Culture of Dubai

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

TOPIC: “NATION’S CULTURE AND VALUE”

S.NO:

I.

CONTENTS

PG.NO:

Dubai

1

1)

Summary

3

2)

Etymology

4

3)

Culture:

4
Food

5

Dress and Etiquette

5

Entertainment

6

4)

Sports

6

5)

Education

6

6)

Healthcare

7

7)

Demographics:

8
Ethnicity and Language

8

Religion

9

8)

Human rights

9

9)

Governance and Politics:

9
Law enforcements

II.

Appendix

10
11

DUBAI (‫)دب ي‬
Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates, located within the emirate. The emirate of
Dubai is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country.
Founder
Independence from UK
Population
Area
Time zone
Weather
Gross domestic product
GDP per capita
Currency

:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

Rashid bin saeed Al Maktoum (fig. 1)

2-Dec-71
2.106 million
4,114 km²
UAE standard time (UTC+4)

38°C, Wind NW at 16 km/h, 29%Humidity
82.11 billion USD (2008)
16,350.00 USD (2005)
Dirham

Government:
Type
Ruler
Crown Prince

:
:
:

Constitutional monarchy
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (fig. 2)
Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
(fig. 3)

Population:
Total:
Density:

Nationality:

2,106,177
463.17/km2 (1,199.6/sq mi)
53% Indian
17% Emirati
13.3% Pakistani
7.5% Bangladeshi
2.5% Filipino
1.5% Sri Lankan
0.3% American
5.7% other countries

DUBAI on World Map

DUBAI

1) SUMMARY:
Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates, located within the emirate. The emirate of
Dubai is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country. It has the largest population in the UAE (2,106,177) and the second-largest land territory by area (4,114 km2) after Abu Dhabi, the national capital.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the emirate's northern coastline and heads up the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Dubai is nowadays often misperceived as a country or city-state and, in some cases, the UAE as a whole has been described as 'Dubai'.
The earliest mention of Dubai is in 1095 AD, and the earliest recorded settlement in the region dates from 1799. The Sheikhdom of Dubai was formally established in 1833 by ‘Sheikh
Maktoum bin Butti Al-Maktoum’ when he persuaded around 800 members of his tribe of the
‘Bani Yas’, living in what was then the Second Saudi State and now part of Saudi Arabia, to follow him to the Dubai Creek by the ‘Abu Falasa clan’ of the Bani Yas. It remained under the tribe's control when the United Kingdom agreed to protect the Sheikhdom in 1892 and joined the nascent United Arab Emirates upon independence in ‘1971’ as the country's second emirate. Its strategic geographic location made the town an important trading hub and by the beginning of the 20th century, Dubai was already an important regional port.
Today, Dubai has emerged as a cosmopolitan metropolis that has grown steadily to become a global city and a business and cultural hub of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region. Although Dubai's economy was historically built on the oil industry, the emirate's
Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, real estate, and financial services.
Dubai has recently attracted world attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become symbolic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, such as the world's tallest ‘Burj Khalifa’(fig. 4), in addition to ambitious development projects including man-made islands, hotels, and some of the largest shopping malls in the region and the world. This increased attention has also highlighted labor and human rights issues concerning the city's largely South Asian workforce.
Dubai's property market experienced a major deterioration in 2008–2009 as a result of the worldwide economic downturn following the financial crisis of 2007-2008. However, a 2013 report by the Oxford Business Group said that Dubai was making a gradual recovery with help coming from neighboring emirates.
As of 2012, Dubai is the 22nd most expensive city in the world, and the most expensive city in the Middle East. Dubai has also been rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle
East, including by American global consulting firm Mercer who rated the city as the best place to live in the Middle East in 2011.

In 2012, the Global City Competitiveness Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Dubai at No. 40 with a total score of 55.9. According to their 2013 research report on the future competitiveness of cities, in 2025 Dubai moves up to 23rd place overall in the Index.

2) ETYMOLOGY:
In the 1820s, Dubai was referred to as ‘Al Wasl’ by British historians. Few records pertaining to the cultural history of the UAE or its constituent emirates exist and because of the region's oral traditions, folklore and myth were not written down. According to Fedel Handhal, a researcher in the history and culture of the UAE, the word ‘Dubai’ may have come from the word ‘Daba’ (a derivative of ‘Yadub’, which means to creep); referring to the slow flow of
Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, but to its alternative of locust.

3) CULTURE:
The UAE culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab and
Bedouin culture. In contrast, the city of Dubai is a highly cosmopolitan society with a diverse and vibrant culture.
The influence of Islamic and Arab culture on its architecture, music, attire, cuisine and lifestyle are very prominent as well. Five times every day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques which are scattered around the country. Since 2006, the weekend has been
Friday-Saturday, as a compromise between Friday's holiness to Muslims and the Western weekend of Saturday-Sunday.
In 2005, 84% of the population of metropolitan Dubai was foreign-born, about half of them from India. The city's cultural imprint as a small, ethnically homogenous pearling community was changed with the arrival of other ethnic groups and nationals—first by the
Iranians in the early 1900s, and later by Indians and Pakistanis in the 1960s.
Major holidays in Dubai include ‘Eid al Fitr’, which marks the end of Ramadan, and
National Day (December 2), which marks the formation of the United Arab Emirates. Annual entertainment events such as the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) (fig. 5) and Dubai Summer
Surprises (DSS) (fig. 6) attract over 4 million visitors from across the region and generate revenues in excess of $2.7 billion.
The International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA), the world's leading events trade association, has crowned Dubai as IFEA World Festival and Event City, 2012 in the cities category with a population of more than one million.
Large shopping malls in the city, such as Deira City Centre (fig. 7), Mirdiff City Centre,
BurJuman, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Mall and Ibn Battuta Mall as well as traditional souks attract shoppers from the region.

