A recent decision by the United Arab Emirates to designate eight businesses as terrorist organizations because of their alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, should serve as a starting point for an investigation conducted by security officials in the United Kingdom. In addition to designating eight companies operating in the U.K. as terrorist organizations, the UAE has also put the names of two people affiliated with six of these companies on the same list, which was published on January 9, 2025. Is the UAE is trying to send a message to U.K. officials that they have a Muslim Brotherhood problem on their hands?
“The move is part of the UAE’s ongoing efforts, both locally and internationally, to target and dismantle networks linked to the financing of terrorism and related activities, both directly and indirectly,” the UAE’s press agency stated. The listing paves the way for sanctions such as asset freezes, travel bans, and financial restrictions against the businesses and individuals listed.
The Organizations
The UAE alleged that the companies and individuals listed had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Emiratis have sought to suppress for decades. The eight U.K.-based businesses listed operate in sectors such as investment, real estate, education, and property development. However, specific details about these organizations and the precise nature of their alleged activities have not been publicly disclosed by the UAE authorities.
Two individuals on UAE’s terrorist list, Ahmed Alnuaimi and Abdul Rahman Aljaberi, are linked to seven of the eight U.K.-based businesses. The companies and individuals sanctioned by the UAE are as follows:
Ahmed Mohammed Alnuaimi
- Cambridge Education and Training Center Ltd. According to its website, this London-based company provides adult education classes and homeschooling resources for families in the U.K.
- IMA6INE Ltd. (Media & Communications Sector, London): This London-based company claims to be a video production and green screen studio but has no publicly available videos.
- Wembley Tree Ltd. This company, located in London, has no website providing details about its operations.
Abdul Rahman Aljaberi
- Yas for Investment and Real Estate. This real estate company, headquartered in London, provides services to clients from the Middle East.
- Holdco UK Properties Limited is a holding company based in London.
- Nafel Capital, a London company registered with Companies House for “buying and selling of own real estate.”
The UAE also listed two other U.K.-based companies as terror supporters: London-based Future Graduates Ltd. which operates in the education sector and Waslaforall, a community and social services organization also located in London. The organization’s Instagram page indicates that it provides workshops and clubs designed to support Arabic language learning for children. (Focus on Western Islamism has attempted to contact all of the companies listed above for which emails could be found but has received no response.)
Alnuaimi a Main Target
Numerous news reports indicate that Ahmed Mohammed Alnuaimi is an Emirati national who has reportedly resided in the U.K. since 2012. Convicted in absentia in the UAE for national security offenses and sentenced to 15 years in prison, he remains in the U.K., where he seeks refuge from arrest. Although human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have supported his case, there are reports linking Alnuaimi to Al Islah, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the UAE.
Events in Syria Likely Prompted Listing
The UAE’s sanctions likely stem from recent events in Syria, where Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group with roots in al-Qaeda, has gained prominence. While HTS is not officially linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, it shares some ideological overlap, which the UAE views as part of a wider Islamist political agenda. The UAE targeting UK businesses with alleged financial or operational ties to the Muslim Brotherhood is likely intended to limit what it perceives as the group’s growing influence and threat to regional stability.
While the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have long designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group for inspiring organizations like Hamas and influencing figures in Al-Qaeda, the U.K. has not.
Crown House Connections
Two companies listed by the UAE, IMA6INE Ltd. and Cambridge Education and Training Centre Ltd, are both headquartered at Crown House in London. In 2015, The Telegraph described the Crown House in London as a central hub for Islamist operations, particularly those of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Among its former tenants was the Qamar Charity Foundation, which operated in both the U.K. and Afghanistan and maintained connections to the Taliban’s leadership, including its prime minister’s office. The foundation openly promoted Taliban ideology and financed aligned projects.
Another tenant, the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), has been described by counterterrorism researchers as one of the U.K.’s most extreme Islamist groups. Disturbingly, several of its members later joined ISIS.
Another Crown house tenant, the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) has long been associated with Hamas. In 2010, Israeli authorities declared the PRC a “Hamas-affiliated organization” and in 2011, German intelligence officials noted that Hamas “does not operate openly in Europe” but uses the PRC as a key platform in London. The PRC’s former director, Majed al-Zeer, was recently designated by the U.S. for his links to Hamas.
How Will U.K. Officials Respond?
The UAE’s decision to list U.K.-based institutions and individuals has caught the attention of the British Parliament. Dan Jarvis, a Labour Member of Parliament for Barnsley North, responded to a question about the matter. Jarvis stated that the government “does not routinely comment on individual groups or cases” and that Home Office officials “continually seek to build and refresh their knowledge of the threat from extremism, as the landscape is constantly evolving.” He added that while the government reviews the UK’s list of proscribed organizations, “we do not routinely comment on whether or not an organisation is under consideration for proscription.”
