Religious holidays in the UAE have a tendency to rally the nation and unite residents under one spiritual umbrella. That is particularly evident during the month of Ramadan and, increasingly, during the Christian festival of Christmas, when the beacon of spirituality and tolerance held high by the country shines brightly. The UAE has designated 2019 the Year of Tolerance, a clarion call in an increasingly divided world. With days to go before a year that will see the Pope make an historic visit, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, the Minister of Tolerance, has spoken of his belief that religion is a positive force for the world.
Some around the world will need convincing. After all, we live in a time of hate and intolerance – dark colours, nailed to religion’s mast, to which the lost, the fearful and the vitriolic are persuaded to cling in despair. But these are not the true colours of faith. Religion has been manipulated and misrepresented to justify aberrations in humanity, from the suffering of innocents across the Middle East to outrages on the streets of European cities. As a consequence, minds and borders are closing everywhere, in a contraction of compassion that diminishes us all.
Sheikh Nahyan speaks of tolerance as a bridge and it is a fitting metaphor. Intolerance thrives in isolation, fear and ignorance while tolerance is the bridge that can connect us to our fellow human beings. Nowhere is this more evident than in the UAE, a multicultural beacon of peace and stability, where people of all faiths have long lived together in harmony. Christians across the UAE are preparing to celebrate Christmas, as they have done since the nation's earliest days. In 1967, Sheikh Rashid, then the ruler of Dubai, attended the blessing at St Mary's Roman Catholic church. St Andrew's in Abu Dhabi was built on land gifted in 1966 by Sheikh Zayed. Tolerance was the foundation stone of the UAE. In 2019, the nation will show the world the way to cross the bridge it has built to peace and understanding.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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
