Secret documents reveal UAE's campaign against Muslims in the country…

Washington (Caasimada Online) – Classified documents obtained reveal that a private intelligence company based in Switzerland, working on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, ordered an investigation to gather information on organizations and individuals of American Muslims, with the intent to link them to the Muslim Brotherhood.

This report, prepared in 2018, was authored by Lorenzo Vidino, who is now the head of the Extremism Program at George Washington University, as reported by Drop Site News, which obtained the classified documents.

The report, titled “The MB in the US,” included the names of dozens of individuals and American Muslim organizations, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Society of North America, Muslim Public Affairs Council, Muslim American Society, and Islamic Relief USA.

However, Drop Site News stated that the report did not present evidence to substantiate the allegations that these organizations were part of a covert Muslim Brotherhood network.

Vidino and the Geneva-based Alp Services did not respond to requests for comments sent by the media. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs also did not respond.

Extensive intelligence operation

The documents indicate that Alp Services requested Vidino to investigate what it referred to as the Muslim Brotherhood networks in the United States, while preparing a “map” to gather information on organizations, charities, academics, businesspeople, and politicians suspected of having ties to the organization.

Vidino sent a report to the company in May 2018 regarding the United States and other research, with documents indicating that an amount of 2,000 Euros was allocated for that report, as reported by Drop Site News.

In July of the same year, Alp prepared data for a company named ARIAF Studies and Research LLC, based in Abu Dhabi, which documents indicated was the Emirati client of Alp.

A broad plan prepared by Alp also included the use of negative media, confidential information to be passed to journalists, alterations to Wikipedia pages, information to be sent to companies assessing financial risks, and campaigns against targeted individuals and organizations.

This matter is part of an earlier operation in Europe referred to as “Abu Dhabi Secrets.”

An investigation by Mediapart and the European Investigative Collaborations organization previously reported that Alp provided Emirati intelligence with the names of more than 1,000 individuals and 400 organizations located in 18 European countries between 2017 and 2020, who were accused of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The obtained documents also indicated that during that period, Alp received at least 5.7 million Euros from an Emirati agency.

Salam Al-Marayati, head of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, denied the allegations contained in the U.S. report.

“These methods have been used against us all these years to marginalize us and remove us from politics,” he told Drop Site News.

The United States increases pressure

The announcement of these documents comes at a time when the United States has increased pressure on some branches of the Muslim Brotherhood.

President Donald Trump ordered his administration in November 2025 to assess the possibility of adding some branches of the organization to the terrorist lists.

In January, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Jordan to the Specially Designated Global Terrorists list, accusing them of providing material support to Hamas.

The U.S. Department of State also designated the Lebanese branch, known as al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah, as a foreign terrorist organization and a specially designated global terrorist organization.

The U.S. actions pertained to specific branches and did not constitute a general designation of the entire Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

The United Arab Emirates, which added the Muslim Brotherhood to its terrorist list in 2014, welcomed the U.S. action.

On the other hand, the dispute regarding the relationship between Alp and Vidino has reached U.S. courts.

A businessman named Hazim Nada filed a lawsuit in 2024 against the UAE, Alp, Vidino, and other parties, accusing them of participating in a campaign to destroy his company and spreading allegations related to terrorism.

A federal judge dismissed most of the lawsuit in September 2026 on legal grounds, and also rejected a RICO claim against Vidino, stating that the lawsuit did not sufficiently demonstrate that he intentionally participated in the alleged conspiracy.

The court, however, did not determine whether the general allegations regarding the smear campaign were true or not.