January 11, 2025 - 12:00pm
On Thursday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it had added 19 individuals and entities to its “Local Terrorist List” for their links to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to reports by local media. In the UAE, the Brotherhood is a proscribed terror group. What is striking about this list is that eight of the “entities” listed are UK organisations. This means that, in effect, a Muslim country is sanctioning legal UK organisations for their affiliation with terrorism.
The UAE has taken a firm stance against transnational terrorism and has taken significant measures to combat it. The country has implemented strict laws and regulations to target and dismantle networks linked to the financing of terrorism. It appears that the UAE government believes that the UK groups listed have a financial relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, an organisation the Gulf country views as a significant threat to regional stability.
But who are these “entities”? They are an eclectic bunch of organisations, many registered in Companies House with paid up returns, modest or negligible turnovers and typically only one or two personnel. Some like Nafel Capital appear to be concerned in financial services, though their website is still largely under construction. In another named case, Cambridge Culture and Education Centre Ltd has a registered address in Coventry and lists its actual business — in contrast to its title — as “Unlicensed restaurants and cafes”. Wembley Tree Ltd which lists its activities as “sports and recreation education” was incorporated just over a year ago and faces being struck off for failing to produce accounts. Imagine Ltd is a dormant account with assets of £1. The majority of people with controlling interests in each of these firms list their nationalities as “Emirati”: in other words, citizens of the UAE.
It’s important to be clear that despite these peculiarities none of the companies above or their personnel are doing anything illegal under UK law. Nor is the Muslim Brotherhood a proscribed organisation in this country.
The Muslim Brotherhood operates in the UK primarily through a network of affiliated organisations and individuals. These entities often engage in activities such as community outreach, educational programmes, and political advocacy. The UK Government conducted a review in 2014 to understand the Brotherhood’s activities and its links to extremism. That review acknowledged that aspects of the Brotherhood’s ideology and activities were inconsistent with British values and could be linked to extremism. The review also noted that the Brotherhood’s activities in the UK should be monitored closely.
The diplomatic relationship between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is both historic and multifaceted. It dates back to the early 19th century with the signing of the General Maritime Treaty of 1820. This treaty established the Trucial States, which later became the UAE, as British protectorates. Today, the countries maintain strong diplomatic ties, with embassies in each other’s capitals and a British Consulate-General in Dubai. In 2024, the UAE was the UK’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and its 19th-largest trading partner globally. High-level visits and joint statements, such as the one made by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, highlight the closeness of this relationship. So it makes this announcement all the more curious, in which one of our closest Arab allies publicly identifies UK companies — and by extension those who work for them — as “terrorists”.
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SubscribePerhaps were the Muslim Brotherhood outlawed the UK police could do a two for one visit and collar a few Pakistani rapists at the same time. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason for the police attitude towards Islamic entities. Some consistency is needed.
It is not surprising to read this.
Most terrorist organisations with Sunni Islamist orthodoxy fanaticism have links with Pakistan, Qatar or Turkey; or sponsored by American apparatuses linked with billionaire financiers, favoured by the Democrat Party in particular.
Good for the UAE to act where Woke Western governments self destruct.
People here who complain about the Muslim Brotherhood in Britain will get visits from the police.
Maybe “none of the companies above or their personnel are doing anything illegal under UK law.” should be “none of the companies above or their personnel have been convicted or charged with doing anything illegal under UK law.”
This is my opinion based on all these topics on terrorism China, Russia or ME; my take is the article is written un-analyzable!
It is reveals a deeper truth: by highlighting that eight of the sanctioned entities are UK-based organizations, it’s clear what’s being implied—though not explicitly stated. Terrorism has always been funded by someone, and ultimately, those who control the the money are the ones financing it.
For years, the narrative has focused on the Middle East, particularly Iran, as the primary financier of terrorism. However, the UAE’s actions suggest a shift in narrative: “Wait, it’s not just Iran—the West is also involved.” By exposing this reality, the UAE is breaking the agreement to center the blame solely on Iran for political alignment of west and ME. It’s a subtle but potentially earth-shattering move.
This could signal a broader concern, possibly about the push for war in the Middle East, which might serve to maintain Western global dominance and the ME does not agree (war with Iran), so we may start seeing multiple narratives alliance breaking and alternative narratives revealed.
Basically, ME are now revealing that Western entities also play a role, creating a more balanced narrative. This likely explains the author’s surprise—this is the first time the UK has been called out in this way! One may ask why that is? The terrorist seem to have a great life before they go crazy here, so who is paying them? We never heard about that – how did they afford living there…they never live in poor neighborhood in the west. They are always well travelled and such – where is their bank? LOL
The breakdown of the long-standing “Iran bad, Russia bad, Muslim bad” narrative will make many uneasy, as it challenges the assumption that these threats always originate from afar. Instead, it suggests the source has been much closer to home all along—a rumbling truth that is now rising to the surface.
So is this move a break between west and ME?
The UAE is an authoritarian regime in which all political parties are banned and there is no freedom of association or speech. Of course it’s tougher on the Muslim Brotherhood etc than the UK is. If we want to defend our democratic traditions and way of life, taking a lead from the UAE would be a funny way to go about it.
Regrettably your first sentence is the route down which the UK is headed. Of course, currently political parties aren’t banned…they’re just banned from saying anything other than what is “approved”.
Maybe taking a cue from ‘authoritarian regimes’ would be a good way to stop our people being blown up, run over or beheaded on the streets of London.