cameron stated, with “possible” being the keyword. The UK decided to merely monitor the group despite known ties to terrorism. “Certain factions of the Muslim Brotherhood maintain a notably unclear relationship with violent extremism. Both as a doctrine and as a network, it has served as a pathway for some individuals and groups that have subsequently participated in violence and terrorism,” Cameron later said.
The comments coming out of the UAE are nothing new. This is Amjad Taha (an analyst from the UAE) talking last year about how we probably have more Islamists in the UK than in the Middle East, and how the Muslim Brotherhood is banned in the UAE but allowed to operate in Britain. https://t.co/MafvKmnW4o pic.twitter.com/nJPah0JYpt
— Brian (@BMM1882) January 9, 2026
The UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia banned the Muslim Brotherhood due to its threat to regional stability. Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and other well-known terrorists were radicalized in their youth by the Brotherhood. The group has openly funded Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Hamas. Its sole purpose is to provide a bridge for young Islamists to integrate into jihadist groups.
Between 2023-2024, 70 students at UK universities were reported to the Prevent Deradicalisation Programme due to ties to “Islamist radicalization.” As such, the UAE will no longer recognize degrees from unapproved universities, limiting the list of potential schools for Emiratis. Abu Dhabi determined British universities needed to be completely excluded from state scholarships.
How could this happen in the UK? The global caliphate is seemingly opening headquarters in London where the government permits a “moral collapse,” as Nigel Farage has stated. “If you want to destroy the Muslim Brotherhood, you have to start in London,” Farage declared.