Give me money, more money: Dubai's Islamic dream

Dubai has found something new to polish its rusty chain of ambitions with: Islamic finance.

How will the two mix? Islamic finance is about ethical use of money -- for example, investment in gambling, arms trade and alcohol business is prohibited.

Does this Arab emirate represent similar ethical values?

Can Dubai or the United Arab Emirates create high regulatory standards to ensure that Islamic banks and financial institutions operate in a proper environment?

In a country where the line between private and public affairs of officials is difficult to make out, only an inveterate optimist can trust its ambitious plans.

If Dubai wants to be taken seriously in the Islamic financial sector, it must avoid the temptation of doing business the way it runs its real estate sector.

The out of control property sector when it went bust about four years ago destroyed the lives of countless home buyers, and the UAE banking system was able to avoid a major crisis only after the central bank provided huge bailout cash.

We know what a shady business Dubai’s property was, with unscrupulous companies cheating people by promising them non-existent assets.

Let us hope that Islamic banks and financial institutions, whose business practices won them so much respect during the Wall Street-produced global financial crisis, will never be part of speculative UAE property schemes.

Islamic finance is about community, service, promotion of honest industry and healthy commerce. No one should abuse the system for exploitation and speculation.

Dubai is used by many Wall Street and London players for their regional operations and they are notorious for breaking laws and manipulating systems to make money.

Regulators must create systems that will ensure the highest degree of compliance with a degree of openness that will not hinder good people from exposing corruption and malpractices.

In a place where the prevailing motto is money and more money, such standards will be hard to achieve.

'There is such a thing as Gulfization'

Asad Abu Khalil, a Lebanese-American professor of political science, responded to an attempt by United Arab Emirates political science professor  Abdulkhaleq Abdulla to glorify autocratic Gulf regimes and their odd deeds.

Abdulkhaleq, once thought to be 'different' in the sense that he occasionally raised his concern about the erosion of Emirati identity amid uncontrolled construction and an influx of foreigners, doesn't seem to miss an opportunity these days to echo Dubai and Abu Dhabi's official line on issues.

It was no surprise that he wrote a piece commending an article by Sultan al-Qassemi, an officially-sanctioned Emirati intellectual who comes up with meaningless arguments in false debates on Arab issues.

In his article 'Khaleeji Cities Are Present, Future', Abdulkhaleq writes: "Sultan al-Qassemi makes a compelling case in his "Gulf Cities Emerge as New Centers of Arab World" for the Arab Gulf cities of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi as the new commercial, cultural, educational, media and diplomatic centers of the Arab world. He asserts that the traditional Arab metropolises of Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad are fading away as centers of creativity."

Neither Abdulkhaleq Abdulla nor his fellow commentator would ever talk about the role the Gulf regimes have played in destroying Arab countries and their culture.

Their audacity to compare the Gulf cities to historic regional centers deserves scorn.

Asad Abu Khalil's response (culled from his blog) fits the bill:

[Gulfization of the Arab world: my response

So Abdulkaleq said:  "The Gulf moment indicates that the Arab Gulf states are today the net exporter of soft influence as well as hard power. This has set in motion a unique process of Gulfization/Khaleejization  (خلجنة) of the Arab world. Khaleejization simply means that at this moment the influence of the part (the Arab Gulf states) on the whole (the rest of the Arab world) is greater than the influence of the whole on the part. " 

And I say: yes, there is such an impact by Gulf potentates and their rentier culture on the Arab world, and it can be detected: 1) the promotion of the acceptance of polygamy as a modern phenomenon that does not have to be discarded; 2) the elevation of the vulgar and cheesy aesthetics of Las Vegas as the ultimate model of beauty and standards; 3) the promotion of sleaze in all manifestation of Arab culture, according to the taste of oil and gas princes and sheikhs; 4) the enforcement of various degrees of gender segregation; 5) the relegation of Asian labor to the lower part of the hiearchy; 5) the fetishism of money as the ultimate measure of success; 6) the worship of the White Man and the juridical enforcement of his superiority in contracts and in wages; 7) the propagation of themes of class obedience by the poor toward the rich; 8) the adoption of an ideology of hostility toward all manners of progressive and leftist thought; 9) the notion that politics and political representation don't matter as long as the ruling dynasties provide a generous program of social welfare; 10)  the standardization of commercialization and of sexual commodification of females; 11) the establishment of artistic and literary awards in order to ban a free culture and of the expression of views and opinions counter to the tyranny of Arab potentates; 12) the notion that problems--all problems--can be solved with money; 13) the notion that intellectuals can, and should, be bought and sponsored by an oil or gas prince to prevent the existence of free public intellectuals; 14) the export of rigid personality cults around the ruling Gulf potentates.  So in that sense, Abdulkhaleq is right.  There is such a thing as Gulfization.]

