{"id":2280,"date":"2017-06-20T09:34:47","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T09:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/new\/?p=2280"},"modified":"2017-07-13T08:54:04","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T08:54:04","slug":"uae-a-huge-leap-from-medieval-ways-by-sara-al-nuaimi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/2017\/06\/20\/uae-a-huge-leap-from-medieval-ways-by-sara-al-nuaimi\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE: &#8220;A Huge Leap from Medieval Ways&#8221; by Sara Al Nuaimi"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: justify;\">\n<ul class=\"content_preface_bullets\" style=\"list-style-type: square; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: #da0026;\">\n<li style=\"font-size: 16px; font-family: Palatino, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #da0026;\">\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">The remarkable crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, donated land for the Hindu temple, to foster cultural and religious tolerance, and bring diversity to Abu Dhabi. The temple also fit newly passed UAE legislation establishing religious freedom.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square;\">\n<li>\n<hr id=\"system-readmore\" class=\"mceItemReadMore\" \/>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-size: 16px; font-family: Palatino, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #da0026;\">\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">As the prince explained, a &#8220;civilized, advanced&#8221; Abu Dhabi with sustainable development requires &#8220;concerted efforts from all sectors of the community&#8221; &#8212; Hindus included.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-size: 16px; font-family: Palatino, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #da0026;\">\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;This is a huge leap from medieval ways of thinking. Humanity is against aggression and stopping others from practicing their faith.&#8221; \u2014 Saleh Al Turigee of Saudi Arabia, who has 143,000 Twitter followers.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-size: 16px; font-family: Palatino, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #da0026;\">\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">Positive voices from the UAE and elsewhere in the Middle East, especially Egypt, supported the temple. It shows that the non-extremist segment not only exists, but is ready to take on the extremists.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-size: 16px; font-family: Palatino, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #da0026;\">\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;Religion is for Allah only. All Imams agree that building temples for idol worshipping is a blasphemy.&#8221; \u2014 Waseem Yousef, imam of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. He quickly found his television show canceled.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: justify;\">\n<p>A tweet by India&#8217;s Prime Minister Modi on Aug. 16, during his visit to Abu Dhabi, prompted a unique cultural debate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Announcing to his 14.9 million followers that the UAE government had allotted land for a Hindu temple, he prompted a discussion on Twitter that generated over 25,000 tweets in the Arabic language alone (a very large number for public opinion in the UAE and other Arabian monarchies), coverage on the BBC, and more.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 10px;\" align=\"center\"><\/div>\n<p>It was the remarkable crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who donated land for the temple; he did so to foster cultural and religious tolerance and fit his longstanding effort to bring diversity to Abu Dhabi (another notable example was establishing the Guggenheim Museum). As the\u00a0<a style=\"text-decoration: none; color: #da5724;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cpc.gov.ae\/en-us\/thecrownprince\/Pages\/default.aspx\">prince explained<\/a>, a &#8220;civilized, advanced&#8221; Abu Dhabi with sustainable development requires &#8220;concerted efforts from all sectors of the community&#8221; &#8212; Hindus included. The temple also fit newly passed UAE legislation establishing\u00a0<a style=\"text-decoration: none; color: #da5724;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thenational.ae\/uae\/government\/anti-discrimination-law-enacted-across-uae\">religious freedom<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But the prospect of a state-supported Hindu temple immediately provoked an uproar, beginning with the Twitter hashtag (in Arabic) #BuildingAHinduTempleInAbuDhabi. The imam of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi (where super-star Rihanna controversially had modeled her Arabian outfit), Waseem Yousef, kicked off the debate that same day with a tweet asserting that &#8220;Religion is for Allah only. All Imams agree that building temples for idol worshipping is a blasphemy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 590px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 590px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1286.jpg\" width=\"590\" height=\"309\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;Religion is for Allah only. All Imams agree that building temples for idol worshipping is a blasphemy.&#8221; \u2014 Waseem Yousef<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 590px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 590px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1301.jpg\" width=\"590\" height=\"391\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;If you truly respect religions, you&#8217;d keep these scumbags out of the mosques of Alla.h&#8221; \u2014 Ahmad Aloudah<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The popular UAE response to Youssef&#8217;s tweet came fast and hard: #StopWassim&#8217;sTVShow. And, indeed, he quickly found his television show interpreting dreams\u00a0<a style=\"text-decoration: none; color: #da5724;\" href=\"http:\/\/alkhaleejaffairs.org\/c-24040\/\">canceled<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>News of the Hindu temple then crossed over to nearby countries, especially Saudi Arabia, where a surge of anti-Hindu sentiments smeared the crown prince, the UAE government, and all Emiratis.<\/p>\n<p>Some anti-Hindu tweets cited the Prophet Muhammad breaking idols in Mecca. Others focused on the persecution of Muslims in Burma where Buddhists (not Hindus) destroyed a historic mosque and massacred Muslims.<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 591px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 591px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1287.jpg\" width=\"591\" height=\"144\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;1400 years ago the prophet purified Arabia from idol worshipping. Now it returns to Abu Dhabi.&#8221; \u2014 Mshari Al-Shammari<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Other Saudis were anti-freedom and progress. They apparently believe it collides with Islamic values, and refuse to consider the UAE as a model for balancing the two:<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 592px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 592px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1288.jpg\" width=\"592\" height=\"178\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;They claim freedom, build churches and temples, but they&#8217;re actually taking bad habits from the West and calling it progress.