Doha // If fostering understanding between Muslims and the West is a defining objective of our time, Hady Amr seems well suited to the task.
"I've spent my whole life bouncing between the Arab world and the United States," said the 42-year-old Lebanese-American director of the Brookings Doha Centre. "Much of that time was spent explaining the US to Arabs and explaining Arabs to the US. And I have to say, things have never been so bad as they were during the Bush US presidency administration."
That low point inspired Mr Amr's latest report, which focuses on improving relations between Muslims and the United States - relations troubled by terrorism, two wars and combative US policies since the September 11 attacks. Released last week, "The Opportunity of the Obama Era: Can Civil Society Help Bridge Divides Between the United States and a Diverse Muslim World?" analyses nearly two dozen non-governmental initiatives intended to foster understanding in the post-September 11 world.
"The positive thing was that there was a lot of engagement, people did step up," Mr Amr said. "The bad news is that many did not do so well." Common problems included a lack of data, vague objectives and a tendency to lecture rather than engage.
"If people feel they are being listened to, they are more willing to listen to you," Mr Amr said. He pointed to the Bush administration-created Arabic-language TV station, Al Hurrah. "Efforts like that, the one-way projection efforts - on both sides - have been a failure."
The Barack Obama team hopes to avoid such failures. "Our goal is to listen more and discover new ways that we can work as partners," the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said last week at the Forum for the Future conference in Marrakech, Morocco. "We will seek to work with all of you in government and civil society to try to build local capacity, and empower local organisations and individuals, to create sustainable change."
Along with economic and interfaith projects, Mrs Clinton launched Civil Society 2.0, a new US government programme that will send technology experts to the Middle East and North Africa to train organisations in new media and web technologies. Also in Marrakech, Joseph LeBaron, the US ambassador to Qatar, announced a women's empowerment programme with the Qatar Foundation and a Qatari-US student exchange programme to be introduced next month.
Mr Amr said he hopes these programmes foster engagement and create positive results. "The key ingredients of success are joint partnerships and effective monitoring," he said. He cited Soliya, a New York-based non-profit organisation that connects Muslims from the Middle East and western students via new media and technologies such as the internet, as a good example of partnership in which both sides participate and contribute.
One of the most effective initiatives in terms of monitoring has been the US state department's Access Microscholarship programme, which has instructed more than 32,000 non-elite Muslim high-school students in English and US culture.
"They survey not only the student receiving the instruction," Mr Amr said, "but his friends, parents, and classmates".
Even with successful programmes, long-term change is impossible to control. Any understanding these programmes engender risk being reversed by current events. Last week, for instance, Mrs Clinton sparked Arab ire by stating that a halt to Israeli settlements should not be a pre-condition for talks to resume the Middle East peace process, a stark reversal of previous statements by Mr Obama. She later backtracked, but the damage had been done.
"Bridge-building efforts are never good enough to negate bad policy," admitted Mr Amr, who served with the department of defence in the Clinton administration. "You don't get repeat customers when you're selling crap. But we have a president now that offers us a real opportunity."
Despite the flip-flop on Israel, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Mr Obama's failure to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, Mr Amr still believes this US president offers real hope.
"His Cairo speech inspired the largest event so far at Brookings Doha," Mr Amr said, referring to a discussion his think tank hosted after Mr Obama's widely lauded June speech in Cairo. "We were turning people away at the door. People were totally energised, particularly the younger people - and that's 60 to 70 per cent in this region."
Are all those Muslim youth - and their leaders - responding to the call for dialogue? Mr Amr sees mixed results. "Here in Qatar we have Education City, the Doha Debates, even my organisation, Brookings Doha," said. "The wealthy Gulf states have provided an amazing space for young Arabs in particular to come and live and work in a relatively free sociological space."
For the most part, however, Arab countries have seen minimal political change and little economic development. "There's a great deal of frustration across the Arab world, but the key problem is the lack of jobs," said Mr Amr, urging the US to engage civil society, not corrupt and autocratic governments. He recommended programmes that foster entrepreneurialism, which can help foster democratic ideals, and a scholarship programme that targets the poor. "You're creating social mobility so you can have somebody running for president that's not the son of the president."
Whether it is student exchange programmes, online networks, women empowerment initiatives or conferences on culture and religion, the time to act, Mr Amr said, has arrived: "Having a president that wants to serve as a bridge between the US and the Muslim World, we need to seize the opportunity now."
dlepeska@thenational.ae
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Brief scores:
Pakistan (1st innings) 181: Babar 71; Olivier 6-37
South Africa (1st innings) 223: Bavuma 53; Amir 4-62
Pakistan (2nd innings) 190: Masood 65, Imam 57; Olivier 5-59
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Score
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0
Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
England 12-man squad for second Test
v West Indies which starts Thursday: Rory Burns, Joe Denly, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (captain), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Jack Leach
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
MATCH INFO
Everton 0
Manchester City 2 (Laporte 45 2', Jesus 90 7')
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, first leg
Liverpool v Bayern Munich, midnight, Wednesday, BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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SPECS
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SPECS
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
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