Last week, an audience of British Members of Parliament had the opportunity to hear, at first-hand, about an aspect of the UAE that is well-known here but which receives little attention overseas – the country’s firm commitment to the principle of religious tolerance.
The occasion was a talk by Reverend Andrew Thompson, vicar of St Andrew’s Church in Abu Dhabi, who had been invited by the UAE Embassy in London to meet political and other opinion leaders to talk on the topic.
It’s one he is well-equipped to address. Author of Jesus of Arabia, a look at the Christian gospels through the prism of Arab culture, as well as of Christianity in the UAE, Mr Thompson has long worked to promote interfaith dialogue and better understanding between Christians and Muslims.
The MPs, I gather, were somewhat surprised to hear of the UAE’s approach to tolerance. When so much current media coverage of Muslim-Christian relations in the Arab world is focused on the attacks by terrorist groups such as ISIL on the native Arab-Christian inhabitants of Iraq and Syria, their surprise is understandable.
We need more initiatives such as that taken by the embassy in London to arrange for people like Mr Thompson to be invited to talk about the reality of life in the UAE. Perhaps that will help to dispel some of the illusions held about the country abroad, not only in Britain but also elsewhere. The UAE is not just a somewhat exotic holiday destination for millions of tourists to come and soak up a bit of sun and to gawp at landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa – impressive though it is – or to goggle at faux-cultural events such as belly-dancing shows in the desert. (Since when, I might ask, was belly-dancing part of UAE culture?)
Nor is the UAE merely a country whose main feature of interest is the difficulties, often troubling though they may be, that are faced by those at the lower levels of the economic pecking order, be they construction workers or housemaids.
The real picture, of course, is one that’s more diverse, one of a country that has witnessed remarkable economic and social development. At the same time, it has gone through, and continues to go through, a process of huge demographic upheaval, yet has preserved its stability.
It’s a country that has taken on the responsibility of playing a role in the wider world: helping to bring the conflict in the former Yugoslavia to an end, supporting the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and now in Syria and Iraq, and, at the same time, contributing huge sums to humanitarian relief and to promoting economic development around the world.
The current focus on the Yemen conflict is of enormous significance, but it’s important, too, to ensure other aspects of the UAE’s long record of international engagement are not forgotten.
All this, and more, like the UAE’s support for religious tolerance in a region where this is in short supply, needs, and deserves, more recognition overseas.
That’s not to say that everything in the UAE is perfect. Of course it isn’t: as I’ve noted before, the UAE is a work in progress, continually striving to improve.
There remains much to be done, for example, in addressing labour issues, though a lot has already been achieved, with more on the way. I personally would like to see a change in the way in which the judicial system addresses cases of rape, so that women, whether domestic servants or others, no longer feel afraid to report attacks, in case they are accused of consensual sex outside marriage.
It’s evident though that, for the vast majority of people, the positives far outweigh the negatives. It’s time, perhaps, for a bit more effort in promoting international awareness of those positives, to ensure that the image of the country held abroad better reflects the actual situation at home.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Results for Stage 2
Stage 2 Yas Island to Abu Dhabi, 184 km, Road race
Overall leader: Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Fernando Gaviria COL (UAE Team Emirates) 2. Elia Viviani ITA (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) 3. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
