NEW YORK // Karam Dana, a Palestinian-born academic who has produced ground-breaking research on the political identity of Muslim Americans, often gets angry when he watches the US media.
"The media portrays Muslims and their places of worship as breeding grounds for terrorists and I end up thinking: are they crazy?" Mr Dana said after a 19-year-old Somali-American's arrest on terrorism charges in November.
Undercover US federal agents had provided Mohammed Mohamud with a fake bomb to attack a Christmas-tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon in November. After his arrest, the Corvallis mosque he attended was firebombed. "The media don't examine the psychological state of the young man, which could be a possible explanation," Mr Dana said.
His frustration about the stereotypical image of Muslims being drawn into terrorism at mosques stems from the fact that he was one of the first US academics to produce empirical research proving the opposite.
He found that the more American Muslims attended a mosque, the greater their participation in US civic life. This central discovery is examined at length in a book to be released later this year by Mr Dana and Matt Barreto, his research partner, called Muslim and American: How Islam Shapes Political Incorporation in America.
The two men were the principal investigators in the Muslim American Public Opinion Survey (Mapos), the largest survey of Muslims living in the United States to study the patterns of social, political and civic life. Conducted under the auspices of the University of Washington over two years starting in 2007, the survey interviewed 1,410 American Muslims in 22 locations across the United States.
The idea for Mapos came after Mr Dana, 31, noted the rise in Islamophobia in the United States following the attacks of September 11, 2001. He moved to the United States when he was 17, leaving his birth city of Hebron to pursue his studies. He now divides his time as a Dubai Initiative research fellow at the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and teaching Middle East history and politics at Tufts University. The Dubai Initiative is a joint academic venture between the Dubai School of Government and the Kennedy School, which share their knowledge and resources.
Mr Dana said his knowledge of Islam combined with Mr Barreto's expertise in statistics and experience researching the Latino community made a perfect partnership in Mapos. Their aggregate skills were needed to find and then examine the Muslim-American community, which is diverse in its ethnic, racial, and linguistic origins.
"American Muslims immigrated here at different periods and for different reasons. As a group, they are extremely professional and have a high socio-economic status without the typical immigrant story, although you can find it," he said. "There's no typical neighbourhood where you can find American Muslims. Some are African-American, some are converts."
Most other polls are telephone surveys and find Muslims using names such as Mohammed or Ahmed. "That's fine but they don't find John Anderson who converted to Islam three years ago or many African-American Muslims who have ordinary names like many other Americans," Mr Dana said.
He went to Eid holiday gatherings to find large numbers of American Muslims and interviewed them using a questionnaire.
"Eid is the one time when all Muslims come together and hang out regardless of their religiosity or how many times they attend mosque the rest of the year," he said. "Eid was a mechanism for capturing the diversity of the community."
Imams and Islamic community centres were contacted up to a year in advance to seek their co-operation. There was much mistrust, with Mr Dana saying he was sometimes asked whether he was from the FBI.
Respondents were asked 40 questions on topics ranging from their view of the compatibility of Islam with participation in the US political system to whether they registered or voted in the last election.
Mapos found that sectarian differences among Muslims living in the United States tended to erode with time. While Shiite Muslims tended to have a high level of political participation regardless of mosque attendance, Sunni Muslims became more engaged politically the more they went to mosque.
"Over time and with greater mosque attendance, the gap between Shia and Sunni in terms of political participation narrows and virtually disappears," said Mr Dana.
But he was also troubled by the 28 per cent of respondents who registered nothing for their political affiliation, not independent, Democrat or Republican. This contrasted with the 2000 presidential elections, when American Muslims voted overwhelmingly for George W Bush.
He expected American Muslims to become more engaged with the US political process in the coming years and to see a correspondent recognition by politicians of the importance of American Muslims as a voting bloc. "There is a lot of talk about how we're living in a post-racial society but the fact that a mosque relocating near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan can become a massive issue of national debate is problematic," said Mr Dana, who was referring to the proposed Islamic centre and mosque near the World Trade Centre site in New York.
"As a society, we still need to talk about the other and our differences."
sdevi@thenational.ae
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
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On sale: now
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Other key dates
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Finals draw: December 2
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Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
Results
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mezmar, Adam McLean (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: AF Ajwad, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Gold Silver, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
4pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m; Winner: Atrash, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez.
4.30pm: Gulf Cup Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Momtaz, Saif Al Balushi, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Al Mushtashar, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
