The ugly side of the U.A.E.'s justice system

[Smiling_Wolf]

In the wake of the economic crash of last year, the U.A.E. has essentially been plagued with mounting multi-billion dollar debts, caused by over-extravagant building projects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVSATNfWuQ

Never have I seen so much hypocrisy in a place as conservative as Saudi Arabia.

P.S.: Oops, maybe I should've retitled the thread, because the news report is a little more broad than that.

[Apple Pie]

Thanks for posting. The report is on the spot.

[Excalibur]

i found it very interesting. thanks for posting.

[cnureddy.b]

Burning money on tall buildings is a failed Idea, 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
Running a country which claims itself a global hub with stone age sharia laws is a joke.

[IconOfEvi]

Modern cavemen, they are

As someone said, "If you can't get your law and culture out of the era of camel trains, than maybe your approach to technology should be the same."

Mark Steyn I think

[Excalibur]

Burning money on tall buildings is a failed Idea, 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.the worst thing here is that Abu-Dabi came to "rescue" by pouring new tens of billions just to keep this failed policy going on and i guess, this will get them in even deeper crisis in the future.

[budgie]

The UAE is not as conservative nor as strictly Shariah as Saudi Arabia. But what would I know? Only lived there three years.

[Achillka]

Who said the UAE to be different from their neighbours? That's the islamic world.

[budgie]

Jordan, UAE, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Malaysia, Indonesia are parts of the 'Islamic world' I've actually visited. I lived in Dubai from 2005-2008. Those chicks clubbing in the video were billed as prostitutes but most looked like typical EK crew on a nite out at Zinc to me. So go on, Achilla, tell me all about the "Islamic World'.

[Smiling_Wolf]

The UAE is not as conservative nor as strictly Shariah as Saudi Arabia. But what would I know? Only lived there three years.

When you're rich and powerful, or rich and foreign, Shariah does not apply to you.

This is the case in any theocratic nation, not just in Islam, where people up high will abuse religious laws as they see fit to their own ends.

[Smiling_Wolf]

Or perhaps, the very nature of Shariah is exactly the problem - it makes second class citizens of females, making for a patriarchal society that stifles half its population. That's why the U.A.E. is still medieval even behind its glass towers.

And where exactly did you live in the U.A.E., budgie?

[budgie]

I lived in Dubai. Right on Sheikh Zayed Road in one of those shiny skyscrapers.

The youtube story doesn't once equate Shariah law with the UAE Judicial system (although elements of it are certainly in there). Moreover it is not blamed for the legal hassles foreign businessmen have faced. And the French dude was right - they're kind of gangsters. In teh get rich quick moneygrab that was Dubai's 'boom', a lot of shady deals were done and those who got a raw deal when it went ass-up were seldom entirely innocent.

The real problem with 'Justice' in the UAE, is that as in most monarchies, it doesn't apply to the ruling class. If you are a prince or a friend of one you may be above the law. Likewise the harsh treatment of foreigners over small issues like sleeping together are more to do with local xenophobia than any real islamic plot. Local men rarely get busted for consensual ****** relations with foreign women (look up MMID). Yet a foreign couple can theoretically get fined for just holding hands ( I got away with it with my Japanese girlfriend). This is more about the locals asserting their perceived cultural superiorty and in some cases ( an English couple caught shagging on the beach near Barrasti bar) we may even be asking for it.

As for their treatment of victims of *** offences I agree it is typically archaic chauvinism wherein the victim gets blamed.