The UAE foresaw the danger of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood organisation and banned it, and Europe is suffering now

Insight is seeing the danger while it is still an idea, not when it has become a fire. States are measured by their ability to read things early, not by applauding them after they have happened.

I am writing here about an organisation and an ideology, not about a religion or a people. Islam in the UAE is a religion of tolerance and peace, our mosques are open, and Muslims everywhere are our brothers. Our dispute is with a political organisation that has made religion a vehicle for reaching power.

What the UAE did early

In July 2013, the Federal Supreme Court (State Security Chamber) convicted 69 of 94 defendants in a secret organisation case and acquitted 25. The organisation was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, and the court ordered the closure of centres and websites linked to "Al-Islah". In fairness, international human rights organisations criticised the trial proceedings, but this is the state's position and its courts' ruling.

In November 2014, the Cabinet approved a list of 83 terrorist organisations, in implementation of Federal Law No. (7) of 2014 on Combating Terrorism Offences. It included the Emirati "Muslim Brotherhood" group, Da'wat Al-Islah, and the Muslim Brotherhood organisation and group. The list is published for transparency and public awareness.

It did not stop at 2014. On 8 January 2025, Decision No. (1) of 2025 placed 19 individuals and entities, 11 individuals and 8 entities, on the local terrorism lists for their links to the Brotherhood organisation. On 13 January 2026, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the United States' designation of the group's branches in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, and on 9 March 2026 its designation of the Sudan branch, affirming its support for all international efforts to combat extremism and terrorism.

And Europe? Questions being asked now

Why does the world wake up late? Why do we always need an official report to believe what was already clear?

France: In May 2025, a government-commissioned report written by former ambassador François Gouyette and prefect Pascal Courtade warned that the Brotherhood works through local infiltration in schools, mosques and associations, and considered it a threat to "national cohesion" even if it is not violent. On 7 July 2025, President Emmanuel Macron chaired a Defence and National Security Council that approved new tools: administrative dissolution of endowment funds, a mechanism for freezing assets, and penalties for associations that breach the Republican Commitment Contract. In return, he called for a reassuring message towards Muslim citizens who abide by the laws of the Republic.

Austria: In 2021, amendments to the "Symbols Act" added the Muslim Brotherhood to the list of groups whose symbols may not be displayed in public. In fairness, a court in Graz ruled in 2021 that some of the "Operation Luxor" raids were unlawful for lack of sufficient suspicion, and that the group is not treated in Austria as a terrorist organisation.

Germany: The Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the state of Saxony classifies the group under "legalistic Islamism", estimates its followers in Germany at around 1,450, and describes its activity as not based on violence, but considers its ideology incompatible with the principles of the constitution.

Britain: A government review published in December 2015 concluded that the group pursues a radical policy, that it has influence beyond its size, and that some of its activities are secretive, while noting that it has not been linked to terrorist activity inside the United Kingdom.

Sweden: In 2025, the government set up an expert group to monitor Islamist infiltration after the French report mentioned it.

The European Parliament: On 8 October 2026, it voted by a majority of 381 to 167 for a non-binding resolution asking member states to provide information to assess listing individuals and entities linked to the group on the European terrorist list. It describes the group as a "political project" based on the primacy of religious rules over public law.

The United States: On 13 January 2026, it designated the Lebanon branch (Foreign Terrorist Organisation) and the Egypt and Jordan branches (Specially Designated Global Terrorists) for supporting Hamas.

Between fairness and firmness

I do not say that Europe has agreed on a ban; it has not, and some of its states have preferred oversight to prohibition. Nor do I say that everyone who holds a different opinion has become part of the group. But the direction has become clear: what the UAE was warning about more than a decade ago has today become the subject of reports, laws and votes.

This is not gloating; we do not wish for any country to pay the price. What is needed, as I see it, is three things: to distinguish between the religion and the organisation, to expose the money, the fronts and the double discourse, and to protect Muslim communities themselves from being hijacked in their name.