Dubai: FAQ - Questions about the Gulf and Dubai

Why there has been such a big response? The article is fun - but it is really not new information. I have not discovered some new place in the world, Dubai is a big story that billions already know about.

Maybe it is because our readers tend to be Americans; there are a higher percentage of people who are unfamiliar with Dubai. Maybe it's because people feel comfortable asking us questions.

Perhaps it's because of the American point of view. Perhaps it's because the article recognizes that we do not know enough about the world (we have gotten lots of responses about this). Or perhaps it's because we are easy to contact and ask questions to.

Whatever the reason, thank you for all your emails and comments and questions.

As a result we've created this FAQ to answer common questions received in emails and other commentary from the article.

Please keep in mind that some of the questions are off topic from our area of expertise. I've done my best to answer them or provide suggestions.

Some of these questions seem outlandish and surprising to people who are familiar with Dubai. If you review some of the websites regarding discrimination against Islam such as CAIR, you will see that these major misconceptions are extremely common.

I don't like to even have the negative questions on here because they are so off base and the story is so positive. In my opinion, Dubai is one of the greatest things to happen to the human race in our lifetimes.

FAQs about Dubai, the UAE and the Middle East

Is Dubai part of Saudi Arabia?

No, Dubai is not part of Saudi Arabia. Saudi is a neighboring country to the UAE. The UAE is its own country, a sovereign nation.

Is Dubai a city or a country?

Dubai is the name of an Emirate or state within the United Arab Emirates or UAE. The UAE is its own country. Dubai is also the name of the major city in the state of Dubai, sometimes called Dubai City, Dubai. Kind of like Kansas City, Kansas only different.

If third world places like Dubai do better economically, won't they take our jobs?

Dubai is not third world! Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Dubai is not a place that is taking our jobs; they are providing jobs to many people from nearby nations like India and Pakistan. The local citizens of the UAE have an average annual income that is as high as or higher than the US.

I heard you on the radio, you say you supported Dubai Ports ownership of US ports. This is the craziest thing I have ever heard. How can you think that it is safe to allow an enemy to own our ports? Would you want to take responsibility for a bomb getting through?

Dubai is not an enemy! Dubai and the UAE are considered an ally by the US Government; there is no debate of this. You can review any US Government official website for confirmation of this. Even the opponents of the Dubai Ports deal did not argue that Dubai is our enemy; usually they simply misunderstood what the country is and lumped it in with Iraq and other Gulf states. The ports were already managed by a foreign nation, I think the denial of ownership was due to confusion about the region exactly like that evidenced by your question.

Security is handled by Homeland Security and the US Customs, this would not have changed. The Dubai Ports decision is a very unfortunate one by our Congress. I think if more people knew even the most basic facts about Dubai this denial would never have occurred.

Shouldn’t the UAE be more public in condemning Osama Bin Laden?

First of all, why do you say so? Second of all, they have been.

They have been very public in condemning Bin Laden and terrorism. Certainly they have been even more public about this than other nations who also had no ties with Bin Laden. If there is an expectation that the UAE somehow owes us more because they are in the Middle East, this may not be fair.

Just for the record, Bin Laden was in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is considered part of South Asia (not the Middle East) by many and is definitely not part of the Gulf region. Afghanistan is not

really that close to the UAE. To get to Afghanistan from the UAE one would have to cross through Saudi Arabia, past Bahrain and Qatar, past Kuwait then around through Iraq, which is a large country and then through Iran which is even larger. Alternatively, one could get on a boat from the UAE and cross over the Arabian Sea then through either Iran or Pakistan to get to Afghanistan.

Because both the UAE and Afghanistan are far away and different from us some in the US tend to lump them together. They are extremely different places. Remember: Barbados, Atlanta, Miami, Belize and Cuba are all somewhat close by, as are Lithuania, Finland, Germany and Sweden. It is unreasonable to judge a country by our perception of how close it may be to another country.

How come they have not apologized for 9-11?

The UAE had nothing whatsoever to do with 9-11, so no, they should not apologize. Just as Christians in Nebraska should not need to apologize for Slobodan Milosevic's ethnic cleansing or Lutherans in Oregon should not need to apologize for Nazi war criminal Rudolph Hess.

