The Minister of State for Tolerance, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, last week called for the promotion of the concept of tolerance to counter “a rise in negative rhetoric, discrimination and sectarianism”.
Her remarks, delivered to the Arab Media Forum, covered issues such as cultural exchange as well as religious dialogue, but were, in essence, focused on the need to champion shared human values at a time when they are increasingly under threat.
A few days earlier, I was part of a delegation, led by Sheikha Lubna, to the Vatican, following up on the visits last year both by Sheikha Lubna and by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Listening, along with thousands of pilgrims, to a homily delivered in St Peter's Square by Pope Francis and having the remarkable opportunity of a private viewing of the glories of the Sistine Chapel were highlights of that recent visit, but there was much more besides.
Among our official engagements were two that reflected the UAE's commitment to the development of deeper links with the Catholic Church.
One was a meeting with the head of the Vatican's historical archives to initiate discussions on potential future collaboration with the UAE's own National Archives. Among documents we were shown were some dating from the 17th century dealing with the interactions that then existed between Rome and the Arabian Gulf. The relationship between the Catholic Church and the UAE is not new, it dates back centuries, even if, at times, it was not altogether harmonious. In the history of that relationship, there are elements from which both sides can learn as we seek to strengthen ties today.
The second meeting was with the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. This meeting, coming ahead of the Pope's visit to Egypt and his historic meeting with the leadership of Al Azhar, provided an opportunity to promote mutual understanding and respect.
Addressing this theme, the chairman of the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Dr Mohammed Al Kaabi, pointed out that “the UAE has taken rapid steps to consolidate the values of tolerance and to correct misconceptions and misinterpretations regarding tolerance in our revered faith of Islam”.
While dialogue at this level is of enormous value, it will be unable to achieve the desired results unless there is also a reaching out to the public at large, whether to laymen or to clergy.
One important example of that was the visit to Abu Dhabi a few days ago of a group of more than 30 Muslim, Christian and Jewish clergymen from the United States, as part of an American “Caravan for Peace”, for discussions with the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, led by Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah.
One feature of those talks was the need for people of all faiths to be united against the practitioners of terrorism and the preachers of intolerance and hatred, with one Jewish participant later tweeting: “We all built bridges, not walls; [we] learned about love, not hate.”
During his historic address in Egypt a few days ago, Pope Francis said, in part: “We are called to walk together, in the conviction that the future also depends on the encounter of religions and cultures.”
Here in the UAE, as Sheikha Lubna noted last week, the presence of people from close to 200 countries, living together harmoniously, means that "we do have a sound equation for tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and we want to maintain this for future generations”.
A well-known English proverb states that "mighty oaks from little acorns grow". In a world where there is a desperate need for mighty oaks of tolerance, it is reassuring that, here in the UAE, our little acorns are well-rooted and are thriving.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Tonight's Chat on The National
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Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Honeymoonish
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
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MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
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Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
Key facilities
- 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
