Joy Abu Abayya from the UAE, a former police instructor from the Emirates, wrote an article on the issue, arguing that the move was necessary for security to protect people from the “disrupted travel of extremists.”

“In my opinion, this decision could be the straw that broke the camel’s back at the time, and forced the regime to reconsider,” he told The Local.

However, Ibrahim said his decision was not motivated by religion. He said he has traveled to Syria to “pay respect to the people who took up arms against the regime,” and that he is concerned about his country’s safety.

“This is not something I should have done. This is something I should change right now,” he told The Local.

The move is a result of the country’s “growing isolationism,” Ibrahim said.

“So much of our foreign policy has been based on protecting our interests, even though our friends in Europe have more important priorities than Syria, and even though we are more concerned about security than stability,” Ibrahim said.

According to the report, the move was approved by the council’s security committee.

But Ibrahim said he was not entirely happy with the decision.

“Although I do support terrorism, and did it in the past, it needs to understand that it’s doing more harm than good — that what it started with had a positive outcome, and now we are losing one of our most important allies,” he said.