UAE restricts funding for UK studies amid concerns over Muslim Brotherhood

The UAE has restricted government funding for students studying in the UK, citing concerns over radicalisation and tensions linked to the Muslim Brotherhood

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has limited government funding for its citizens who wish to study at universities in the United Kingdom (UK), signalling growing tensions between the two countries. The move is linked to long-standing differences over the UK’s decision not to ban the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group, the Financial Times reported.

 

Abu Dhabi recently excluded British universities from a list of global institutions eligible for state scholarships. The decision affects Emirati students who rely on government funding to study abroad and marks another strain in ties between the two long-time allies.

 

UK universities missing from approved list

 

In June last year, the UAE’s higher education ministry published a list of international universities whose degrees would be recognised and whose students would qualify for state scholarships. The reforms aimed to restrict funding to institutions considered among the best globally. The list included universities in the US, Australia, France and Israel. However, UK universities were not included.

 

The news report quoted sources as saying that this decision reflects the UAE's concerns about what it sees as the risk of Islamist radicalisation on British university campuses.

 

The UK has been a popular study destination for Emirati students, who benefit from generous state scholarships. However, federal funding for new students heading to the UK had already been reduced even before June, the news report said. Students already enrolled have continued to receive support.

 

In the year ending September 2025, only 213 Emirati students were granted UK study visas. This was down 27 per cent from the previous year and 55 per cent lower than in 2022.

 

The UAE has also said it will not recognise degrees from institutions not on its approved list, diminishing the value of UK qualifications for Emiratis.   

 

Radicalisation fears behind the decision

 

When UK officials asked about the absence of British universities, UAE officials made it clear that the omission was deliberate. The news report quoted a source as saying that they said it was not an “oversight”.

 

“[The UAE] don’t want their kids to be radicalised on campus,” the source said.

 

Official UK data shows that in the 2023-24 academic year, 70 students at UK universities were reported for possible referral to the government’s Prevent deradicalisation programme due to signs of “Islamist radicalisation”. This was nearly double the number reported the previous year, out of a total higher education population of almost 3 million students, the news report said.

 

Dispute over Muslim Brotherhood

 

The UAE has been taking a tough stance against Islamist movements at home and abroad. Under President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi has repeatedly questioned why the UK has not banned the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

A UK government review in 2015 found that the group had not been linked to terrorist activity in or against Britain. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said last year that the issue remains under “close review”.

 

Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, has promised to ban the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes prime minister. The UAE government funded Farage’s visit to the country last year, according to a recent Financial Times report. 

 

Wider strains

 

The scholarship decision follows other disputes, including disagreements over an Abu Dhabi-backed bid to buy The Daily Telegraph, allegations over UAE involvement in Sudan -- which it denies -- and a legal case involving Emirati-owned Manchester City football club.

 

This comes even as UK universities continue to expand in the UAE, with campuses in Dubai run by institutions such as the University of Manchester and Heriot-Watt University.