A very strange place
The Dubai sex pair, aka Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer, count themselves victorious. This week (Tuesday 25th November) a Dubai appeal court heard that their three-month jail sentence for engaging in sexual acts on a beach had been suspended and that they will be deported. They will arrive home this week. Their lawyer, Hassan Mattar, praised the justness of United Arab Emirates law.
I’m sure that when they get back they will give an exclusive interview to a paper alleging that they were mishandled whilst in Dubai and that the charges should never have been brought. In fact they claim that they were just canoodling and not, in fact, having sex, although they do admit that they were both drunk at the time, also an offence in Dubai, which is a Muslim state.
I have little sympathy for them – whether or not they were getting jiggy, or in the pre-stages of getting jiggy – for two reasons. Firstly, if they had engaged in crude sexual behaviour here on a beach they would also have been charged – probably with the catch-all, “outraging public decencyâ€, which, incidentally, can carry a jail sentence of up to two years, far longer than the sentence that a Dubai court imposed on them originally. But the second reason is far, far more serious.
As I wrote in my essay about Dubai for Prospect in April this year, the state has attempted to steer a course between respecting its Muslim nationals, and welcoming in a cosmopolitan population. The economic and political situation is fragile. 90% of the population is now expatriate and many of the nationals, intellectuals told me earlier this year, feel like “exiles in their own landâ€.
They no longer go to the beach, where they used to live in the summer months, because of the expatriates wandering around, half-naked, in thongs and string bikinis. Instead, many have migrated inland, away from the areas populated by the expatriates. And the malls are full of women and men in tight shorts and t-shirts, shopping till they drop, while bemused Arabs wander by, eyes averted from all the naked flesh on sight. The malls do a booming trade, I noticed when I was there, in pic’n’mix – a metaphor for Dubai life, but not always a comfortable one.
Now I’m all for liberal democracy – my birth father having been imprisoned for four years by an Islamic regime just over the water from Dubai. But I also believe in respect for other cultures and religions. And I don’t think getting pissed and copping off with someone in public, in a Muslim country, is very respectful. It’s pretty unacceptable behaviour here – and there, it’s just plain rude.
You might ask why this matters? Because we all pay the price for that kind of imperialist behaviour. The Dubai model, balancing a tolerance for Westerners with respect for Islam, is fragile. There have been a number of terrorist attacks, almost all of which have been foiled, in Dubai and in the Emirates generally. But it only takes one, and the model falls apart for good.
Behaviour that pushes at the boundaries of Muslim tolerance in Dubai will rebound on all of us. So when Mr Acors and Ms Palmer return to Britain, a little criticism, rather than a tabloid exclusive charting their woes might be more appropriate.
Share
Comments
Print
Add Comment
‘Muslim tolerance’ is an oxymoron at best and non-existent in most instances. So stop being an apologist and start promoting mutual understanding, not multi-cuturalism, which has destroyed Europe.
Fundamentalism, as in Islamic demands, Sharia or otherwise, is the enemy of freedom and democracy.
Anyone who pleads otherwise is on a path of self-distruction.
No connection between the Mumbai islamist atrocity and the smooch-on-the-beach case in Dubai. There is a general problem of international manners with certain British, mainly English, visitors to holiday resorts in foreign countries. They go on these package holidays to Costa Whatever looking for suntans and ‘a good frolic’, never thinking that they are visiting another country, another culture with its own customs and language and traditions of hospitality. Football hooliganism, drunken street brawling, public defecation and puking on footpaths constitute uncivilized behaviour that misrepresents the decent qualities of English culture highlighted by George Orwell in his wartime patriotic pamphlet The Lion and the Unicorn. English society needs to cop itself on and work towards the eradication of vulgar chauvinist tendencies.
These two people were there on business, and couldn’t even stay sober enough to make it to a hotel bedroom before doing whatever it is they deny doing but were too drunk to know for certain.
This has little to with Islamic tolerance, whatever that is, more to do with people being too stupid, ill-mannered, unprofessional, to appreciate the vileness of their behaviour.
It is sad that such an admirable thought has been critisized here or anywhere. I, for one, vote “yea”, and I beg the respondents to reconsider their conclusions. For example…
but who can argue that tolerence has even further meaning when you are in another country? – by this I mean tolerance of their laws / customs / sensibilities).
Noel Nesor – Rethink your comment from the last line backwards, and place it in the context of the original point. Would it be self destructive for England to look down on the behavior in question, or would this actually a means of reducing or avoiding destruction in general?
Gabre – No connection between islamic atrocities and smooch-on-the-beach? Have you listened to what the radial muslims say? Have you read the quran? Do you know the history of Dubai? If you are sure islamic radicals are enemies, remember the saying: To defeat one’s
enemy, one must know that enemy. I’d add that one can benefit from knowing one’s self. Have you read the Bible?
Jacqueline – You did well to remain focused on the topic at hand, but perhaps you could reconsider whether or not this has anything to do with Islamic tolerance. This did occur in an Arab nation (Islam), and I dare say it would be difficult for a fair many types of witnesses -especially with kids or something- to bear (tolerate) such behavior (granted, I personally see this action as interesting / hilarious
I read the OT many years ago and it told a cautionary tale about what happens to societies that wallow in sexual and other forms of immorality. Read whichever Book is about Sodom and Gomorrah. I’ll stick to my theme: the decay in English international manners.
Read Theodore Dalrymple’s essay at this site http://www.aldaily.com/
The title is arresting:- The Quivering Upper Lip
The British character: from self-restraint to self-indulgence
Hear hear, Jacqueline.
It’s about good taste, good manners and good sense. The ‘Dubai Two’ had none of these. If people are too stupid to think out of the box (sic) and too blind to foresee the logical consequence of their actions, then they deserve all the c**p that heads their way.
So there!
I agree with Noel 100%! Now let’s lead by example and do something about all these Christian fundamentalists overtaking our communities.
No doubt Dubai is city of glamour, full of joy and has beautiful nights. But only for those who have proper job, residency and money. I love Dubai.
i like daweteislame very much
Interesting post!