Islamists’ failure is a testament to the resilience of Emirati society

A seminar in Al Ain will attempt to shed new light on the political downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Al Mezmaah Studies & Research Centre will today hold a conference at UAE University in Al Ain examining the Muslim Brotherhood’s complex political networks.

The event, entitled Fallouts of the Failure of the Brotherhood, will highlight the causes of the downfall of Islamist political groups in several Arab countries.

A group of speakers – including Mohammed Al Hammadi, editor-in-chief of Al Ittihad; Mostafa Bakry, editor of Al Osboa newspaper in Egypt; Mansour Alnoqaidan of Al Mesbar Studies and Research Centre based in the UAE – will discuss the various phases of the Muslim Brotherhood’s collapse and how the group eventually sealed its own political destiny.

Al Mezmaah Studies & Research Centre is an independent research centre based in Dubai that specialises in examining subversive political groups and in researching regional political affairs. The UAE, of course, is one of several countries where the Muslim Brotherhood tried to impose its will through deceptive means.

This country saw off a coordinated and ferocious campaign from Islamist political groups, who mobilised against civil society, and from mercenary groups who operated under the guise of human-rights organisations.

Those efforts, however, failed to yield the desired results, even though those same Islamist political groups left no stone unturned in their systematic campaign to damage the social and political fabric of this country.

The Brotherhood did, however, initially enjoy some success in their campaign to infiltrate Emirati society and to rope in some of its citizens.

Their ultimate goal was to destroy society by stirring up discontent and bitter unrest among Emiratis.

They failed to achieve their aims only because of the unflinching loyalty of this nation’s citizens to their leadership.

The efforts of the Brotherhood and other political groups were based on a string of misconceptions.

They thought they would easily succeed in establishing their hegemony in this country and, by extension, would be able to deal a blow to their political opponents through pursuing a ruthless policy of torture and threats.

Political will, which is a salient characteristic of the Emirati society, also played its part in putting this distorted version of political Islam to the sword, and in uprooting the Brotherhood’s decayed trees.

The duty of this nation is to generate awareness of the malignant nature of the Brotherhood movement and to discuss ways to deal with it, so that it will never again be allowed to rear its ugly head in the UAE.

That’s why it is essential to unpack the social and dogmatic hypocrisy of the Brotherhood and its affiliates.

The attacks they mounted were rumours peddled on the internet, which was used by the political Islamist groups for a long time to brainwash young people and to urge them to rise up in their communities.

In the face of these threats, the UAE remained and remains focused.

No wonder the country has witnessed unprecedented development in every possible sphere in recent decades – from the greening of the desert to its shining architecture and its exquisite tourist destinations that have transformed the barren landscape into a vibrant area of commercial activity.

But the biggest element that distinguishes the UAE from other countries is its unquenching thirst to be the best in the world in whatever it does.

Dr Salem Humaid is the founder of Al Mezmaah Studies and Research Centre

www.almezmaah.com