An official source said the cell was planning to carry out acts that could torpedo the security of the state and the safety of its citizens and residents. It was also planning to recruit people and promote the work of Al Qaeda, in addition to providing the organisation with funds and logistical support to facilitate the extension of their activities to some countries in the region, Wam said in a report.
The source said the State Security Prosecution will start investigation of the accused. Once these procedures are completed, they will be brought to trial.
On hearing the news, Emirati intellectuals vehemently condemned Al Qaeda and paid rich tributes to the security authorities for arresting its members before they could launch any lethal assaults.
Mohammed Yusuf, chairman of the UAE Journalists Association, praised the security entities for preventing possible acts of sabotage and heinous crimes. “Securitymen are on alert and have a vigilant eye for safeguarding the country. They are on standby against any radical or aggressive thought that affect the Emiratis and expatriates in the country,” he said.
Quoting reports published and run in media channels that the busted cell comprised members of different nationalities, Yusuf said they were exploiting the ill-minded, poor or needy people as they did in other countries.
He said Al Qaeda had the same thought process as that of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was trying to gain the sympathy of the people and use them as per its whims.
“Such organisations and cells target the UAE for the development it has achieved and openness to other countries,” said Habib Al Sayegh, chairman of the board of directors of the UAE Writers’ Union.
“The UAE is a source of optimism in the region, but such (subversive) acts are unjustified. We wonder why it is doing so. We should focus on the security and stability of the country.”
He further said these organisations were looking for ill-minded people and work in secrecy to achieve their insidious goals. “The thought of Al Qaeda is absolutely unacceptable in the UAE. It has been disapproved by both UAE citizens and expatriates living in the country,” he noted.
Dr Abdul Khaliq Abdullah, Professor of Political Science at the UAE University, said Al Qaeda was everywhere, and its offshoots and cells would remain a part of life. “It seems we are still plagued by it, but it is not what it was 10 years ago when it was at the height of its glory. Now, it is at its weakest,” he added.
He said the UAE had succeeded in staving off Al Qaeda and its impacts, as it had become less and less open than in the past. “This is the evidence of its weakness, not like when it managed the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” he said.
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was always targeted by Al Qaeda, particularly Saudi Arabia because the latter borders Yemen. Describing the security forces in the UAE as strong, he said they were capable of keeping order, security and stability of the country.
“There is coordination between the GCC states on this issue, and evidence to this was the announcement in December last year that a terrorist cell was arrested after coordination between the authorities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He called on the GCC countries to be more careful and be aware of what would these destructive cells might do.
