The European Institute for Counter Terrorism and Conflict Prevention or EICTP is an Austria-based think tank founded by Herbert Scheibner, a politician from the right wing populist Alliance for the Future of Austria, and Gustav Gustenau, a former Brigadier in the Austrian military who was removed from his position due to links with Jan Marsalek. [1] [2] [3]
Founded in 2018, it is headed by former FPÖ Defense Minister Herbert Scheibner and maintains numerous connections and cooperations with the UAE. The EICTP produces “actor analyses” on political Islam in Austria, in which false information is disseminated about journalists and members of parliament who are suspected of supporting “political Islam”. According to Profil, these “actor analyses” are forwarded to the UAE. [4]
The director is retired colonel Ralph Thiele. [5]
Politics of the United Arab Emirates take place in a framework of a federal presidential elective constitutional monarchy. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven constituent monarchies: the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain.
The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. They consist of the UAE Army, UAE Navy, UAE Air Force, UAE Presidential Guard, UAE Joint Aviation Command, and the UAE National Guard.
The diplomatic foreign relations of the United Arab Emirates are conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal, elective monarchy composed of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi as its capital. It shares land borders with Oman to the east and northeast, and with Saudi Arabia to the southwest; as well as maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran, and with Oman in the Gulf of Oman. As of 2024, the UAE has an estimated population of over 10 million, of which 11% are Emiratis; Dubai is its most populous city and is an international hub. Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language, while English is the most spoken language and the language of business.
Political Islam is seen by some as any interpretation of Islam as a source of political identity and action. It can refer to a wide range of individuals or groups who advocate the formation of state and society according to their understanding of Islamic principles. It may also refer to use of Islam as a source of political positions and concepts. Not all forms of political activity by Muslims are discussed under the rubric of political Islam, Political Islam can represent one aspect of the Islamic revival that began in the 20th century. Most academic authors use the term Islamism to describe the same phenomenon or use the two terms interchangeably. There are new attempts to distinguish between Islamism as religiously based political movements and political Islam as a national modern understanding of Islam shared by secular and Islamist actors.
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Yemen is bound to the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, based on history and culture.
The United Arab Emirates has quite a close and friendly relationship with the US, being described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke, the U.S. national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defense, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces generals and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East. Both countries are members of the I2U2 Group, which was established in 2021.
The relationship between the Russian Federation and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stretches back to December 1971, when the Soviet Union and UAE established diplomatic relations. Relations between the two countries have been described as close and a "somewhat strategic partnership", with the countries cooperating closely in Iraq, Egypt and Libya.
India–United Arab Emirates relations are the bilateral relations that exist between the Republic of India and the United Arab Emirates. Since 3000 B.C., India and the UAE, including its precursor emirates, had close relations with ancient trade networks. Sumerians traded with Meluhha, Magan, and Dilmun (Bahrain), connecting through the UAE. Maritime routes facilitated Arab trade with India for silk, spices, gold, and porcelain. Sumerians traded with Meluhha, Magan, and Dilmun (Bahrain), connecting through the UAE. Maritime routes facilitated Arab trade with India for silk, spices, gold, and porcelain. Post-1971, India-UAE relations strengthened politically, economically, and culturally.
Lorenzo G. Vidino is an Italian-American writer on Islamism in Europe and North America, with a special focus on the Muslim Brotherhood. Since June 2015, he has headed the George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security's Program on Extremism.
Oman– United Arab Emirates are the relations between the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The U.A.E. has an embassy in Muscat while Oman maintains an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate-general in Dubai. Both countries are part of the Middle East region and share close cultural ties. Oman and the U.A.E. also share very large borders with each other, including two exclaves of Oman accessible on land only through the U.A.E, and also border the Gulf of Oman. Both countries are members of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates share a naval border and are part of the Arabic-speaking Persian Gulf region. They are both members of the GCC.
The legal system in the United Arab Emirates is based on civil law, and Sharia law in the personal status matters of Muslims and blood money compensation. Personal status matters of non-Muslims are based on civil law. The UAE constitution established a federal court system and allows all emirates to establish local courts systems. The emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah have local court systems, while other emirates follow the federal court system. Some financial free trade zones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have their own legal and court systems based on English common law; local businesses in both emirates are allowed to opt-in to the jurisdiction of common law courts for business contracts.
DarkMatter Group is a computer security company founded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2014 or 2015. The company has described itself as a purely defensive company, however in 2016, it became a contractor for Project Raven, to help the UAE surveil other governments, militants, and human rights activists. It has employed former U.S. intelligence operatives and graduates of the Israel Defense Force technology units.
Ras Al Khaimah, often referred to its initials RAK is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city had a population of 400,000 in 2023, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain and Ajman. The city is divided by a creek into two parts: old town in the west and Al Nakheel in the east. The town is the successor to the Islamic era port and trading hub of Julfar.
Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the son of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Since 2016 he has served as the National Security Advisor of UAE. At the same time he manages a business portfolio, which supports national security interests and the UAE's opaque corporate sector. He chairs G42. The 2021 Pandora Papers revealed how he and his wife use shell companies to conceal their wealth.
The Abraham Accords are bilateral agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain on September 15, 2020. Mediated by the United States, the announcement of August 13, 2020, concerned Israel and the Emirates before the subsequent announcement of an agreement between Israel and Bahrain on September 11, 2020. On September 15, 2020, the signing of the agreements was hosted by US president Trump on the Truman Balcony of the White House amid elaborate staging intended to evoke the signings of historic formal peace treaties in prior administrations.
Oman–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Oman and Turkey. Turkey's historic relationship with Oman has wavered between friendly indifference and courtship, but mutual differences were set aside in 2002 when the new Turkish government embraced a policy of engagement with Oman.
The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since taking control by force in 2021, overthrowing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The takeover was widely criticized by the international community, and no countries have extended de jure diplomatic recognition to the new regime, despite nominally maintaining relations with Afghanistan. The Taliban has campaigned for international recognition since the takeover. Several countries have vowed never to recognize the Islamic Emirate, and others have said they will do so only if human rights in the country are respected. Some countries have accredited Taliban diplomats at the chargé d'affaires level despite not recognizing the Islamic Emirate. In September 2023, the People's Republic of China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to the country since the takeover, and in January 2024 recognized the Taliban's envoy to China; however, the PRC still does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The United Arab Emirates also accepted a Taliban appointed diplomat as Afghanistan's new ambassador in August 2024.
Abu Dhabi Secrets is an international investigation series revealing the United Arab Emirates’ influence strategy in Europe, particularly in France, by financing a "smear campaign" to target opponents of the UAE, that is, Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood.