Abu Dhabi, January 10 2026, (Agencies) – The United Arab Emirates has decided to restrict educational grants for students seeking to study at universities in the United Kingdom over concerns about radicalization on British campuses, particularly the alleged influence of Islamist groups, British media have reported.
According to reports in The Times, Emirati authorities believe that students in the UK are being targeted by Islamist organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which is designated as a terrorist group in the UAE. As a result, the government has scaled back its previously generous scholarship programme that covered tuition fees, accommodation, and living expenses for students studying in Britain.
The move does not amount to a complete ban on studying in the UK. Emirati students who are able to fund their education privately are still permitted to enroll at British institutions. However, official scholarships will no longer be provided for UK universities.
In June last year, the UAE Ministry of Higher Education published a list of foreign universities eligible for government-funded scholarships, with no UK institutions included. According to a source familiar with the matter, cited by the Financial Times, the exclusion was deliberate and followed extended internal deliberations.
“The UAE does not want its students to be exposed to radicalization on campus,” the source said, explaining the rationale behind the decision.
The UAE has taken a firm stance against the Muslim Brotherhood since the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring, during which Islamist-led movements contributed to political upheaval and prolonged conflicts across several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The organization has been outlawed domestically, and Abu Dhabi has consistently called for its international designation as a terrorist group.
The Muslim Brotherhood is already banned in countries including Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. In the United States, President Donald Trump last year designated several Brotherhood-linked groups and individuals as terrorists, though the organization itself was not formally listed. France has also been weighing similar measures, with an official report released in May describing the group as anti-republican and subversive.
The UAE’s decision is likely to add to ongoing debates in Europe over campus extremism, foreign influence, and the balance between academic freedom and national security.