With residents across the UAE attending mosques to listen to Islamic sermons each week, their contribution to tolerance in the country is vital.
Friday sermons and mainly the UAE leadership are the main contributing factors behind the tolerance of citizens and residents said Dherar Belhoul Al Falasi, Emirati writer, political analyst and Director General of the Watani Al Emarat Foundation, a social development programme that promotes the national identity and practices of good citizenship.
“It started with the leadership and their governance – Friday sermons and prayers are an embodiment of tolerance. During Friday prayers, everyone regardless of status, colour and nationality sits side by side to listen to the sermon and pray,” he said.
The sermons are translated into many languages and are listened or read by hundreds of thousands of people. Their contribution to promoting tolerance has always been significant; however, after the unification of the Friday prayers, said Dr Amal Balhoul, community affairs advisor at Watani Al Emarat Foundation, the message of tolerance that the UAE works hard to spread has grown even stronger.
Prior to unification of the Friday sermon, “many extremists and haters with personal agendas used the sermon to spread hate messages,” Dr Balhoul said. The Muslim Brotherhood hijacked the pulpit and, unfortunately, this still happens in many mosques in Europe where they continue to spread hatred.
The UAE put a stop to this by making the Friday sermon universal across the country’s mosques.
“The UAE, a country where [over 100] nationalities and people of different religions coexist, is a role model and a symbol of tolerance,” he said.
Dr Balhoul said: “We display tolerance when we communicate with people and these are the essential foundations of the National Tolerance Programme, Islam, the UAE Constitution and the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed.”
In 2015, President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed, issued the Anti-Hate Law, which prohibited contempt of other people’s religions, hate speech and discrimination because of religion or beliefs.
The international centre to confront extremism, Hedayah, was also launched.
In 2016, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, announced an unprecedented restructuring of the Federal Government, issuing legislation and laws that criminalise terrorism, extremism and incitement to hatred. This included an Anti-Discrimination Law, which also criminalised all acts related to contempt of religions or holy sites and all forms of hate speech.
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Read more:
UAE Friday Sermon: remembering the sacrifices made by Emirati soldiers
UAE Friday sermon: how to be guided on a righteous path
UAE Friday sermon: the rewards that await devout Muslims
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Sheikh Mohammed said: “We have learned from events in our region over the past five years … [that] we need to study, teach and practice tolerance – and to instill it in our children, both through education and our own example… We have learned from hundreds of thousands of dead and millions of refugees in our region that sectarian, ideological, cultural and religious bigotry only fuel the fires of rage.”
In a bid to further spread the values of tolerance, the Watani Emarat Foundation launched the Tolerance Caravan campaign of lectures and workshops in 2017.
“We will continue to spread the message of tolerance and now we can measure our progress every year,” Mr Al Falasi said.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
Elvis
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
England squad
Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
Scoreline
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (53')
Atletico Madrid 1
Griezmann (57')
Fixtures
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
Wednesday, Lahore: Eliminator 2 – Karachi Kings v Winner of Eliminator 1
Sunday, Karachi: Final – Islamabad United v Winner of Eliminator 2
Landfill in numbers
• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
The%20specs
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