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National Identity in UAE
written by : Abdullahi mohammed ibrahim
National identity of United Arab Emirates
INTRODUCTION
The idea of identity can be very difficult to grasp. The idea of a national identity cannot be precisely explained, nor can concise definitions of identity, national identity, or nationalism be formulated.
The first step in understanding how identities form is to think about your own life. Who are YOU? Are you a parent? A teacher? Alumni to a specific school or organization? A member of a specific school or organization? Emirates? Even from specific city like AJMAN or Dubai or from specific Family . With each group that you use to identify yourself, you are creating in your mind an image of groups that you belong to. You are one of many teachers, or one of many Emirate people. You view yourself as being part of these groups because you believe you share commonalities with other people in this group. There are people who consider themselves part of the same group as you, yet you have never met them, and probably never will. So what causes this connection between strangers to exist? The desire to belong to a community (one that is essentially imagined) is the cause of this feeling of unity. Additionally, when the defining elements of a group are examined, most cases show that groups form their identity by stressing what they are not. For instance, when you ask a teacher to define what a teacher is, a response of "not a doctor, or politician, or lawyer, or carpenter" would not be out of line, because a teacher is not any of those things. Therefore, teachers are able to define themselves as a group by defining themselves against others.
A national identity encompasses a certain set of cultural values and religious values that are generally accepted by people of that nation in specific country or region.
UAE society has traditionally been open to other cultures. Even before the federation was founded in 1971 and before the discovery of oil in the 1960s, ports received sailors and traders from Iran, India and many parts of Africa and Asia.
At the same time, Emirati sailors and traders also traveled to distant parts of Asia and Africa seeking better opportunities.
Through these exchanges they brought with them many things that are considered today as traditional elements of Emirati culture, but today Emirates are very concerned about their national identity, as the number of foreigners is rising rapidly and nationals are now a minority in their own country.
Khalfan Musabih, cultural adviser at the Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Foundation, said: "We are not afraid of others but we are concerned about losing our identity, heritage and language. National identity is to feel you belong to your homeland and to feel zeal toward everything related to it," he said.
Musabih is concerned about the new generation "who feel like they do not belong to this land".
He said Emiratis feel increasingly isolated "because they only make up about 15 per cent of the total population".
He said visitors who come to the UAE for a short time from other countries to earn a living do not have a sense of belonging or necessarily feel loyalty to the country. Arab expatriates who have lived here for a long time, on the other hand, do have a sense of belonging since they share a common culture, he noted, he continued: "I'm not asking to close the open doors because, personally, the multicultural society allows me to enrich my culture and experiences. I just think expatriates should understand our concerns."
We can more know why all this importance of National identity if we consider the most elements under threat and they are social values, our cultural values, our language, and damaging Islam values.
UAE National Identify Elements:-
Arabic Language
Arabic language Importance
Becouse UAE religion is ISLAM and their official language is Arabic language but as fact, seventy five percent of the UAE population does not speak Arabic as their daily language. Yet Muslim in any place of the world have to know Arabic to use it in daily prayers, when reading the Qur'an, or even in simple conversations with each other, Arabic rolls off any Muslim's tongue readily. It may be broken or heavily accented, but most Muslims make the attempt to speak and understand at least some Arabic.
Regardless of their linguistic, cultural, and racial differences, Muslims form one community of believers. This community is based on their shared faith in One Almighty God, and the guidance He has sent down to mankind. His final revelation to mankind, the Qur'an, was sent over 1400 years ago in the Arabic language.
Unfortunately if you have the highest degrees of certificates and try to search any jobs in UAE, they oblige you to know English language fluently this is true in any sectors of UAE business jobs even in the governmental Jobs!.
Arabic is the language of the Qur'an. Traditionally, Muslims deem it impossible to translate the Qur'an in a way that would reflect its exact meaning. Some schools of thought maintain that it should not be translated at all. Arabic is often associated with Islam, but it is also spoken by Arab Christians, Arab Druze, Mizrahi Jews and Iraqi Mandaeans.
Influences of Arabic languages
The influence of Arabic has been most important in Islamic countries. Arabic is a major source of vocabulary for languages such as Berber, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Swahili, Urdu, Hindustani (especially the spoken variety), Turkish, Malay and Indonesian, as well as other languages in countries where these languages are spoken. For example, the Arabic word for book (/kitāb/) has been borrowed in all the languages listed. In addition, Spanish and Portuguese both have large numbers of Arabic loan words, and English has quite a few, some directly but most through the medium of other Mediterranean languages. Other languages such as Maltese[6] and Kinubi derive from Arabic, rather than merely borrowing vocabulary or grammar rules.