&#8221; \u2014 @zeiid2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Some of the tweets attacked Abu Dhabi&#8217;s crown prince:<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 508px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 508px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1289.jpg\" width=\"508\" height=\"704\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;Only Muslims are worthy of your love and compassion.&#8221; \u2014 @Alyahyamo7ammad<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) also weighed in:<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 595px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 595px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1291.jpg\" width=\"595\" height=\"169\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;We are destroying the temples of idol worshippers, and the UAE is calling Muslims to follow the infidels.&#8221; \u2014 @Asdia1Y<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Surprisingly, this was tweeted from a Canadian Muslim, referring to the Hindu temple:<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 591px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 591px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1290.jpg\" width=\"591\" height=\"359\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;Thank god for ISIS, which will blow it up soon.&#8221; \u2014 Angham Mohammad Ali<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The response, however, was not one sided. A tweet quickly emerged from Saudi Arabia under a trending hashtag #LiberalRational:<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 600px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 600px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1292.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"419\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;Idol worshipping never left Mecca. Mecca is the idol that you worship.&#8221; \u2014 @azoozazeez1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Other twitter users from Saudi Arabia also followed suit, including the writer and public figure Saleh Al Turigee, who has 143,000 followers on Twitter.<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 593px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 593px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1293.jpg\" width=\"593\" height=\"109\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;This is a huge leap from medieval ways of thinking. Humanity is against aggression and stopping others from practicing their faith.&#8221; \u2014 Saleh Al Turigee<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Positive voices from the UAE and elsewhere in the Middle East, especially Egypt, supported the temple; they pushed it forth as a symbol of love, freedom, knowledge, innovation, and humanity.<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 591px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 591px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1294.jpg\" width=\"591\" height=\"628\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;India: A Sikh man builds a mosque for his Muslim childhood friend. Extremists will never understand this.&#8221; \u2014 @mo7d_alhajri<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 590px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 590px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1295.jpg\" width=\"590\" height=\"90\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;Religious freedom is a right for everyone, just as it is a right for you to have a mosque in non-Muslim countries&#8221; \u2014 F. K. Habeeb<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 591px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 591px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1296.jpg\" width=\"591\" height=\"390\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;Cow-worshippers produced the following people, and we produced ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah.&#8221; \u2014 Karim Habsi, Oman.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 592px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 592px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1297.jpg\" width=\"592\" height=\"125\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;UAE says Islam is a religion of humanity. ISIS says Islam is a religion of blood.&#8221; \u2014 Fatima Naoot, Egypt (492K followers\/writer)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Some tweets, both pro- and anti-temple, showed a sense of humor:<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 591px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 591px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1298.jpg\" width=\"591\" height=\"124\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;Let&#8217;s just respect their Holy Cow and stop eating Kebabs.&#8221; &#8220;The cows would be happy.&#8221; \u2014 @alabood9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 10px;\" align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1299.jpg\" width=\"590\" height=\"372\" border=\"0\" \/><\/div>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 443px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; max-width: 443px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/large\/1300.jpg\" width=\"443\" height=\"550\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 11.48px; margin: 4px 6px;\">&#8220;We are on our way to Abu Dhabi&#8221; \u2014 @33Abomamed<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The Hindu temple issue reveals with special clarity the divide between Muslim extremists (who perceive the &#8220;Other&#8221; as an infidel) and Muslim non-extremists (who follow a spirit of openness, peace, and coexistence with different cultures in modern times). More importantly, it shows that a non-extremist segment not only exists, but is ready to take on the extremists. From Abu Dhabi&#8217;s crown prince, to the city&#8217;s population, to the larger body of Arabic-language Twitter activists, the non-extremists can stand up to &#8212; and sometimes defeat &#8212; the ISIS crowd.<\/p>\n<p>As a UAE national who lives in Abu Dhabi, where 80% of the residents come from 161 foreign nationalities, I believe the people are looking forward to the openness represented by the Hindu temple. We look forward to its opening and see this as a welcome, significant step towards the defeat of the extremists in our midst.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>Sara Al Nuaimi is an Emirati lady, a Muslim and a cultural activist based in Abu Dhabi<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The remarkable crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, donated land for the Hindu temple, to foster cultural and religious tolerance, and bring diversity to Abu Dhabi. The temple also fit newly passed UAE legislation establishing religious freedom. As the prince explained, a &#8220;civilized, advanced&#8221; Abu Dhabi with sustainable development requires<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2280"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4472,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280\/revisions\/4472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}