The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been accused by critics of exploiting Islamophobic discourse in Britain to pressure the UK government into banning the Muslim Brotherhood, after Abu Dhabi restricted state scholarships for Emirati students seeking to study at British universities.
The UAE has justified the move by claiming British campuses are being radicalised by Islamist groups linked to the Brotherhood, a charge disputed by UK authorities and experts, who say there is no evidence of an organised Brotherhood presence in universities.
According to reporting by the Financial Times and The Times, federal funding for Emirati state scholarships has been limited for students hoping to study in Britain, amid tensions over London’s refusal to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood.
The group is designated a terrorist organisation by the UAE, which has long lobbied European governments, including the UK, to adopt the same position.
Britain has repeatedly declined to ban the Brotherhood following official reviews. A 2014 inquiry commissioned by the Conservative government, led by Sir John Jenkins, concluded that while the group’s beliefs were at odds with British values, there was insufficient evidence to justify proscription.
Critics say the UAE’s framing closely mirrors rhetoric used by right-wing politicians and media figures in Britain who portray Muslim civil society and student activism as security threats. They argue that Abu Dhabi is amplifying those narratives to exert political pressure on London.
That framing has been echoed internationally. US Vice President JD Vance publicly welcomed the UAE’s decision, presenting it as evidence that Britain has failed to confront Islamist influence.
British officials and analysts have rejected that characterisation, saying it conflates political Islam with Muslim student life and lacks evidentiary support.
The UAE’s stance has also drawn scrutiny because of its cultivation of hard-right figures in Britain. Reports in UK media previously stated that Abu Dhabi funded a visit by Nigel Farage after he pledged to ban the Muslim Brotherhood if he were to come to power.
The Reform UK leader later praised the UAE’s scholarship decision and criticised Britain’s approach to extremism.
Analysts say the Farage visit is cited by critics as evidence that the UAE is aligning itself with Western political figures who amplify alarmist narratives about Islam in public life. They argue this forms part of a broader Emirati strategy to internationalise its campaign against the Brotherhood by leveraging culture-war politics in Europe and the United States.
One Middle East expert told The Times that the Emirati leadership was "obsessed" with the Brotherhood and described it as their "bogeyman", but said it functioned more as an ideology than a structured organisation.
The expert added: "It’s a way of threatening young students to behave, saying in essence, whatever you do, don’t join the Muslim Brotherhood if you’re in the UK. It’s like a warning shot to students to dabble at their peril."
UK officials have defended academic freedom and said extremism on campuses is addressed through existing legal and regulatory mechanisms. Muslim student organisations, they note, are primarily pastoral bodies and are not designated extremist groups.
Critics warn that by framing British universities as sites of Islamist radicalisation, the UAE risks reinforcing Islamophobic narratives in Britain while turning higher education into a tool of political pressure in its long-running campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood.