Some Imams Don’t Believe ‘Prayer is Better than Sleep’

The early morning call to prayer (fajr) contains the line, ‘Prayer is Better than Sleep’, however, some UAE Muslims are expressing dismay that their imams don’t believe this statement because they are staying in bed rather than leading their believers in prayer.

The Gulf News article (24 March 2008) continues the tirade against some imams whose ‘crime’ is accentuated by the fact that UAE imams are paid by the state and are provided with accommodation nearby their mosque so they can give their liturgical leadership with punctuality.

Some people are demanding that imams should be required to clock in and clock out so their hours can be closely monitored. Others report that many mosques have low attendances and are thinking that the lack of devotion displayed by the imams is having an unfortunate influence on their followers.

One wonders whether the recent switch to replacing all local muezzins who give the call to prayer with one person, whose call is delivered to all mosques by satellite, is making UAE imams feel redundant. The next logical and cheaper step is for local imams to be replaced by one punctual imam whose leading of the prayers is also done via satellite.

For more detail: Samir Salama, ‘Worshippers Replace Sleepy Imams to Lead Morning Prayers’, Gulf News, 24 March 2008.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: A good attendance at prayer.

The New Zealand UAE Connection

Mike Moore, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, writes in today’s NZ Herald about the Arab states, the United Arab Emirates and some of the pressing issues for New Zealand as it strengthens its relationship with the Emirates.

Mike Moore, ‘Arab States on the Frontline of Progress’, NZ Herald, 24 March 2008.

Image: New Zealand’s Mike Moore.

New Zealanders Attracted to the UAE, NZ Herald, 25 May 2008

Emirates Passengers up in the Air over Mobile Phones

The Emirates Airline web site claims that its passengers can “enjoy one of the highest standards of comfort, service and facilities” but the news that Emirates now allows the use of personal cell phones is threatening this core commitment.

The news about Emirates Airline securing this ‘first’ on its flight this week en route to Casablanca has been greeted with a mixed response.

Those who prefer using the phone to email sound like they will be in cell phone heaven.

Others are anticipating being imprisoned next to an obsessive and loud telephone caller on the route from Auckland to Heathrow and are considering a switch to a Personal Phone Free airline.

Emirates Airline has provided some details on the use of its new service and is asking passengers to switch their phone to silent and vibrator mode. How will they ever police this so that other passengers won’t be plagued by loud and showy ring tones?

Will Emirates Airline provide some inflight telephone booths to absorb the noise of one-sided conversations?

Will Emirates Airline allow passengers to manage their bookings to such an extent that in addition to opting for an aisle seat and a low fat meal they will be able to choose a location at least 10 rows away from someone who will choose to use their mobile phone?

More information please, Emirates Airline. We want to keep discovering.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: New information for new service.

Emerging Architecture in the UAE

Dubai has gained world-wide attention in the past few years because of its booming economy and ambitious architectural projects.

The web site posting, ‘Dubai’s 18 Projects Destined to Change the Face of Global Architecture’ is worth a look.

The link is Impact Lab 15 March 2008.

Image: #1 of 18, the Zaha Hadid Dancing Towers.

World’s Tallest Skyscraper Delayed

The world's tallest skyscraper under construction in the city of Dubai will take longer than planned to finish, its builders said, putting off the opening planned for the end of this year.

The Burj Dubai tower currently stands over 1,700 feet tall. The state-owned developer Emaar Properties said completion would be postponed until sometime in 2009. It did not give specifics, but the newspaper Gulf News and the online news site ArabianBusiness.com said the delay would be four months.

"The company would rather opt for a nominal delay in total quality execution of the Burj Dubai ... than compromise on any aspect of quality," Emaar, one of the main builders in this Gulf boomtown, said in a press release without elaborating.

Emaar did not give the reason for the delay.

Further details: ‘Burj Dubai Opening Delayed by Four Months’, Gulf News, 4 March 2008.

Image: Burj Dubai.

UAE Authorities Explain Internet Censorship

A spokesperson explains how and why many Internet sites are blocked for UAE users, at this link:

Martin Youssef, ‘Keeping Internet Access Safe from Terror and Danger’, Gulf News, 11 March 2008.

Painting the Emirates

Anyone interested in the landscape of the UAE and the scenes which are quintessentially Emirati, needs to get a copy of Trevor Waugh’s book, ‘The Emirates through the Eyes of an Artist’.

A review of this book is posted at Reviewing Books and Movies.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of The Emirates through the Eyes of an Artist.

‘Oil Draining’ in Fujairah Waters not ‘Oil Spills’

With the second covering of oil on Fujairah beaches in three weeks it is high time that we stop calling these crimes ‘oil spillages’ and recognize them as the willful and intentional draining of oil slops into the water in the dead of night to save time and money.

Read about the further oil on Fujairah waters and the call for urgent and decisive action at Fujairah in Focus.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Oil on Fujairah shore (courtesy of Deeper Blue)

Australians Eye Abu Dhabi’s New Mosque

A feature article in the Travel section of today’s Melbourne Age has an article on Abu Dhabi’s new mosque with a series of photos.

The writer states that many westerners are flocking to see the mosque which, unusually, is open to women and those who are not members of the Islamic faith.

To read more about the architecture, specifications and the cost of this new building, follow this link:
‘Non-Muslims Flock to Sumptuous Mosque', Melbourne Age, 5 March 2008.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the biggest in the UAE and the third largest in the world.

Drug Laws in the UAE: Travelers Beware!

Arrests
There has been a flurry of articles lately issuing warnings to travelers to the UAE and supplying examples of the special drug laws in the Emirates.

The popular web site Boing Boing posted an article in 29 January 2008 about a young man who had been arrested in Dubai for carrying melatonin, supposedly for alleviating jet-lag.

In February Boing Boing’s Mark Frauenfelder had a more extensive article entitled ‘UAE's very scary drug laws’, which drew on the 8 February 2008 BBC article entitled ‘Tourists Warned of UAE Drug Laws’.

Warnings
The British story explored the episode and came up with its own warnings.

Some examples of recent breaches of the drug laws in the UAE that were cited included the following:

• A Swiss man "is serving a four-year jail term after three poppy seeds from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow airport were found on his clothes."

• A 43-year-old Englishman who had a cigarette stuck to his shoe was sentenced was sentenced to four years in prison for possession of 0.003g of cannabis.

• Customs officers held a woman for eight weeks before she was able to convince authorities that her codeine pills were prescribed by her doctor for back pain.

The BBC article issued these warnings:
"If they find any amount - no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence.

"What many travellers may not realise is that they can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace amounts on their person."

Update
Since these articles have been posted the Gulf News has reported at least two instances (25 February 2008, 2 March 2008) of people having charges of drug possession dismissed and they being released from jail. Not all cases, however, have been overturned.

Information
The Fair Trials International has published a full list of UAE banned substances on its website.

The British Foreign Office is advising all travellers carrying any prescription drugs to take a doctor's letter detailing exactly why they need the medicine and the exact dose.

Up to the minute stories on drug themes are posted on the UAE-The Official Web Site, UAEInteract.

Dr. Geoff Pound.