By Joy Essien, Contributing Editor, Lagos Metropolitan.
In June, the UAE’s higher education ministry published a revised global ranking of universities whose degrees would qualify for state support, as part of reforms designed to concentrate funding on top-performing institutions. The list included universities in countries such as France, Israel, the United States and Australia, but none in the UK despite the country’s strong global academic reputation.
According to a person directly involved with the decision, Emirati officials said the omission of British institutions had not been an “oversight”.
Abu Dhabi’s decision to exclude UK higher education institutions from a list of universities eligible for state scholarships reflects growing friction between the two countries over the UK’s refusal to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.
For years, the United Arab Emirates has criticized the British government’s refusal to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood.
The UAE has removed state funding for citizens seeking to study at British universities over apparent concerns its students would be exposed to Islamist radicalisation.
They do not want their children to be radicalized on campus,’ a source said.
Data cited in the report indicate that during the 2023–24 academic year, 70 students at UK universities were flagged for potential referral to the Prevent deradicalization programme over signs of ‘Islamist radicalization’—nearly double the number recorded the previous year.
The UK, however, is far from the only Western country that has neither banned nor is planning to ban the organization. In fact, outside a limited group of states—including the UAE, Egypt, Russia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and parts of Libya—there is no nationwide designation of the Muslim Brotherhood elsewhere. In the United States, the states of Texas and Florida have designated the Brotherhood, but there is no federal-level designation, nor is there an EU-wide one.
Meanwhile, Muslim Brotherhood influence in Europe is widely expanding, ironically in parallel with its decline across much of the Middle East.