Do you really think all this will work? How will they get the construction expertise to do such advanced building?

Well, it's already working. Dubai is not a pipe dream; it's an actual place you can go to. Some projects are in the planning stages but many are already under construction, many are done. One person emailed me and said that the indoor Ski Resort will "never work" and that they are underestimating the resources needed for continuous cooling etc etc. Well Ski Dubai is done, it is not under construction, it's completed, the snow is there, it is working and I've seen it. Anyone else can see it who wants to.

The construction expertise is there now and it is working. Burj Dubai (the tallest tower in the world) is not a concept, its real and it will be done. Just because some parts of the world are slower with construction doesn’t mean that everyone has to be.

Aren't you concerned about the continued rise of Islamic fundamentalism and that this will just be a temporary phase until the Taliban or someone takes over?

No. There is no "Taliban" running through the streets of the UAE! Again, this is a highly developed country that is very safe, secure, stable and modern. Most people who have been there would not understand your question or, no offence, might laugh at the notion. I appreciate your question; because it helps put in perspective how much most of us Americans need to learn about Dubai.

How much of all this construction is from our tax dollars?

Again, wrong country. This is not the rebuilding of Iraq that you might be referring to; this is a totally and completely separate place. Dubai and the UAE have a lot of money and they also have foreign investment from Saudi Arabia who is also wealthy and from China and other areas. By the way, a lot of money flowing into this region is a result of people pulling money out of the US after 9-11. From some questions I get, the perception still remains that this is a poor nation. It is not.

If Islam doesn’t advocate terrorism as your article claims, how come Muslims don’t condemn terrorists?

They do. There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. How many are terrorists? I did not mean to make the major focus of the article religion or certainly terror. I didn’t even mention terror in the article. It is an article about business and positive things.

The events of 9-11 had a large economic and other impact on all the citizens of the Middle East and the overwhelming majority of Muslims are very much against terrorism. The overwhelming majority of Muslim nations are allies with the US.

Is Dubai anti-Israel and anti Jewish? How would a Jewish person be treated there?

General Tommy Franks has said that the UAE is the best chance for resolution of the Israeli and Palestine issues. He knows better than I do. From what I saw, the focus in Dubai is not on hating others but on building something great. Honestly I don’t think the leaders of Dubai spend much of their time on negatives, they tend to focus on positives and that trickles down to every citizen and resident. The focus is on building not on conflict. People with Israeli stamps on their passport are admitted to the UAE unlike some other nations. I think Jewish people, like any other group will be treated depending on what specific person they interact with and just as Arab people will be treated in a range of ways if they go to Israel or New York.

Beyond this I am not qualified to answer your question but am interested in any opinions anyone can provide.

Update: My friend has emailed me with this note:

The UAE does not treat any person of any religion differently. I have known a few American/European Jewish Engineers in Abu Dhabi. Many Israeli businessmen came to the country in the wake of the IMF meeting a few years back.

Your article says "many Americans don’t know the difference between an Arab and a Muslim" okay, you got me, and I'm one of them. What's the difference?

Arab refers to someone who is a speaker of Arabic, typically from an Arab country, mainly in the Middle East and North Africa. This could be someone of any religion, for example there are many Arab Christians. Muslim means someone who follows the religion of Islam and can be from anywhere in the world. For example: there are Muslims in Pakistan, Japan, Ohio, Delaware and Australia.

Your article says that Muslims believe in Jesus. Is this true? If so, how many of them and in what way?

I'm a financial guy not a religious scholar! That was just a passing mention in an article that is focused mainly on good things about Dubai and about business. It's unusual for me to discuss religion in business and I am not a religious expert. But yes, Muslims do believe in Jesus. From my understanding Jesus is considered a Prophet just as the Prophet Mohammed is. It is important to note that Islam comes from the same root religion as Judaism and Christianity. The book "Islam for Dummies" says that the Quran states that all three religions believe in the same god. Just as Jews and various types of Christians believe in the same god, Christians, Jews and Muslims do as well.

I wish I could explain more but I am not qualified. I am sure if you ask a Muslim or go to a mosque and ask to speak with an Imam (religious leader) he will be happy to tell you more (and better) information. It is very important to learn.

