Young and Arab in Land of Mosques and Bars

This article follows a few men who have lived and worked in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. One of the main characters of the article is Rami Galal, a 24 year old construction worker from Egypt. He is not your typical Muslim as he frequents bars to drink and considers a young Russian prostitute his girlfriend. He sees Dubai as his future, as a place where success doesn't come from connections and preexisting wealth alone. He along with others in Dubai enjoy that its more about the Middle Eastern culture than about the religion. However, after living in Dubai, he stops thinking of himself as predominantly Muslim, and begins thinking of himself as predominantly Egyptian. He thrives on the materialist society, enjoying his work, and enjoying his somewhat secular lifestyle.

Expatriates make up 80% of Dubai's population, which boasts an amazing 200 nationalities. Expatriates are people who have renounced their allegiance to their country of birth or have moved to another country. Dubai is a Muslim state, but Islam is not the common bond of its citizens; ambition is. Arabs are moving to Dubai for economic opportunity and social freedom. This article deals with immigration and exile in the sense that these people who are moving to Dubai are becoming implicated in a culture that is unmistakably Arab, but at the same time shows tolerance for different lifestyles. The combination of diversity, tolerance, and opportunity helps breed moderation. This difference of lifestyle is putting people like Galal in between both cultures. In the beginning of the article, he talks about the things he missed from Egypt, like how he was more religious in Egypt, how he needed to stop drinking beer because it was wrong. However, upon returning to Egypt, he can't wait to get back to Dubai. "Nothing is new here. Nothing is happening. My friends feel like I changed... I want to go back and have fun. My future is there, in Dubai." I think that many people who immigrate to other countries have similar identity crises. My father, a Mexican immigrant to the United States, clings to bits of his heritage, yet has embraced enough of American culture that he would have to redjust to Mexican culture should he move back there again. I think this article shows that even when people immigrate to other countries with similar cultures they still lose some of their old lifestyle in the process, making it difficult fit into customs and traditions of their home country.

Young and Arab in Land of Mosques and Bars
Written by Michael Slackman
The New York Times
September 21, 2008
Page A1 of the New York edition