DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A top security official in Dubai warned Friday of a “clash of civilizations” if U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump becomes president, the latest sign of disquiet across the Middle East over the businessman’s comments about Muslims.

Trump refused to back away from his recent statement that “Islam hates the West” during a Republican debate Thursday night in Miami, which came after he called in December for a ban on Muslims entering the United States.

Trump said he wouldn’t stoop to being “politically correct” by avoiding such statements.

Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, the deputy chairman of police and general security in Dubai, took to Twitter to respond. Referencing political scientist Samuel P. Huntington’s theory that future wars would be fought between cultures, Tamim warned that a Trump win could see him face Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“If Trump beats Hillary (Clinton), that means that the scenario of the clash of civilizations created by Samuel will come to light at the hands of the candidate and al-Baghdadi,” Tamim wrote.