The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which provides its high-achieving students generous grants to study abroad, has been restricting admissions to British universities over fears that campuses are being radicalised by an extremist Islamist group, a UK media report said on Friday (January 9, 2026).
The Times referenced officials with knowledge of the move to claim that federal funding was being limited for UAE citizens hoping to study in the U.K. due to the feared influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, among other issues.
The group is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UAE, which has also campaigned for European nations to ban it over extremist activities.
“It’s a way of threatening young students to behave, saying in essence, whatever you do, don't join the Muslim Brotherhood if you're in the U.K.,” the newspaper quoted a Middle East expert as saying.
“They (the UAE) complain to the UK about the Muslim Brotherhood to cause a diplomatic stink until they get what they want. It’s often an internal thing. I don’t believe our universities are infested with the Muslim Brotherhood, it’s all about positioning,” the expert stated.
