It started with cookies. Somtime in the 1980s, a European woman was going around a small neighbourhood in Jeddah giving out freshly baked cookies to her neighbours.
Some refused to open their door for her; others were suspicious of the cookies. They asked questions like: “Are they halal?” Others even said: “Do you even know what halal means?” A third group expressed delight and surprise at this hospitable gesture.
She had baked a variety of cookies, made with chocolate chips, ginger, dates or nuts, so there was something for everyone. That was the intention. Mind you, this was before the onset of the “chronic dieters” trend and so the cookies were devoured.
I used to be shy about these gestures. I was easily offended when someone exhibited intolerance towards these kind gestures. I still haven’t gone around and started conversations with neighbours through cookies.
I actually don’t know my neighbours with the exception of the one directly opposite me because her son has asked about my cats.
But this was the way of that lady to spread joy and create a web of understanding and friendship. It was her way of returning rudeness and suspicion with politeness and patience. That lady is my mother. Today, decades later, I see the effect of small gestures. Whenever I visit my mother, the children of the neighbours she once brought cookies to will also be visiting.
As we celebrated the International Day for Tolerance yesterday, it is important to remember that simple gestures do work in creating a more tolerant world.And while it has been 21 years of annual celebrations and awareness campaigns on this issue, we still struggle today with many facets of intolerance.
Discrimination and hate are not new, nor limited to any nation or culture. Whenever one is stressed or in trouble, there are tendencies for some to lash out using race, religion and other differences as a means of putting down the other. Making generalisations about any nation is wrong and causes further hate. There are incidents of abuse and mistreatment reported almost everywhere, and the latest political changes in the United States and Europe saw the rise of Islamophobia, anti-Arab and anti-migrant sentiment in general.
Inspired by Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, some racist posters have appeared in Toronto saying: “Hey, white person,” and then invited readers to “join the alt-Right,” listing websites that promise to provide news from a “pro-European” perspective. That is why work by the UAE’s Ministry of Tolerance is phenomenal and critical. It is pushing forward tolerance when large parts of the world are regressing to intolerance, racism and fanaticism. It is preparing several local, regional and international initiatives to promote tolerance and coexistence and help make the region more secure.
“The Government is working heavily on ensuring that hatred, discrimination and extremism are fought locally, regionally and internationally,” said Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance.
From laws to education programmes at schools and private homes, and the individual’s own attempts to better understand themselves, all these initiatives help make each of us a better and more tolerant person. I am not sure what texts extremists like ISIL are following, but I do know for sure that they are not following the words of Prophet Mohammed, who in his last sermon stressed the importance of tolerance in everyday life.
“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action,” he said.
Now, regardless of whether one is a Muslim or not, it is whether or not we actually apply important values like this in our lives to make ours and other’s lives better.
rghazal@thenational.ae
On Twitter: @arabianmau
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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.”
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The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
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
