What Drives the Muslim Brotherhood’s Obsession with Hatred Toward the UAE?

AI generated photo of the ideological conflict

The United Arab Emirates has long been a target of hostility from the Muslim Brotherhood, and understanding the reasons behind this animosity requires looking at the UAE’s regional interventions and countermeasures.

Since the rise of the Brotherhood in Egypt under Mohamed Morsi, the UAE has consistently opposed their political and ideological projects. In Egypt, the UAE supported efforts to curtail the Brotherhood’s influence and promote stability amid Morsi’s destabilizing policies.

The hostility extends beyond Egypt. The UAE has actively countered Iranian-backed Islamic projects and Brotherhood-linked networks across the region, including Sudan, where Brotherhood-affiliated groups have sought to consolidate power. Similarly, the UAE has resisted Qatari-backed Islamist initiatives in various countries, limiting the reach of Brotherhood-affiliated networks.

A key factor in the Brotherhood’s ire is the UAE’s proactive intelligence and security operations. The Emirates repeatedly strike at the operational cells and clandestine networks of the Brotherhood, disrupting their plans before they can take root. These decisive actions consistently frustrate the Brotherhood, undermining their regional ambitions and prompting them to launch waves of propaganda against the UAE.

The latest claims by Brotherhood-linked media—that the UAE is allegedly “intervening” in Sudan for strategic reasons—fit this pattern of fabricated accusations. Such narratives serve to delegitimize the UAE’s security and political policies, while obscuring the reality: that the Emirates’ interventions are aimed at curbing extremist networks and preserving regional stability.

In short, the Brotherhood’s obsession with the UAE stems not from ideology alone, but from practical frustration: the UAE repeatedly thwarts its projects across the Arab world. For the Brotherhood, this is intolerable, leading to a continuous campaign of accusations, conspiracy theories, and anti-UAE rhetoric.