Why Abu Dhabi Won't See An Uprising Like Egypt Any Time Soon

My father calls, "did you here about that mess in Egypt?"  "Yes I did", I respond.  "How far is that from you?"  I am eating, somewhat busy, but I know that it isn't cool to ignore Poppas' calls.  Irritated, I reply, "about a 3-4 hour plane ride."  Not satisfied with my answer he goes on, "I have a map right here.  Now, where are you?"  He says, "I see Saudi Arabia and Oman".  I say, "great, we're far right.  Right by Saudi and Oman."   Still unable to find it, he slowly starts repeating what I've said, "Ok, right next to Saudi Arabia and Oman."  Hoping to speed up the process, I say "YES", but still there is no luck.  Perhaps, because he is tired and therefore, unable to think clearly.  Frustrated, I say to him, "call me when you're fully awake so that I can explain.  He agrees and reluctantly disengages the phone.

I feel bad, thinking, how worried I would be if someone I loved seemed to be so far away and yet close to so much chaos and drama.  I am frustrated with the call, but I am certain that my frustration does not compare to his at this time.  He is worried about me, as a father should be, but he is not the only one.  Over the past few weeks, I have received numerous calls and e-mails of concern; people wondering, "is everything ok over there?"

To ease the fears and concerns of my friends and family, I decided to write about why I believe there is no cause for alarm surrounding a similar uprising in the UAE.  What has happened in Tunisia and what is occurring in Egypt are problems of a strong handed government.  A government, I am told has neglected its' people.  A government that has allowed it's people to go jobless, homeless and to ultimately  become, hopeless, but that is not the case in the UAE.  At least, not for now.  The Emirates are happy here.  They have everything that the rest of the world is working so hard to acquire.  They have it all, handed to them for free.

In the UAE, housing, education, medical and a monthly salary is provided for its' citizens.  The best jobs are given first to the Emirates, even without a formal education.  If they choose to graduate from high school and go on to college, the government foots the entire bill and even continues to pay them their full salary while they are studying.  They even encourage them to study abroad and if their spouse goes with them, the spouse is allowed to take a leave of absence from work, if they work, and still receive full pay.  If they don't work, they continue receiving a "salary" similar to our welfare system in the U.S., but the amount of money doesn't even compare.

The nationals here in the UAE want for nothing.  Their government has and continues to provide for them quite well.  The only problem is the fact that the government realizes that their oil money won't last forever and they are eagerly encouraging the Emirates to pursue higher education.  The nationals are slow to take heed and because of that, the future of this great and wealthy company could be reversed in a matter of a few decades.


As for now, the people are well taken care of and that alone, will prevent a similar situation from happening in the UAE as it has happened in Tunisia and now Egypt.  The nationals are too content to complain about their "good" thing.  Besides we all wish we had what they have, without the bureaucracy, control and lack of freedom that comes along with a socialist society.  Who wouldn't want free health care, free education, a tax-free, unearned salary and free housing.  While it does sound good, I have learned, even free comes with a hefty price tag.

The Problem With Religion

Now that I have your attention, I want to share with you what I believe to be the problem with religion.    This is not to condemn one group or another.  It is simply to point out the hypocrisy that exist, as  I see it; to shed some light on what I have been experiencing in this Islamic country over the past four months and what I know for sure about Christianity, having been born into, guilted by it and saved literally and figuratively, all in the same breath.  Looking at Christianity and Islam as a basis for this conversation is what I plan to do.  It is not a means to totally demarcate them, because they are more alike, I have found, than they are different.  I hope only to awaken some, to stir up others and to challenge my own ignorance and hypocrisy, along with that of my readers.

For me, I was indoctrinated into Christianity before I could say "mama".  My grandparents were Christians, their parents were Christians, my parents are Christian and all 60 plus of my cousins and extended family are Christian.  Except for maybe, one cousin who converted to Islam when he was in prison.  The truth is, if I have children, I will probably raise them to be Christian.  Not because I believe that it's the best religion on the planet, but because I am ignorant about other religions and Christianity is all I know and therein lies the first problem with religion.  We don't know a thing about the religion of others, yet we condemn them to know end, believing that if we are "right" as we think we are, then everyone else must be wrong.  We don't educate ourselves about the beliefs of others.  Perhaps, we're too afraid that through osmosis, their beliefs will rub off on us.  Or, perhaps too afraid of what we might discover.

