No Kissing at the Mall

Interesting policy implemented at the Mall of the Emirates last month. If you’re feeling amorous with your shopping partner (or someone you meet there you should take note of the second prohibition listed… “No Kissing or Overt Displays of Affection”. You might also get stuck at “Please Wear Respectful Clothing” too.

This raises a number of questions. Does this apply to all kissing? Like the “peck on the cheek” kind? Or just the ‘extended lip-lock’ kind? Who makes this decision? Is hand-holding an overt display of affection? Is an arm around the shoulder? Exactly where can a hand be put?

And what is respectful? Of course I assume they mean respectful to the host culture. But that is a tough thing to do when you (Dubai) are setting your goals on drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists to your country. Tourists by definition almost always see themselves as not a part of the culture they are visiting. It’s as if they think of themselves as viewing everything from behind a glass window.

When I first moved here I used to not wear shorts except to the beach and to the park. But I’ve loosened up about that over the last 5 years. I wonder if I ever offend anyone when I go to the store.

As a Christian I’m eager to keep the commandments of the Bible as an act of gratitude to God for what he’s done for me through Christ – the forgiveness of sins and the adoption into the his eternal family as a son of the King. The Bible would teach “let there not be a hint of immorality among you.” (Ephesians 5:3) But the real challenge is that immorality has some culturally defined boundaries. Or at least the “hints” are culturally defined often.

So, even when I take my family of all women (4 daughters, 1 wife) to the mall they don’t go in shorts or sleeveless shirts just out of respect for the host culture in which we live. But even then I wonder if people see my daughters, know we’re from the west, and then just assume they are immoral. What can I do about that? Nothing I think. Other than to live it down among the people who really know us.

When we go though, we’ll just have to make sure… no kissing!

What do you think?

Friday Prayers at the Mosque

This is the scene in front of a Dubai mosque just yesterday, Friday, and I took it at a stop light on Jumeirah Beach Road. You’ll notice how full the mosque is. This is atypical for the middle of the week but somewhat normal on Friday at the Jumuah prayer.

The Jumuah is the name for the Friday prayer time in Islam that happens just after noon and is preceeded by a sermon or Khutba by the Imam of the mosque. The friday prayer is perhaps the most important of all the prayer times for muslims. Prayer is required 5 times a day but this one is special in importance. Thus most of the mosques see large crowds gather particularly on Friday. The Khutba (or sermon) is typically broadcast over a loudspeaker to the surrounding neighborhood here in the UAE.

Here’s a selection of things the Koran, the Hadith’s (saying of the Prophet), and some Islamic scholars/teachers have said about the Jumuah and muslim prayer in general:

The Prophet said…

“If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you think he would have any filth left on him?” The people said, “No filth would remain on him whatsoever.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, “That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

In another hadith, the Prophet said,

“The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them.” (Recorded by Muslim.)

And…

“Of all the days, Friday is the most virtuous. It is on this day that the trumpet will be blown. Send abundant blessings upon me on Fridays because they are presented to me on that day.”

On this day it is commanded by the Prophet that you should take a full bath (ghusl), put on clean clothes and perfume/cologne if you have it. Also, it is not obligatory for females to offer this particular prayer.

The Koran says…

“O you who believe! When the call for Friday prayer is made, hasten towards the remembrance of Allah Most High and leave all transactions. This is best for you if only you know.” (I’m unsure of this reference)

“Verily, man was created impatient, irritable when evil touches him and niggardly when good touches him. Except for those devoted to prayer those who remain constant in their prayers…” (al-Maarij 19-23)

The Christian View of Prayer – A Very Short Summary

The Christian view of prayer is different from the Muslim view. Christian prayer is simply communication with God. In prayer, a person can do any number of different things including, acknowledge God’s character, holiness, and other attributes, cry out to him in emotional pain and anguish, make requests of God to intervene in our lives and in the world to act in certain ways in keeping with his character and purposes in the world, remind God of his promises, ask for wisdom for decisions and life choices, etc. The Bible is full of examples of prayers of people in many different life situations. We should study them and pattern our prayers after them in the appropriate times and situations.

