Introduction
Dubai is considered to be the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE. It has been mapped on the Southeast Coast of the Persian Gulf. Among the seven emirates, it is only Dubai and Abu Dhabi that have the veto power over matters of national importance. Over the recent years, Dubai has been gaining economically and it has become an established transport hub for passengers as well as cargo. In addition to transportation, it is rich in oil whose revenue started to flow since 1969. Indeed, the state is economically vibrant and there are several institutions of the society in Dubai that govern how they live and the most important for them is religion. There are many religions in Dubai but there is law on how to practice on one’s religion.
Religion is a very important institution in the United Arab Emirates and as one of the leading states in UAE, Dubai leads by example by enforcing law pertaining religion. The main religion in Dubai and UAE in general is Islam and there are many laws that have been passed that govern the practice of religion that is in no way a danger to Islam. This is attributed to the fact that the largest segment of the population is made up of Muslims while the rest is made of other religions. Being the official religion, there was an increased need to protect their origins and beliefs. 76% of the resident of Dubai are Muslims, 9% are Christians and the remaining 15% is made of the remaining religions including Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, Judaism and irreligion.
Islam
It is important to note that Islam is the official language in Dubai and UAE in general even though the practice of the other religions is permitted. All the expatriates who come in to Dubai need to understand and respect the various traditions of Islam. This is attributed to the fact that Muslims not only regard Islam as their religion, but also their culture values that governs their everyday life in this world to the next. It is evident that they publicly worship Allah which they claim to be the most important aspect of worship than anything else like reading the holy books and writings. On the same note, religious writings are found everywhere most of them phrasing “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.” In other words, Islam is important to the residents of Dubai (Pozzan 136).
In this sense, it is best that the other religions are aware of the fact that they should not interfere with the way of life of the Muslims in Dubai. Despite the fact that the practice of other religions like Christianity is allowed in Dubai, it should be done in ways that does not interfere with the Islam religion (Pozzan 136). For example, the public worship of other gods in Dubai is not allowed unless it is Allah who is being worshipped. An incident to be considered is that of two expatriates who were deported for kissing in public (Simpson, The National). In many countries, public kissing can be considered to be a normal act but this is not the case in Dubai who follow the Holy words to the latter. It only emphasizes the point that Islam is a very important religion in Dubai and that all who come in should consider their actions before moving forward.
Christianity
9% of the total population in Dubai represents Christians following a consensus report. It is indeed important to note that most of these Christians in Dubai are expatriate workers who come from other countries to utilize the many opportunities that Dubai offers. There are no Christian Emirati citizens for they are purely Muslims. There are several denominations of Christianity in Dubai and UAE and they include the Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholics. Some of the Protestant categories that can be found in Dubai and UAE include the Christian Brethren, the Coptic Evangelical Church, the Evangelical Alliance Church, the Arab Evangelical Church of Dubai, the Dubai City Church and the United Christian Church of Dubai (Jenkins 45). Christians in Dubai are allowed to wear some of their religious clothing in public and also worship freely even though not in the general public which might interfere with the Islam worship.
Other religious activities that are allowed in Dubai pertaining Christianity include the importation and sale of their religious materials. Regardless, the attempts of Christians to spread the Christian religion is barred in Dubai and all the other emirates making up UAE (Jenkins 45). The government alone does not permit the Christian Churches to install the crosses on the church buildings like the rest of the world, let alone the bell towers. In addition, the Christian men are not allowed to mingle and marry the Muslim women. It is also interesting to note that the conversion from Islam is not allowed by their law and their schools lack any kind of Christian education.
Hinduism
Despite the fact that the main religions in the world are Christianity and Islam, there are others like Hinduism that are also prominent in Dubai and the UAE. Indians reside mostly in the three and primary cities of UAE namely, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Some of the Indian religions include Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Dubai alone, there are three Hindu temples used by the Sikhs and the Hindus (“Faith Runs Deep in Dubai” 7). Other Arabian countries have been suggested to be low in Indian populations particularly the countries in North Africa apart from Libya. Regardless, UAE alone has been said to contain a total of 2 million Indians. Similar to the Christians, their practice is also permitted as long as they do not interfere with the practice of Islam in Dubai. Considering that their practice is usually indoors, their practice is not limited in any way explaining their increased population in Dubai and UAE.
Judaism
In the history of UAE and Dubai, Jews have never been mentioned. Regardless, in the recent past there have been meetings with the Jews that have been recorded in some of the territories that are currently being considered to be the owned by UAE. The Jews have not been tolerated in the Persian Gulf state and is evident in the recent years where institutions that published content that favored the Jews received criticism and even closed down. In other words, the Jews have been negatively considered in UAE and particularly in Dubai. In 2010, the Dubai Police Chief, Dhai Khalfan Tamim asserted that any one person recognized to be an Israelite will be expatriated out of the country. In addition, those who are from a different state but are of Israel origin will be kicked out. They were employing the Third Reich policies that were used to keep out the Jews.
Irreligion
Irreligion refers to that group of persons who do not have a standing when it comes to Religion and God. Some of the members of this group include the atheists, skeptics, the spiritual but not religious, antitheists, deists and the agnostics. There are the smallest segment of the population and are considered to make up to only 4% of the general population in UAE. Under the anti-blasphemy law, the apostates meet death as a penalty for their disaffiliation from Islam (Tagliaferre 447). In Dubai, the study of Islam is necessary in the school system where they are informed of the punishment that the apostates of Islam face. There are two court systems in UAE known as the Sharia court and the secular court systems that handle criminal and civil cases in Dubai and UAE in general.
Atheism is only tolerated when it is from the foreign religions like Christianity and Hinduism. Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi asserted that the Persian Gulf states are the ones that share the longest history concerning Islam considering that it was founded in the Arabian Peninsula close to 1400 years ago (Tagliaferre 447). As a result, it has been closely integrated into the face of the states and became a part of the national identity. Therefore, to apostate Islam is similar to disregarding the national identity and the only equitable punishment is to be put to death. In this sense, the use of the internet has been considered to be the place where the atheists hide their identity.
In a nutshell, religion is a very important institution in Dubai where there are laws that govern the practice of religion. The apostates of Islam are put to death according to the law in UAE and Dubai through their Sharia court system. In addition, the practice of other religions is allowed even though not all aspects such as the spread of the religion like Christianity is allowed in the states.
Works Cited
"Faith Runs Deep In Dubai." Hinduism Today 33.3 (2011): 7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 May 2016.
Jenkins, Philip. "Christians in the Gulf." Christian Century 133.6 (2016): 45.
Pozzan, Olivia. Dubai. Footscray, Vic: Lonely Planet, 2009. Print.
Simpson, Colin. "The Rules Are Clear, Says Lawyer: No Kissing Allowed in Dubai | The National." The National - Thenational.uae | Latest UAE News. The National, 4 July 2013. Web. 3 May 2016.
Tagliaferre, Lewis. Theo fatalism: Theology for Agnostics and Atheists: Healing the Stress of Life by Accepting What Is, Detaching from All Desires, Transcending the Need for Control and Releasing Belief in Free Will. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, Inc., 2013. Print.