What is my problem with Arab governments?

A former Saudi-based Indian journalist replies to my tweet: "I really don't understand what is your problem with Arab governments? Why don't you focus on Muslim issues in India first?"

I can't answer that in 140 characters on Twitter so here is my public note.

I often criticize and ridicule Arab governments for their policies, mostly it is about their foreign relations and activities but some criticism is also directed at their internal decisions that are in blatant violation of universal human rights.

To me, Arab governments and officials are not special. I also slam Israeli policies in Palestine, Zionist groups, Iranian extremism, Pentagon-backed weapons trade, European colonial tendencies, Uncle Sam's genocidal wars, etc.

During the Balkan wars, I found Slobodan Milosevic's policy of ethnic cleansing utterly disgusting. Also revolting was the hypocrisy of London and Washington on the issue of apartheid in South Africa.

I do not follow Indian politics too closely so I avoid commenting on it in social media.

There are many reasons why I talk about Arab issues and feel strongly about them: My favorite subject during Master's was "Politics in West Asia (Middle East)"; I spent 14 years in the Gulf as a journalist and know a few things about the region.

Why do I criticize Arab governments?

For their hypocrisy on matters ranging from recreation to religion, a lack of transparency on policies, control-freakism without limits, torture chambers, their investments in tools of repression.

Arab governments should not expect that their targeting of journalists and dissenters is going to endear them to people.

Not only do they carry out such things within their borders they also try to grow their repressive arms overseas.

Even minor Gulf Arab officials are so spoilt that they demand royal treatment abroad, especially when they are in Asia and Africa.

I know journalists who have been victimized by the UAE and Saudi governments.

We can all see how pitiless crackdowns on dissent are being organized by the Arab League states ever so fearful of their people.

This note will become too long if I describe my own brush with authoritarianism.

Egypt's coup masters are smiling at their lemmings

What a relief it was when Egypt got rid of Hosni Mubarak and his nasty henchmen -- Omar Suleiman, Habib Al Adly and others in 2011. M.H. Mubarak operated like a colonial administrator, dividing and exploiting Egyptians while serving his foreign benefactors.

At the same time, the dictator tried to promote the notion of Egyptian leadership of the Arab world, again exploiting the cultural, historical and religious greatness of Egypt.

He faced competition from fellow dictators Hafez Assad and Saddam Hussein who also vied for the "leadership" of the Arab world. Saddam had two major advantages -- military strength and oil money -- and didn't really take Mubarak or his Gulf buddies seriously.

Not being a confrontationist like Saddam, Mubarak was liked by the petrocrats of Arabia. The Arab League politics never ceased to be useless when Mubarak ruled Cairo. It was  occasionally entertaining though. It has become rather boring as most Arab dictatorships are grappling with people's rising expectations and anger since the 2011 uprisings.

Egypt as the most populous Arab nation (its population of 82 million is more than three times the total number of citizens in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain), is hugely important to the region for a number of reasons.

Al Azhar in Egypt is the most respected seat of Islamic learning, which is not in agreement with the Saudi ideology. And don't forget the 'peace treaty' under which the Egyptian military needs Israel's permission for internal movement. Egypt's reward is commensurate with how much woes it can inflict on Palestinians.

No one can afford to ignore what happens in Egypt and how Egyptians think about Arab issues. But not all those interested in Egypt are its friends. The US, Israel, Gulf petrocrats (Saudi Arabia and UAE more than others) are heavily involved in Egypt. They are so self-absorbed that no trick is too dirty to play if it serves their interest.
It helps unscrupulous people if Egyptians are subjugated by a mukhabarat police state run by ruthless men. If it can't be a pure Mubarakist dictatorship, let it be a coup-on-demand system. The next elected  government (one day!) must dismantle the repressive mukhabarat machine of the Interior Ministry and create a modern law-abiding police force.

Egypt's potential is being wasted. A dictatorship will produce misery, not manufacture exportable goods. Mubarak was great for tourism because he could invite war criminal Tony Blair to enjoy Sharm El Sheikh's beaches. No problem if there are more belly dancers -- already there is one for every 3,000 of population. No problem also if there are more jobs as managers and makeup artists for belly dancers but fewer as teachers, petrochemical engineers, doctors.

