Dubai police chief accuses Brotherhood of 'plots'

Dubai police have stepped up accusations against the Muslim Brotherhood of plotting to topple Gulf monarchies, saying a group of UAE activists arrested for threatening state security was linked to the organisation, a report said Friday. The Brotherhood, which is the emerging force in the Arab world after the Arab Spring uprisings, "met people from the Gulf and discussed toppling Gulf regimes," Dubai police chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan was quoted as saying by the Emarat al-Youm daily. Khalfan warned that the Muslim Brotherhood "would lose a lot if they challenge Gulf states," and that the oil-rich region is a "red line." "The Gulf is not a red line for Iran only. It is also for the Muslim Brothers," he was quoted as telling a forum in Dubai, referring to traditional tension between Sunni monarchies and Shiite foe Iran. Khalfan has repeatedly accused the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the most influential Islamist group in the Arab world, of plotting to take over the Gulf states. He also said that a group of UAE activists arrested recently was also linked to the Brotherhood and accused it of pledging allegiance to the supreme guide of the Islamist organisation. "It is a small group that has deviated from the right path and declared allegiance to the (supreme) guide, who appointed one of them as an emir (local leader)," he said. Egyptian Mohamed Badie is the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt 84 years ago. The UAE had earlier this month announced it has dismantled a group plotting against state security without identifying their affiliation or the number of arrests. The UAE, a federation of seven emirates led by oil-rich Abu Dhabi, has not seen any pro-reform protests like those which have swept other Arab countries, including Gulf neighbours Bahrain and Oman since last year. But the government has increased its clampdown on voices of dissent and calls for democratic reforms.