I know of no examples of Muslim prayers in the Koran presumably because the Koran is almost thoroughly a recounting of God’s words directly to the Prophet.

One of the most important things about Christian prayer is that is not a duty that atones for or makes expiation for sin. It does not enhance one’s moral standing before God. In fact, only through Christ, the perfect God-man, can we “boldly approach the throne” of God in prayer. Apart from Christ we approach a holy God as sinful and rebellious people and we will not be accepted.

Also, it should be noted that for the Christian no physical cleaning is required to approach God in prayer.

For the Muslim readers who check out this post, let me know if I’ve made mistakes in my simple recounting of Islamic prayer and specifically the Jumuah prayer. I got most of the information from here, here, and here.

Back to Blogging… And a Few Dubai Christmas Pictures

I’ve taken some time off work to be with the family during this Christmas season and that always means my blogging slows down. But there’s much to post and discuss so it’s time to jump back in!

Before I move on to other news and ideas I’ve given you a few pictures I took during the Christmas season here in Dubai. Dubai is a wonderful place in the Arabian peninsula in that they allow the celebration of Christmas. I’m thankful for that. But I think that much of the motivation for the demonstrably public nature of Christmas is for merchandising reasons. Dubai retailers have learned the “cash cow” that a commercialized Christmas can be. It’s kind of a shame but again, I’m grateful for the allowances that are made for celebrating this Christian remembrance in an Islamic country.

“Santa-Hat” clad checkout workers and baggers at Spinney’s Grocery Store

Arab musicians at Mall of the Emirates. I don’t think there was any special Christmas connection here.

The Filipino Church, a partner with our church, came to do Christmas caroling at our home one night! They sounded great and even sang a Christmas song in Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines.

Here’s a short (and low quality) video of the Tagalog song they sang for us.

Pic from Jordan: Not Your Average "Starbucks View"!

A friend who lives in Jordan sent me this picture. It’s definitely not your average “Starbucks View”!

Camel Milk in the Store

Some time ago I posted a picture of the camel milk truck on it’s way down Beach Road. Just saw this in the grocery store the other day. An interesting “Arabian Peninsula” sight…

Tattoos and Islam

An article in the Gulf News yesterday covered the topic of tattoos and specifically addressed tattoos in light of the teaching of Islam. Dubai is a place where you are likely to see tattoos frequently though not as often as you’d see in the West.

But the most interesting part of the article was the information about how tattoos are viewed in Islam.

Ahmad Al Kubaisi, a leading Islamic scholar said, “Some of us unfortunately bring troubles to ourselves. Tattooing is prohibited in Islam because of its obvious dangers as the process requires drawing blood,” he said.

“Muslims are prohibited from defacing their bodies as defacement of Allah’s creation is not permitted in Islam. They also will not be able to pray because Islam does not allow prayer if you have drawings on your body,” he said.

In Christianity there is no specific ban on tattoos though there is one Old Testament reference in Leviticus 19:38 which seems to refer to tattoos as they are related to idol worship. Even still, I believe that this command is not a part of the moral code of the Old Testament Law and therefore is not applicable to Christians today. Yet, other biblical commands should be considered when Christians consider tattoos. I think that a possible count against tattoos is that they seem to often be markings which inordinately draw attention to oneself and appeal to vanity and pride. The question should be asked, ‘why can’t your personality be revealed in the normal ways of relating with one another?’ Furthermore, we’re told to be about the business of loving God and loving people. Going to the trouble of getting a tattoo seems to me to often cross the line into self-centeredness.

Still, in Christianity, there is nothing that prevents a person from repenting of their sin in life and putting trust and faith in Jesus… even tattoos.

But what about tattoos and Islam as stated above? My question is this: If you are not a Muslim and you have tattoos there is no way you can convert to Islam and have any hope of pleasing God as Islam tells you to. You would not be able to pray and without prayer in Islam you cannot please God. Even expensive and painful procedures to remove them do not guarantee that the images will disappear. So it seems, based on the Gulf News article, that in Islam there is no hope for acceptance from God of those who have tattoos.