The second problem with religion, as I have witnessed here in this Islamic country as well as in my predominantly Christian country, is that far too often, we hide behind religion, instead of standing behind it. What I mean is that we use religion to justify our foul behavior, our mistreatment of others and our intolerance of the world.  Christians believe that they are right and that Muslims are wrong and Muslims believe just the opposite and to that end, we will treat someone poorly based on their views, when we should be leaving the judging to our Creator.

However, here is where I have to agree with the Muslims.  In Islam, they do not date.  They do not believe in sex before marriage and for the most part, I believe that they firmly stand behind that.  The Arabic teachers at my school where I teach, talk to me about their virginity and about the repercussions of having sex before marriage.  They tell me that if a man finds out that they have been with another, they will be out casted; unable to marry and in their eyes, marriage, children and family is one which in which they serve their God.  Here in the UAE, you rarely meet unmarried Muslim women over 30.  Marriage and family is a duty to them.

Now, I'm not agreeing wholeheartedly with this and this goes back to my earlier statement about the guilt that I experienced in Christianity as a confused child growing up.  I was taught to believe that all of my thoughts pertaining to sex were wrong and that I was going to hell if I looked at a boy!  Now, I will admit that I grew up with one foot in the church and one foot out, but nonetheless, I knew other devout Christians who grappled with what it meant to be single in the Christian religion and there are still more women than man in the faith who are unwed, because they're waiting on the "right" Christian man to come along.

Invariably, I have learned that in Islam, they realize that there is lust, wants and desires and so, instead of tempting the flesh, they marry quickly and they typically marry much younger than us Christians.  One problem is that with youth, can come immaturity, but with age can come stubbornness and as we too often see, "baggage".  I know countless unmarried Christian men and women who go to church every Sunday; know every bible verse; contribute tithes and offerings on a weekly basis, but they are still grappling with sex and often times sexuality.  There is indeed a missing link between what we know in Christianity to be true about sex and marriage and what we tend to practice.  

I don't believe that the Muslims are perfect in this regard by no means, but, they seem to have a system in place for how they do what they do.  My question is, where is ours?  And, why are we struggling so ferociously with marriage and intimacy in the "Christian" religion?  I realize that maybe, I am only speaking to Americans and this may or may not apply to Christians in other countries, but all I am saying is that it wouldn't hurt to take a few cues from Islam on this one.  People judge Muslim's way of marrying, but what are we doing that's so much better?  In the African-American community, we have one of the highest rates of single parent households and black women are listed as the least likely to get married of all the people on the planet!

Lastly, I have seen Muslims and Christians alike, treat people like dirt, based on their material possessions.  If you're not Emirate, meaning rich and "affluent" then you're nothing, but it's not just he Emirates, the Egyptians have also shown me parts on them I would have never thought existed.  As well, in the UAE, I have been told of Emirate Muslims who beat their maids to  "break them in" and let them know who's boss.  I have nearly been run off the road by Emirate people driving like maniacs and upset that I won't move to the next lane when they're doing 90 and flashing their head lights on me to get over.  I have seen Muslim people abuse and batter their children in public, because their are no child abuse laws and I have watched Muslim men partake in alcohol and prostitution in a country that would stick me under the jail if I did the same.

There is hypocrisy everywhere and no, Muslims are not perfect, but neither are Christians.  However, hopefully, one day we will all start to realize how we are more alike than we are different.  Perhaps, that's the idealist in me and God knows I am working daily to understand my Arab sisters and brothers, whose faults often times override all of the so called "religion" I was told they had, upon coming to this country.  I am working hard not to judge them so harshly and to recognize that the same imperfect blood that runs through my veins, also runs through theirs.  Neither of us are perfect.  In fact, we're perfectly, imperfect.

"There's so much good in the worst of us 

And so much bad in the best of us 

That it ill behooves all of us 

To find anything wrong with the rest of us."

-author unknown 

Until Next Time...

Peace and Blessings,

Terre

Free

Living here in Abu Dhabi, I embrace the fact that as an American, I am truly free; free to love who I want, when I want and how I want.  Free to decide if he who stands before me is right for me or even "in it" for me.  Sure Americans can make love hard; high divorce rates, single unwed mothers and millions of "never-been-married with no children" men and women like myself, but at the end of the day, to love or not to love is all up to us.  How will you choose?  Today, I choose to love who's loving me.

~I found God in myself and I loved her.  I loved her fiercely.

from the staged play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf

by Ntozake Shange

Until next time...Peace & Blessings,

Terre