The well-publicised incident in the United States involving an Emirati businessman who was held by police after a hotel clerk made a call to them claiming the man had pledged allegiance to ISIL has angered many in the UAE, for a variety of reasons.
Ahmed Al Menhali, 41, was in Cleveland for medical treatment. He was wearing national dress and speaking on his phone in Arabic at the time of the incident, which was very sudden, reportedly heavy-handed and caused him to faint afterwards.
There seems to be an atmosphere of fear that has arisen in recent years around anything that’s different to what we’re familiar with. I can’t help but feel upset at Al Menhali’s treatment – this man’s life was put at risk because of the clothes he was wearing and the language he was speaking. He was in the US because he was sick, but ended up coming home with a less-than-positive experience.
The incident was taken so seriously that it prompted the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advise Emiratis to refrain from wearing our traditional national dress while abroad. This makes me sad, because our country welcomes people from all around the world, without aggression and hostility. I’m never alarmed by the presence of an individual from a different ethnic group in the UAE, and I never assume the worst when I hear a foreign language spoken in front of me.
After this incident and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ warnings, I will be far more careful with my personal safety while travelling abroad. I don’t usually wear my abaya and shayla when I’m in a foreign country anyway; instead, I usually wear some long clothing with a hijab.
I guess that would perhaps not make it so obvious to others that I’m from a GCC country, but it would still be obvious that I’m a Muslim. People would most likely still hear me speak Arabic, and I guess it’s a little concerning that’s what the hotel clerk mistook for pledging allegiance to ISIL – this kind of ignorance puts all Arabic speakers at risk.
The state of fear across the world right now as a result of continuing unrest and terrorist acts makes me believe that the incident involving the Emirati man is not a problem associated with our culture. But there does seem to be a problem affecting American culture – there appears to be a wave of xenophobia sweeping the US at the moment, and it’s not nice to witness.
Fawzeya Abdul Rahman works for the Abu Dhabi Government.
If you have a good story to tell or an interesting issue to debate, contact Melinda Healy on mhealy@thenational.ae.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