UPDATE: A keen blogger from India has commented that there is provision for those with tattoos in Islam. I’m posting the link to that explanation here for those who are interested. Also, it wasn’t my intention to be harsh with my analysis above. I hope the Muslim friends who read are not offended. My intention was just to consider the ramifications of what was taught in the Gulf News article.

Dubai… of ‘Travel Channel’ fame

One thing that struck me this summer in the U.S. was how much more known Dubai is these days as compared with when we moved here 5 years ago. Back then people still didn’t know where the country was or anything about the culture or landscape. Now it’s different largely due to television exposure. Shows and newspaper articles describing the latest construction project or tourist spot have been popping up rapidly over the past couple years and this past year they seem to be everywhere.

As a resident I have mixed feelings about the notoriety. The shows give the impression that I might live in a high priced hotel or hang out at expensive tourist spots regularly. Or they give the impression that Dubai and the UAE are a first world country. It’s not true of course. The country has made enormous strides in the past decade but it’s just all that the marketing makes it out to be. But perhaps I’m just being defensive because I don’t want to be seen as a person who lives in opulent luxury all the time… driving expensive cars, spending half the day at the spa and the other half shopping at upscale stores.

As I reflect on these things it reminds me of how much the media shapes how we think about other places and peoples in the world. And unless you’ve been there yourself it’s difficult to get an idea of what places are like. But it does remind me to be careful and thoughtful as I watch or read popular media. Everything isn’t all that it seems to be when it’s coming through the television.

Sheikh Hamdan, the poet named "Fazza", Recites Poetry to Packed Auditorium

I’ve been meaning to write on this article for a while now.

For several months I would drive to work down Sheikh Zayed Road and see the billboards for “Fazza” with Sheikh Hamdan’s photo on it. I had no idea what it was for until this article came out in the Gulf News.

It seems that Hamdan is a poet who writes under the pseudonym of “Fazza”. And I didn’t know he had such a following! The article says, among other things, that:

Poetry enthusiasts from throughout the Gulf could be seen, as well as a significant female audience, for whom specific seats were reserved. The female audience, mostly comprising young Emirati women, played a part in making the event interactive, with the women occasionally calling out their own poetry in response to Shaikh Hamdan’s. The male audience comprised men of all ages, with some men bringing their young sons to listen to the readings.

I wish I could have been there just to see this. The interplay between the crowd and the ‘reciter’ sounds really interesting… just very culturally very distinct. It’s almost like the following that England’s princes get in some ways.

It seems that Sheikh Hamdan has been tapped as the ‘next in line’ to Mohammed. His face has been in the news a lot in the last year. And this poetry reading is just one evidence. We’ll be watching to see what happens with Sheikh Hamdan in the coming months.

Call to Reinterpret the Islamic Law

This interesting report came up today in the Khaleej Times. See what you think of it.

NEW YORK — The President of the United Nations General Assembly, Shaikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, has issued a strong call for re-interpreting Islamic texts in order to address the social, educational and other constraints impeding the equality of women in the Middle East.

Pointing to the dynamism of Islamic Shariah to adapt to the changing situations, she called for new interpretations of the texts in the light of the new life circumstances.

“The concept of human rights is based on the notion that all human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms,” Shaikha Haya noted in an address to a panel discussion on May 16 on “Women and Human Rights in the Middle East” at Rutgers University, New Jersey, US.

She said the situation stems in part from the interpretation of Islamic text. “Women are subject to family laws that are Shariah-based, which strictly follow the interpretations of Islamic scholars who lived 1,000 years ago at the beginning of Islam. These interpretations are applied now without making any allowances to the very different social contexts of today,” she said.

“In fact, these interpretations are sanctified as holy which prevent them from criticism and change. This is one of the main reasons behind the discrepancy between personal status codes on the one hand and the current social circumstances on the other.”
The General Assembly President blamed a “lack of rational interpretations of the texts that integrate the current social circumstances.”

Interesting Article Roundup

I’m leaving tomorrow and I needed to get these links off my desktop. You should check out these articles relating to the region and religion in particular.

NYTimes: In Iran, Tactics of Fashion Police Raise Concerns

7Days: Space Rules for Muslims

NYTimes: After Saudi’s First Steps; Efforts for Reform Stall