How UAE protects itself from extremism threat & Muslim Brotherhood

Realizing the danger of extremism early on, the Emirates took precautions to keep their country as an oasis of stability and coexistence between the different components of the community which gathers people from different nationals.

The most important step taken by the Emirati authorities in this regard was the decision to ban the activities adopted by the different groups belonging to extremists' ideology. The Emirati cabinet ratified a decision to list 84 organizations as terrorist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood and Hezbollah.

According to Emirati Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Obeid Salem Al Zoabi, the Emirati government adopted an inclusive plan to confront extremism on different legislative, religious and social levels.

On the legislative side, he said the Emirates issued a number of laws aiming to combat terrorism, as well as uphold a number of agreements with other nations to achieve cooperation over the ways to eliminate extremism. He added that the government established the first research institution, the International Hedaia Center, to combat extremism.

He added, the Emirati government was keen to support the values of moderation and coexistence through the Public Authority of Islamic Affairs, stressing that peaceful coexistence is the major factor to confront extremism that threatens the Arab and Islamic communities.

On his part, former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood Tariq Al Beshbishi praised the effort exerted by the Emirates to eliminate extremism, saying that they took an early stance against the Muslim Brotherhood to maintain a high security level, while banning the group and arresting its elements.

 

In November 2015, The United Arab Emirates had formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood and local affiliates as terrorist groups. The Gulf Arab state had also designated the Nusra Front and the Islamic state, whose fighters are battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as terrorist organizations, along with other Shiite militant groups such as the Houthi movement in Yemen.
The Emirates is one of the United States' closest Arab allies.

It is part of the US-led coalition fighting the militant Islamic State (IS) group and hosts American troops and warplanes taking part in the anti-IS campaign.