Over the past few decades the UAE have been engaged in a continuous process of growth and rapid changes, transforming itself from an area populated by nomadic herders of sheep, goats and cattle into one of the most modernized and influential economic powers in the world.

Under the watchful eye of the sheiks of the Al Nuhayyan and Al Maktum family, who’ve seem to be blessed with the Midas-touch, the black gold has been flowing across the UAE soil since the early 60s, providing its people with extreme wealth and prosperity, offered in the form of various sorts of leisure, comfort and luxury.

Driven by unseen ambition and fed by increasing Western influences the country undertook megalomaniac projects, such as the building of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper ever built, and the construction of the Palm Islands, an artificial archipelago set in Dubai.

These examples of construction madness were given shape through unbridled passion and financial strength, but couldn’t have been achieved without foreign workforce, either coming from well educated and highly paid Western expats, or cheap laborers from the East. While the former has residence is closed, gated, secured communities, enjoying the pleasures of the capitalistic boom, the latter is not as well off, deprived from any privilege, often exploited by human traffickers, and being the victim of the emerging global capitalistic consumer-greed, all in the name of progress.

Despite the friendly relation shared between the Islamic UAE and the Western world, which for progressive Arabs proves their modern identity, it causes fear to the more conservative Muslims of endangering their heritage and traditions, and being overran by ‘decadent’ and ‘sinful’ behaviour. All this has led to both growing conservatism and liberalization. While for instance some young women dress in a Western fashion, others individualize their traditional abayas and jilbabs, and some cover up completely.

Compared to the neighbouring extremely restrictive country of Saudi Arabia, the UAE are clearly more tolerant, but certain issues linked to Islamic believes remain taboo, including: homosexuality, STD’s, premarital sex and drugs.

The UAE are by far one of the most multicultural places in the world, it harbors various people with different nationalities, descending from different walks of life, but yet its still struggling with economical and social differences, an enormous disparity of wealth, racism, prejudice and intolerance.

It’s traveling on a continuous road, a sometimes hazardous path, with obstacles to overcome, and pieces yet to be constructed along the way. It is a long process, hopefully being taken with the needed patience, mutual understanding, bringing new hopes and dreams along the way.

Insha’Allah.