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Arab Culture Valued Highly in Dubai

DUBAI - Fewer Asians than other groups living in Dubai say all nationalities are treated equally, according to a recent survey. The same survey showed only 44 per cent of Arabs think Arabic language is preserved.

The survey found the majority of people across all categories say there is a high degree of trust between nationalities, respect for Arab and Islamic culture and tolerance of different nationalities. But on issues of tolerance among nationalities and respect for Arab culture, there were large discrepancies.

Chris Crompton, a British citizen who has lived in Dubai for 16 years, said he thinks many expatriates do not make an effort to know local culture.

“I think everyone says they respect the culture, but nobody really understands it enough,” he said. “People respect the rules and regulations but the majority of expats don’t really understand why.”

Released by the Community Development Authority of the Dubai government on Sunday, the survey of 2,561 households broke respondents into broad categories based on racial and national lines. Results were given for four groups: Emiratis, Arabs, Asians and Westerners.

While less than 50 per cent of Arabs said Arabic is preserved in Dubai, 71 per cent of Emiratis said it is.

“Mother language is Arabic,” Mohammad Al Falasi, an Emirati living in Dubai, said in English. He said the city’s economics — a high number of foreign workers here for business — drive the need for English.

Sitting in a coffee shop with Mohammad, Emirati Obaid Al Falasi fell in line with the majority of his countrymen’s opinion on tolerance.

“If you are going to the beach, you can wear…,” he trailed off and gestured towards his chest and hips, the areas of a woman’s body covered by a two-piece bathing suit. “Nobody comes to you and says ‘Wear this.’ We all have to live together.”

According to the survey, more than 80 per cent of Westerners and Emiratis think there is tolerance, but only 67 per cent of Arabs and 66 per cent of Asians do. “Is it tolerant? Not in the slightest,” Crompton said. “You become intolerant of certain nationalities purely because of the economics.”

Crompton said Dubai’s reliance on untrained foreigners, many of them from the subcontinent, for labour and services leads people to make unfair generalisations about nationalities.