The terms borrowed range from religious terminology (like Berber atzallit "prayer" < salat), academic terms (like Uyghur mentiq "logic"), economic items (like English "sugar") to placeholders (like Spanish fulano "so-and-so") and everyday conjunctions (like Hindustani lekin "but".) Most Berber varieties (such as Kabyle), along with Swahili, borrow some numbers from Arabic. Most Islamic religious terms are direct borrowings from Arabic, such as salat 'prayer' and imam 'prayer leader.' In languages not directly in contact with the Arab world, Arabic loanwords are often transferred indirectly via other languages rather than being transferred directly from Arabic. For example, most Arabic loanwords in Hindustani entered through Persian, and many older Arabic loanwords in Hausa were borrowed from Kanuri. Some words in English and other European languages are derived from Arabic, often through other European languages, especially Spanish and Italian. Among them are commonly-used words like "sugar" (sukkar), "cotton" (qutri) and "magazine" (mahāzin). English words more recognizably of Arabic origin include "algebra", "alcohol", "alchemy", "alkali" and "zenith." Some words in common use, such as "intention" and "information", were originally calques of Arabic philosophical terms.
Arabic was also influenced by other languages including Persian, Berber language and Egyptian. The influences from Berber and Egyptian on Arabic happened mainly before Islam, making these influences not directly noticeable by non-linguists. Also many Arab writers make the mistake of identifying most of loan words in Arabic as being of Persian origin.
UAE efforts in supporting Arabic language
The government of UAE decided to use Arabic as the official language in all federal authorities and establishments.
The move was hailed by UAE intellectuals who called on local governments and private institutions to follow suit.
Dr Ebtisam Al Kitbi, Professor of Political Science at the UAE University in Al Ain, said the long overdue move was a step in the right direction in emphasizing the national identity. He urged the government to follow up on its implementation.
Al Kitbi said the move will enhance the presence of Arab speaking people in labour market and restore the national identity," she said.
She said the decision is in harmony with the UAE constitution, which states that the language of the land is Arabic without exception.
"To my knowledge, there is no nation that allows an invasion of foreign languages in government institutions the way we did in the UAE. The move will correct the imbalance," she said.
"See countries like Germany, France and Japan. People there use foreign languages, but you will never see them in the work place other than their national languages. English is widely used in the government in the UAE and this is unacceptable," she said.
Ali Abdul Kadir Al Khalaf, secretary-general of the Sharjah-based Arabic Language Protection Association (ALPA), said that he and his colleagues in ALPA have been working for nearly 10 years to enhance the use of Arabic in the country.
"The government decision is just one step forward. We are looking to see similar commitments by governments in the various emirates and the business sector," Al Khalaf said.
He said ALPA is waiting for stronger moves by the government to emphasize the national identity in 2008.
"The language decision was just an implementation of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan's initiative to endorse the current year as the year of national identity," he said.
Chaired by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Cabinet also approved an agreement between the UAE and France to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes
Some examples of how Our Arabic language is being damaged now days in UAE.
Cultural values
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan said “Who does not know his past can’t make the best of his present and future”.
Cultural identity in the UAE is a rich blend of traditional Arab, Islamic and contemporary elements. Following the foundation of the state and the increased availability of educational opportunities private and public cultural centers and libraries began to spring up around the country, helping to promote cultural awareness and assisting in the preservation of the country’s rich heritage. The main objective of the Ministry of Information and Culture is to promote and support the country's cultural activities at home and abroad. The Ministry has under its administration 11 public libraries throughout the state's seven emirates. This is in addition to 30 cultural groups, which perform dance, drama and music during festivals, exhibitions and ceremonies in the UAE or held outside the country. The Ministry's Cultural Department also plays an important role, publishing books related to heritage, culture art and theatre, organizing lectures, seminars and other cultural activities and participating in international book fairs. The Ministry 's Exhibitions Department participates in international exhibitions which serve to introduce the UAE’s rich heritage to a global audience.
Now a days most of social and cultural values has been changed like the strong relations between society elements and family and also the generous ,faith and helping others without any benefit for saik of Allah , all of these new aspects is due to the blind imitation of the other cultures that will bring little positive values and a lot of negative values .
Some examples of how Our Cultural values have been changed.
Before:
Some aspects of losing identity:-
Islam values Identity
Some negative perceptions are exist at now days in UAE that not match with Islam instructions like boy friend , girl friend ,woman freedom , bad media messages .
Every aspect of human relationship is governed by social values. In Islam all values affecting man are based upon the Qur'anic concept that each human being is endowed by the Almighty God with the highest potential for doing good to himself and to his society, and so he is capable of achieving the highest level of moral and spiritual development and that his personality must be respected. The Qur'an takes note of diversities of race, color, language, wealth etc., which serve their own useful purposes in the social scheme, and describes them as signs of Allah for those who hear and possess knowledge. The Qur'an states that Allah has divided mankind into tribes and nations for greater facility of intercourse.
