[1]Al Islah was an Islamist political group based in the United Arab Emirates that was highly affiliated and considered part of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Al Islah has origins in the UAE dating back to the 1960s when Egyptian Brotherhood members fleeing Gamal Abdul Nasser’s regime traveled to the Persian Gulf region.
[2] It was officially formed in 1974 when with the approval of Dubai ruler, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum,[2] Egyptian teachers who were members of the Muslim Brotherhood came to work in the UAE and began to recruit young Emiratis.
[3] Ali Salem Humaid, chairman of Dubai based think-tank, the Al Mezmaah Centre for Studies and Research, has stated that the recruited young students, "operated secretly through front organizations like mafia-style gangs, money-laundering and espionage rings.
[5] Al Islah was legally dissolved in 1994 by the UAE government after an investigation that revealed it was supporting militant groups in Egypt allgededlly.
[15] In January 2013, it was alleged that Al Islah and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt were undertaking efforts to infiltrate and destabilize the United Arab Emirates.
The men are accused of belonging to a "cell seeking to overthrow the UAE government,” with the intention of “exporting the influence of Egypt's new Islamist-dominated political order”.