There are Bad Days, and then there are…

ALEXANDER MCNABB: Adding to that, we have finally had it confirmed that, in the UAE, ‘freehold’ actually means ‘usufruct’. What the hell is ‘usufruct’..?
Does it Matter how Women get to Power?

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMMED: We don’t hold women to male standards. Marriage is seen as an acceptable way to assert status. The woman need not have any of her own intrinsic merit, women are judged less on their talents
World Cup Wailing: Thoughts on the World Cup decision

STEVE ROYSTON: However FIFA arrived at its decisions, if the motive is to put the tournament where there’s real passion for football, then both Russia and Qatar are good choices.
Is an arranged marriage the answer to my prayers?

SHELINA ZAHRED JANMOHAMMED: Arranged marriages are a pro-active approach to finding a spouse, where the community, family and individual work together to locate someone who will make a life partner.
This is Cricket, There will be No Other…

STEVE ROYSTON: As a child, I used to stay up late to listen to the Ashes on the radio. Today, a little closer to Australia and half a century on, I’m still listening.
The very real problem of ‘reverse culture shock’

AMERICAN BEDU: When expatriates first arrive in their new country of residence it’s common to experience ‘culture shock’. But when they return to their home country many face the same – in reverse.
Can love be measured? Do we want it to be?

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMMED: My negativity towards mixing love and science may be unfounded. Instead of sucking out magic, science could help us improve the quality and quantity of love we experience.
Saudi Arabia and The Cover Up of Polygamy

AMERICAN BEDU: There does not seem to be a pattern on which wife (Saudi or foreign) was the first. However, in all cases I am aware of, not one wife is happy that their husband chose to exercise the right of polygamy.
Defending Muslims Should Not Entail Idealizing Them

Ironically, his reaction did more to embody the “angry Muslim male” stereotype that he was trying to avoid, than did any words of mine. He said domestic violence in the Muslim community is, and I quote, “almost non-existent.”
A Monument of Tolerance in the Heart of Dubai

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: Nestled in one of Bur Dubai’s older districts is one of the emirate’s best kept architectural secrets: the Ismaili Centre of Dubai.
Taxis in the UAE – Who’s Being Taken for a Ride?

It’s expensive stuff, this taking a taxi. And yet the drivers seem to be worse off than ever – although I don’t see the large numbers of middlemen at the taxi companies and regulators suffering.