The United Arab Emirates has removed state funding for citizens who want to study in the United Kingdom over fears of campus Islamist radicalization there driven by the Muslim Brotherhood. Approximately 8,500 Emirati students were studying in Britain in 2024, the last year for which numbers are available. Since the Arab Spring uprising across the Muslim world in 2011, the UAE has moved vigorously to curb the influence of political Islamist groups, especially the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood was a driving force of the Arab Spring in Egypt where it gained its strongest ever influence, which has since waned. This potential British listing has become a political hot issue, with surging Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage vowing to ban the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes prime minister.

Source: National Post January 09, 2026 23:35 UTC