The so-called liberals in Egypt have no shame in suppressing other Egyptians as long as their Mubarak-era privileges continue.

The new coup masters in Cairo are smiling at their lemmings.

Turkey's subversive protesters

The protests in Turkey have once again exposed certain opportunistic elements - radical groups, bigoted opposition and those who make money by manufacturing trouble.

The ruling party is still carrying out reforms, which are absolutely needed to shake off the brutal legacy of decades-old authoritarianism represented by the likes of CHP (by the way, they are Assad lovers).

Also, there is an intellectual elite so bigoted that it will overlook the wider interests for its selfish aims.

We also have some so-called democracies in Europe that are visceral haters of Turkey, but they try to hide their malice in high-sounding political slogans.

Protesters in Turkey seem bent on holding an endless festival of hooliganism, and they have defiled places with their subversive presence.

These are not peaceful activists with grievances. Otherwise, is there an avenue that is closed for debate and discussion in Turkey? It's a real parliamentary democracy.

Turkish intellectual scene has been vibrant for centuries -- before Kemalism and before AK Party. You have to be an ahmak to compare the situation in Turkey with what happens in most Arab countries.

It's no secret that there are many radical groups in Turkey and they are not interested in democracy or political debates. Just look at the havoc they are causing by burning, looting, attacking women, drinking beer in mosques.

Imagine the response of authorities if a mob had burned police cars in an Arab country or the USA!

All said and done, a subversive league shouldn't be able to dictate national policies through acts of arson.

USA behaving like the nation of Neolandia

The reports of mass online and phone surveillance in the USA should not shock us. When you have unscrupulous people with Orwellian mindsets, this is what you get. Over the years, the US government and mainstream media have been successful in feeding misleading versions of world events to a gullible public. Defending the dangerous program, Barack Obama tried to reassure the public: "Nobody is listening to your telephone calls."

They say the program is not directed at Americans and people living in the USA (only a defunct computer mouse will believe it). Even if that is true, who gave these people the permission to target citizens of other countries?

This article talks about the scary nature of the project.

It's arrogant for the US to act like a world government.

The USA is increasingly behaving like Neolandia, an imaginary nation in my novel The Merchant King.

Here I quote a few lines from the novel to better illustrate my point: "Bally's work at Neolandia's Science Agency included developing fast Internet service and creating a database on people who used any form of satellite-supported communication throughout the world. Neolandia wanted all sorts of details on people – credit card numbers, shopping habits, travel data, sex relationships, bank transactions, medical records. Bally's great scientific brain helped them."

But what Neolandia was trying to do looks benign compared to what the USA is doing.

United (or not) Arab Emirates

United (or not) Arab Emirates, an Arab and not-so-Arab state bordering Saudi Arabia and the sultanate of Oman, makes heavy investments in creating a light international image of a prosperous, peaceful and thriving place.

Non-citizen migrant workers, the serving class, make up the overwhelming majority of its estimated 8 million population.

Dubai, one of seven sheikhdoms that make up the Emirates, is restlessly ambitious and will try any gimmick to grab the headlines.

People have a sense of a humor that will grate on your decency.

Those living in the Emirates are constantly fed so much glossy propaganda that they suffer withdrawal symptoms the moment the make-believe reality machines go low on productivity.

Below are a few links to present a more realistic picture of the Emirates (E.nglish M.anaged I.ndian R.un A.nd (local) A.rabs T.aking E.normous S.alaries).

A UAE Royal Family member, Sheikh Issa, tortures an Afghan businessman in this video

Tuesday 7 April 2009, The Independent newspaper published 'The dark side of Dubai' by Johann Hari

Dubai was meant to be a Middle-Eastern Shangri-La, a glittering monument to Arab enterprise and western capitalism. But as hard times arrive in the city state that rose from the desert sands, an uglier story is emerging.

'This cruel game has to stop, if the Arab kings love this sport that much then they should put their own children on the camels and then race them.' Child camel jockeys

Fly Emirates, land in jail: Emirates’ Laws Trap a Doctor Just Passing Through

The world is our hunting ground: In a remote corner of northern Tanzania, Boeing 747 planes land on a private airstrip, trucks with United Arab Emirates (UAE) number plates drive across the plains, and anyone with a cell phone receives an unlikely text message: "Dear guest, welcome to UAE."