Are they Shiites or Sunnis in Dubai and the UAE?

According to the State Department, the UAE is 80% Sunni Muslim, 15% Shiite and 5% Christian and others. There are also 3.5 million expats (foreigners who live there) in the UAE of various religions.

Update - I received this note by email from Dubai:

There is no Shiia-Sunni stigma between the people of the UAE. The UAE Nationals are just like the Americans, we are a concoction of many immigrants and races. You will see white locals who are originally from Iran, others who are originally from Zanzibar (Sub Saharan Africa) Bedus, Naturalized Indians, Palestinians, Pakistanis, etc.

You say that Islam condemns terrorism, so not all Muslims are terrorists - how come ALL terrorists are Muslims?

I'm not a politician and it's too bad that a positive article about a place triggers so many terror questions, but I am glad you asked because, although sad, this type of question seems to be very common in addressing anything to do with the Gulf. More than half the responses to my article were on terror.

First off, not "all terrorists" are Muslim. Oklahoma city, the Atlanta Olympics bombing, bombings in London and many other terrorist acts in the US, England and other nations have been conducted by Christians and members of other religions.

Some high profile terrorists recently have been Muslim but it is important to remember that this religion has just as many members as there are Catholics. Did you know that the US has over three million Muslims, which is actually more than the UAE has as citizens? There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. That is a fifth of our planet. If even one in 1000 Muslims were terrorists that would be more than the entire population of Wyoming, Vermont and Washington DC combined. This just isn’t the case by any stretch of the imagination. Proportionately there are a similar number of terrorists who are Christian members of the KKK or other organizations. It is an extremely small radical faction.

I am not some kind of attorney/ advocate for all Muslims. This is not even my area of focus. I am just a business person who wrote an article about a very interesting place with a good deal of business opportunity. There are many other people and groups who can speak about these things better than I can. But please, do some research; your statement is a very sad and incorrect one.

Did you see any people with armed guards or others that appeared to be terrorists?

No, not at all. Again, no offence but this is a way off base question. Thanks for asking though. It is hard to convey the vibe of this place. From the questions I get I see that many people just do not get the picture of the type of place this is. Dubai is not the image we see of an Arab or Muslim nation on TV. This is a regular, nice, beautiful city that I would be happy and comfortable to bring my family. There are no jeeps full of "scary bearded men" shouting and firing AK-47s in the air. Such a site would be as bizarre and out of place in Dubai as it would be in Greenwich Connecticut.

You're a business person who is able to stay in safe areas and have the best guides etc. Do you think a regular traveler would feel safe there?

Yes, it is as safe for everyone who goes there. I am a pretty "regular" traveler. I did not receive special treatment at all and it isn’t needed to be safe.

What about the Al Qaeda in Dubai? Is the government influenced by them or are they making progress routing them out?

No, the government is not controlled by them at all because there isn’t Al Qaeda in Dubai. There are no more Al Qaeda in Dubai than there are in America.

When was the last time you saw a Sandinista guerilla fighter, Nicaraguan rebel or Columbian drug lord in Houston Texas? Just because we perceive that Dubai and the UAE is close to countries that have Al Qaeda does not mean that they have ties with them.

Is there an anti-American sentiment there? Where you subject to any discrimination? Do they hate us?

I didn’t see any. The closest thing I would say is that I saw some sadness and disappointment in America from some people. America is very respected and even honored worldwide. Our international "brand" was the best on earth but has fallen hard in recent years. The reaction by some might be like having a big brother who let you down. I ran into almost no outright criticism of America, even less than what I see in the US. I am sure that in such a large and diverse city there are people who dislike America just as there are in any other (even our own) cities. In any event, there is no way that someone named John Smith from the US would face the obstacles in Dubai that someone named Mohammad Attar would face in Chicago.

Are they really our ally or is that just politically correct nonsense?

Yes, the UAE is our official ally. This is a matter of public record and is not just wasted words. The UAE is a trading partner, ally, military supporter and friend of the US and we are of them.

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Dubai: Frequently Asked Questions

By Bruce Fenton, Editor