Abu Dhabi // Khaled Diab was moved by television pictures of the 2004 tsunami in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh and decided to throw himself into the rescue and recovery efforts. Unable to find a place with regional charity organisations that were heading to the disaster scene, he travelled on his own, eventually working for the Indonesian Red Cross.
Such spirit has landed Mr Diab - along with 15 other contestants - a place on what is being billed as the first Islamic reality TV show, Mujaddidun. Its producers say it is designed to promote "development through faith". "That is the spirit you find among the participants," said Khaled Barakat, the managing director of Right Start International Foundation, the show's producer. Mujaddidun (The Revivers) is the latest effort by Amr Khaled - an Egyptian televangelist described by The Independent, a British newspaper, as Islam's Billy Graham - to tap into youth and usher in a culture of "life makers" and productive members of society.
Mujaddidun, which is shown on Dubai TV and began on January 1, has been both well received and controversial from the outset. Twenty-five thousand young people applied to be on the show, which was criticised for encouraging the mixing of men and women. "I wanted to take part in the programme mainly because it was by Amr Khaled," said Mr Diab, 30, a scriptwriter from Egypt. "But also because we get to carry out development tasks on the ground, and generally because I like competitions and challenges."
In each episode, contestants aged from 20 to 30 are divided into different teams. Tasks typically address social issues, such as helping orphans, reintegrating prisoners into society or returning dropouts to schools. They must be completed within three days. On the third day, contestants meet with Mr Khaled in a room and discuss — in a style reminiscent of The Apprentice — their mistakes and achievements. As in The Apprentice, a contestant is eliminated every week until one is left. In Mujaddidun, however, 80 per cent of the 200,000 euros (Dh1m) awarded to the winner must go to a development project of his or her choice.
Mr Khaled does not shy away from pointing out the candidates' mistakes. He said the main aim of the programme was to help youths discover their potential and lure them away from extremism. "Young people are a great resource," he said. "They are the most precious treasure - more precious than oil, natural gas or the pyramids. "If we do not provide for them proper channels to discover their potential, we are afraid that this force will turn to behavioural deviations, such as drug addiction, or intellectual deviations such as extremism."
The Middle East is the youngest region in the world, with 60 per cent of its population under 25. Many observers fear that this avalanche of youth will be a destructive force in the region. This fear is reinforced by United Nations reports showing that only 40 per cent of young people in the region are employed, 14 per cent below the international average. Reza Aslan, the author of the two bestselling books No God But God and How to Win A Cosmic War, is more upbeat about the Middle East's demographics. He said the generation had great potential to change the equation in the region.
"The youth bulge in the Middle East is not as much a concern as it is an opportunity," said Mr Aslan, who also is the editor of Mecca.com, an online community for Muslim youth. "It is a population that is becoming increasingly literate, educated and, on top of that, very much plugged into the rest of the world, thanks to the internet and satellite televisions. "Like young people everywhere, they are looking at the world through fresh eyes, and as long as they feel as though their stories actually matter, then they can be the hope for the future. But if their dreams are stifled and have no avenues, then I'm afraid it could lead to a negative outcome."
Mr Diab said he would use the prize, if he wins, to launch an "intellectual" project as "there is a lack of such projects in the region". "We need such projects, commercial but also promoting a value, that address contemporary issues related to ideas in an entertaining and a beautiful way," he said. Another contestant, Zaina Awaydate, 23, from Lebanon, said her project would "involve reading and would focus on the young".
"Whether I win or not, we've learnt how to run a project and how to get funding for it," said Ms Awaydate, who is close to finishing a bachelor's degree in marketing and psychology. Ms Awaydate said she applied for the programme because she believed in the concept of "development through faith". The programme had made her see "how much suffering there is in the real world", inspiring her to make a contribution in the development of her society.
Another participant, Ethar el Katatney, 22, an award-winning journalist from Egypt, works with two Egyptian magazines, Egypt Today and Muslimah Media Watch. She is also pursuing two master's degrees. "But I've discovered through this programme that I can do so much more," Ms el Katatney said. She said the programme changed the perception of what reality TV could achieve. "It can change societies," she said. "Every episode, we get better. We've learnt how to negotiate, how to work under pressure and how to be leaders. People also learn from our experiences and how our thinking develops after every task."
The programme finishes next month. hhassan@thenational.ae
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
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Industry: e-commerce
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
