Ali says changing education curricula rescued UAE from terrorism

CAIRO – Member of the Egyptian Parliament and Chairman of the Board of al-Bawaba News Institute, Abdel Rahim Ali, said Thursday that counterterrorism cooperation between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates started in 1994.

This happened, he said, when the UAE discovered a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood's Islah Society in it.

"The UAE had to close down the society," Ali said during a special seminar on Egypt and the UAE as models for the fight against terrorism

He said the Muslim Brotherhood tried to infiltrate the UAE society in the 1970s.

This was a time, he said, when the UAE was rising and offering jobs for thousands of teachers from all Arab countries.

He said the Brotherhood tried to infiltrate the UAE society through the education sector.

"The members of this organization tried to rise to power in the UAE," Ali said.

He added that the UAE government countered this by changing its school curricula which was full of what he described as Brotherhood "venom".

The seminar, which was held at the headquarters of al-Bawaba News Institute, aimed at raising awareness among youth about the dangers of terrorism and extremism and means of fighting them.

It also aimed to throw light on the effects these dangerous phenomena have on Arab societies.

Those speaking in the seminar wanted to drive the message home that the intellectual elite can play a role in the fight against terrorism.

This elite, they said, is responsible for promoting moderate thinking and increasing the awareness of the members of the public.

Participating in the seminar was UAE Acting Ambassador in Egypt, Mariam Khalifa al-Kaabi, and Egypt's former foreign minister, Mohamed al-Orabi.

A large number of cultural figures and researchers in the fields of terrorism and extremism also participated in the seminar along with a host of Arab officials.