The United Arab Emirates has restricted funding for its citizens who want to study at British universities, the latest sign of tensions over the UK’s decision not to proscribe the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group.
Abu Dhabi’s decision to exclude UK institutions from a list of universities eligible for state scholarships comes as relations between the two historic allies have frayed in recent years.
In June, the UAE higher education ministry published a list of global universities for which scholarships would be approved and qualifications certified, as part of reforms that limited funding to the best-performing institutions.
The list included universities in countries including the US, Australia, Israel and France, but not the UK, which is home to many of the world’s top academic institutions.
The exclusion of British universities is linked to anxiety in the UAE over what it sees as the risk of Islamist radicalisation on UK campuses, according to three people familiar with the matter.
When UK officials queried the absence of British institutions on the June list, UAE officials said the omission had not been an “oversight”, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions.
“[The UAE] don’t want their kids to be radicalised on campus,” the person added.
In response, UK officials underscored the importance of academic freedom, the person said.
In 2023-24, 70 students at UK universities — out of an overall higher education student population of almost 3mn — were reported for possible referral to the government’s Prevent deradicalisation programme showing signs of “Islamist radicalisation”, nearly double the previous year.
Since the 2011 popular Arab uprisings, the UAE has imposed a harsh clampdown on domestic Islamist activity and intervened regionally in a bid to limit the role of political Islam.
Under UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi has also for years questioned the UK’s decision not to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood. {snip}
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One UK-based academic downplayed UAE concerns about the extent of any Islamist activity within UK universities, but they acknowledged that the Israel-Gaza war had “a destabilising impact” on British campuses.
The UK has been a popular destination for Emiratis, who enjoy generous scholarships from their government to study internationally.
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