Neither membership in a tribe nor citizenship in a state confers any privilege nor are they source of honor. The true source of honor in the sight of Allah (God) is a righteous life. In his Farewell Address, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "You are all brothers, and are all equal. None of you can claim any privilege or any superiority over any other."
Islam has established a universal brotherhood. It is stressed that a true brotherhood can be established only by virtue of mankind’s relationship with one another through Allah. Other factors e.g. common interests, common pursuits, common occupations may help to foster friendship and brotherhood.
Islam considers the family as the basic unit of human society. The foundation of a family is laid through marriage. The relationship between husband, wife is children should be strong and ever- lasting. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) noted once, "The best among you is he who treats the members of his family best." In order to maintain harmony within the family, Islam looked down upon divorce and considered it as the most obnoxious in the sight of Allah but if the relationship between the husband and wife is no longer endurable, it can be resorted to divorce with the object to provide the opportunity for a better and decent life.
Great stress is laid on the proper upbringing and training of children. Infanticide, which was a common practice during certain periods of human history, is prohibited. Special concern was given to proper upbringing of girls. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, "A person who is blessed with a daughter or daughters and makes no discrimination between them and his sons and brings them up with kindness and affection will be as close to paradise as my forefinger and middle ringer are to each other." While stressing kindness and affection toward children and uniformly treating all children tenderly, he did not approve of undue indulgence.
The Qur'an lays great stress on kindness toward neighbors, and in the same way the treatment of the needy and the wayfarer. Orphans have been made the objects of particular care. Their proper upbringing and the due administration of their property must be ensured. Detailed directions are laid down with regard to the guardianship of minors.
Another feature of Islam is that it aims at merging all sections of society into a single community so that all persons may feel them selves to be members of the same family. Islam encourages simple ways of life and to dispense with artificial ceremonial and superficial standards of living.
Islam recognized that there must be diversity of all kinds in a healthy society, and that it is not only futile but also harmful to covet that in which others excel. Each must exercise his or her owns capacities and talents and strives to promote both individual and common good. Begging is prohibited except in me of extreme need. Various aspects of good manners are insisted upon. In Surah 3 1, Vs. 18 Allah says "Turn not thy face away from people in pride, nor walk in the earth haughtily; surely Allah loves not any arrogant boaster. Moderate thy pace when walking and soften thy voice when speaking".
As for group activities Islam recognizes three types of public associations; first, those formed for the purpose of promoting the general welfare, in other words, charitable associations and the like. Second, the object of which is to promote the spread and propagation of knowledge and investigation and research into the sciences, arts, philosophies etc., third, those established for the purpose of peaceful settlement of disputes and for removing causes of friction, whether in domestic, national, political or international spheres, and thereby promoting peace among mankind. When people are gathered together for a common purpose, they should behave in an orderly manner, and should not leave or disperse without permission. All people should behave with dignity and particular attention must be paid to maintenance of order in public places. Persons using public places must take care that no undue inconvenience is occasioned to others using the same, nor should any person be exposed to risk or injury.
The obligation is laid upon everyone to urge others toward good ness and to seek to restrain them from evil, but with kindness and affection. Spying, backbiting and undue suspicion must be avoided. It is a duty of every Muslim constantly to seek increase of knowledge. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) went so far as to add, "A word of wisdom is the lost property of a Muslim. He should seize it wherever he finds it."
Population
The UAE has grown at an extremely rapid pace since its foundation.
The population has increased from about 180,000 to its present 2,407,460 million while the revenues from oil have enabled the government to undertake a massive construction programmes including housing, schools, hospitals, roads, seaports, airports and telecommunications facilities.
The UAE had an estimated population of 2,407,460 in 2001, with a density of 29 persons per sq. km (75 per sq. m). Some 85% of the country's population is urban with Abu Dhabi as the largest city and the capital of the UAE. It also serves as the financial, transportation, and communications center of an area considered to be a major petroleum-producing one. Abu Dhabi is also a significant port and is home to a majority of the federal government ministries; the emirate of Abu Dhabi constitutes nearly 40 % of the total UAE population.
Dubai is the major trading center of the entire Persian Gulf and has the principal port facilities of the UAE as well as its busiest airport. It has also several federal ministries. Ash-Shariqah is an important port and industrial center.
Several aspects of the UAE's population are unusual. The population in 1995 was 15 times larger than it was in thirty years ago, mainly due to the immigration of oil workers. 80% of the UAE's inhabitants are foreign workers and their dependents. Due to the influx of young foreign workers, cultural preference for large families and improved medical care, the UAE also has a very young population,.
The poverty of the past has been swept away but not the customs and traditions of the people.
The chart below describes the population in UAE
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