Donate to our charity partner Baitulmaal here: http://btml.us/thinkingmuslim - Please do remember that charity never reduces our rizq and gives Barakah to our wealth. Help us expand our Muslim media project here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/membership The UAE has curated a string of anti-revolutionary non-state actors across the Middle East to serve the state’s deeply secular interests. Abu Dhabi has waged a war against Islamic civil society and non-state actors under the pretext of fighting “terrorism” and today acts as the primary means by which the small but effective federation of seven emirates prevents the rise of independent states in the Middle East. Behind every foiled attempt to wrestle power from Arab dictators is the UAE, which has used its petrodollars and economic prowess to curtail civil society activism. Its deep alliance with Israel and its Zionist project have given the UAE an unprecedented means to act as a spoiler in the region. Today, we explore the tentacles of this project and its impact upon the hopes of much of ordinary Arab Muslim society. Our guest today is Dr Andreas Krieg, an associate professor at the Defence Studies Department of King's College London and a strategic risk consultant working for clients in the Middle East and beyond. He recently penned a piece which forms the backdrop of our conversation on the assertive statecraft of the UAE. You can find Dr Andreas Krieg here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drandreaskrieg/ X: https://x.com/andreas_krieg LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/andreaskrieg/en His article: https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/abu-dhabi-built-axis-secessionists-across-region-how You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate Listen to the audio version of the podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vXiAjVFnhNI3T9Gkw636a Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-thinking-muslim/id1471798762 Purchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on: X: https://x.com/thinking_muslim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-thinking-muslim/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/ Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/thinkingmuslim.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.com/@thinkingmuslimpodcast Find Muhammad Jalal here: X: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jalalayns/ Sign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.com Website Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com Timestamps: 0:00 – Introduction 2:19 – UAE’s role in Middle East 6:02 – UAE and 2011 7:48 – Hierarchy of UAE 10:20 – Donate to Baitulmaal 11:20 – Anti-Revolutionary forces 14:51 – US policy and UAE 18:36 – UAE’s removal of Morsi 23:20 – Counter revolutionary movement explained 27:19 – Islamic society contradiction 30:51 – UAE strategy 32:36 – UAE, Sudan, Hemedti 40:56 – Sudan’s case in ICJ 44:11 – UAE and Libya 50:19 – Unease about bloodshed? 51:31 – Syria 53:20 – UAE and Israel 56:07 – How to resist UAE statecraft 59:37 – Disapproval from Emirati public?