In the US, a small business is manufacturing pork-laced bullets. "Jihawg Ammo is certified 'haraam', or unclean," says the website. "According to the belief system of the radical Islamist becoming 'unclean' during Jihad will prevent their attaining entrance into heaven."
There's just one word to describe this: dumb.
Despite the idiocy of the claim (pork contact doesn't damn anyone to hell), what's frightening is that the openly expressed hate-filled sentiments against Muslims are part of a wider trend.
Even if you were crazy enough to purchase the piggy bullets, how would you know if someone is Muslim? Force Muslims to wear the equivalent of the yellow star forced on Jews in Nazi Germany?
I guess that they'll be used on people who "look Muslim". Because this is the latest danger: looking Muslim.
Once, we used to joke about the difficulties of "flying while Muslim", referring to the additional security checks and border control that Muslims routinely face, along with dirty looks from fellow passengers.
Having a "Muslim-sounding" name can land you in trouble, from checks on bank accounts to discrimination in job applications. Now, simply "looking Muslim" is a perilous activity that can lead to suspicion, hatred, violence and even death.
A pregnant Muslim woman in Paris miscarried after she was kicked in the stomach. A woman in a headscarf in Germany was stabbed 18 times in a courtroom. A 75-year-old man was stabbed to death while returning from prayers at a mosque.
Immediately after the Woolwich attack in London, the BBC's political correspondent said he'd been told the attackers were of "Muslim appearance".
The US secretary of defence, Chuck Hagel, asked a professor of Indian origin: "You're not a member of the Taliban are you?"
"Looking Muslim" equates to being a terrorist.
That terrorists always "look Muslim" is a view being perpetuated by the FBI. In a series of recent bus advertisements, pictures of 16 wanted suspects - mostly brown and black - were captioned "faces of global terrorism".
This is a visual echo of the bigoted and factually inaccurate mantra: "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim."
The facts suggest otherwise. In the FBI's most recent data (for 1996-2005) only 6 per cent of terrorist acts were deemed "Islamic terrorism".
More recent data from Europol about the EU shows that from 2006 to 2011 only 24 per cent of terrorism-related arrests and detentions were "Islamic". Out of 2,313 terrorist incidents, only 55 Muslims were found to be directly related to terrorist attacks during that period. According to their EU Terrorism Situation and Trends report, in 2011 "not one religiously inspired terrorist attack on EU territory was reported".
Last year, out of 219 attacks on EU territory, only six were "religiously inspired".
There is hope that bigotry in the face of the facts can be challenged. Commenting on the FBI adverts, US Representative Jim McDermott expressed concern they would exacerbate the trend of hate crimes against Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim-Americans. The FBI has pulled the advertisements.
We need more people to stand up and challenge the openness in hostility to those who "look Muslim", a description that can be stretched to cover anyone who is "other". If we don't, then we will find that simply "looking Muslim" could get you killed, with or without pork-laced bullets.
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and blogs at www.spirit21.co.uk
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Blue%20Beetle
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Favourite book: ‘The Art of Learning’ by Josh Waitzkin
Favourite film: Marvel movies
Favourite parkour spot in Dubai: Residence towers in Jumeirah Beach Residence
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
