Further to yesterday's blog post about the death of Sheikh Saqr, all seems at peace here in Dubai and it was a surprise to stumble on this article in today's Sydney Morning Herald.
The contents of this article are not mentioned in local press here and this is all a surprise to me. Not that I am saying it isnt true, but it is clear that the local media does not report such "scandal" and to everyone here who reads the English language press, there has been nothing but a smooth transition of power. Maybe the Arabic language press may be being more direct, but for me this is totally new.
Having said that, I am aware that in Sunni controlled Abu Dhabi, that there is a concern that Sh'ite muslims in the northern part of the country (Dubai, Ras al Khaimah and Ajman) need to be monitored for ties to Sh'ite governed Iran. After living here for nearly 2 years I cannot tell the difference between a Sh'ite and a Sunni but apparently it is possible by subtle differences in the collar of the white robe Khandoura and the way the head dress is worn. I can pick a Kuwaiti from an Emirati, but I cant pick the difference in religion affiliation.
On Saturday, we're going with friends to Mussandam and we will have to travel through Ras al Khaimah to get there but its still perfectly safe and its hardly believable that it was over a year ago that we went to Ras al Khaimah for a holiday.
The contents of this article are not mentioned in local press here and this is all a surprise to me. Not that I am saying it isnt true, but it is clear that the local media does not report such "scandal" and to everyone here who reads the English language press, there has been nothing but a smooth transition of power. Maybe the Arabic language press may be being more direct, but for me this is totally new.
Having said that, I am aware that in Sunni controlled Abu Dhabi, that there is a concern that Sh'ite muslims in the northern part of the country (Dubai, Ras al Khaimah and Ajman) need to be monitored for ties to Sh'ite governed Iran. After living here for nearly 2 years I cannot tell the difference between a Sh'ite and a Sunni but apparently it is possible by subtle differences in the collar of the white robe Khandoura and the way the head dress is worn. I can pick a Kuwaiti from an Emirati, but I cant pick the difference in religion affiliation.
On Saturday, we're going with friends to Mussandam and we will have to travel through Ras al Khaimah to get there but its still perfectly safe and its hardly believable that it was over a year ago that we went to Ras al Khaimah for a holiday.
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