‘Khor Dubai’, or ‘Dubai Creek’ in English, is one of the few places in the city where old traditions could still be seen. Dubai Creek may become a UNESCO World Heritage Site if the authorities' bid is successful. In that case, it will earn a place among internationally famous sites such as Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park and Stonehenge.
 Food:

Arabic food is very popular and is available everywhere in the city, from the small shawarma diners in Deira and Al Karama to the restaurants in Dubai's hotels. Fast food, South
Asian, and Chinese cuisines are also very popular and are widely available.
The sale and consumption of pork, though legal, is regulated and is sold only to nonMuslims, in designated areas of supermarkets and airports. Similarly, the sale of alcoholic beverages is regulated. A liquor permit is required to purchase alcohol; however, alcohol is available in bars and restaurants within hotels.
Shisha and qahwa boutiques are also popular in Dubai. Dubai is known for its nightlife.
Clubs and bars are found mostly in hotels due to the liquor laws. The New York Times described
Dubai as "the kind of city where you might run into Michael Jordan at the Buddha Bar or stumble across Naomi Campbell celebrating her birthday with a multiday bash".
Biryani is also a popular cuisine across Dubai with being the most popular among Indians and Pakistanis present in Dubai. Dubai has a vast variety of cuisines for people from all over the world. One of the most popular cuisines in Dubai is Indian.
 Dress and etiquette:

The Islamic dress code is not compulsory. Most Emirati males prefer to wear a kandura
(fig. 8), an ankle-length white shirt woven from wool or cotton, and most Emirati women wear an abaya (fig. 9), a black over-garment covering most parts of the body. On an average a UAE male national would have up to 50 kanduras as they keep changing their clothing to ensure the dress being kept clean.
This attire is particularly well-suited for the UAE's hot and dry climate, the reason being that the white cloak reflects back the sunlight, for the same reason the UAE men wear white cloaks throughout the summer season while colorful cloaks are seen during the winters.
Conversely, the black clothing that women are obliged to wear absorbs and concentrates the sunlight. Western-style clothing is, however, dominant because of the large expatriate population, and this practice is beginning to grow in popularity among Emiratis.
Prohibitions on "indecent clothing" are an aspect of the UAE to which visitors are expected to conform. Recently, many expatriates have disregarded the law and been arrested for indecent clothing, or lack thereof, at beaches. Western-style dress is tolerated in places such as bars or clubs, but the UAE has enforced anti-indecency prohibitions in other public spaces.

 Entertainment:

The United Arab Emirates is a part of the ‘khaliji’ tradition, and is also known for
Bedouin folk music (fig. 10). During celebrations singing and dancing also take place and many of the traditional songs and dances have survived to the present time. ‘Yowalah’(fig. 11) is the traditional dance of the UAE. Young girls would dance by swinging their long black hair and swaying their bodies in time to the strong beat of the music. Men would re-enact battles fought or successful hunting expeditions, often symbolically using sticks, swords or rifles.
Hollywood and Indian movies are popular in Dubai (UAE). Since 2004, the city has hosted the annual Dubai International Film Festival which serves as a showcase for Arab film making talent. The largest Cinema Hall in UAE is Reel Cinemas (fig. 12) located at Dubai Mall.
It has 22 screens available with a total of 2800 seats.
Musicians Amr Diab, Diana Haddad, Tarkan, Aerosmith, Santana, Mark Knopfler, Elton
John, Pink, Shakira, Celine Dion, Coldplay, Keane, Phil Collins, Kavita Krishnamurthy, A R
Rahman, and Roxette have performed in the city. Kylie Minogue was reportedly paid
$3.5 million to perform at the opening of the Atlantis resort on 20 November 2008. The Dubai
Desert Rock Festival (fig. 13) is also another major festival consisting of heavy metal and rock artists. 4) SPORTS:
Football and cricket are the most popular sports in Dubai. Five teams (Al Wasl FC, AlAhli Dubai, Al Nasr SC, Al Shabab Al Arabi Club and Dubai Club) represent Dubai in UAE
Pro-League. Dubai also hosts both the annual Dubai Tennis Championships and The Legends
Rock Dubai tennis tournaments, as well as the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament and the
Dubai World Championship, all of which attract sports stars from around the world. The Dubai
World Cup, a thoroughbred horse race, is held annually at the Meydan Racecourse. Dubai also hosts the traditional rugby union tournament Dubai Sevens, part of the Sevens World Series. In
2009, Dubai hosted the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Auto racing is also a big sport in Dubai, the Dubai Autodrome is home to many auto racing events throughout the year.
Cricket is followed by Dubai's large community of Indians and Pakistanis alongside the residents from other cricket playing nations (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England, Australia and
South Africa). In 2005, the International Cricket Council (ICC) moved its headquarters from
London to Dubai. The city has hosted several Pakistan matches and two new grass grounds are being developed in Dubai Sports City.

5) EDUCATION:
The school system in Dubai follows that of the United Arab Emirates. As of 2009, there are 79 public schools run by the Ministry of Education that serve Emiratis and expatriate Arab people as well as 145 private schools. The medium of instruction in public schools is Arabic with emphasis on English as a second language, while most of the private schools use English as their medium of instruction. Most private schools cater to one or more expatriate communities.

The New Indian Model School, Dubai (NIMS), Delhi Private School, Our Own English
High School, the Dubai Modern High School, and The Indian High School, Dubai offer either a
CBSE or an Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Indian syllabus. Similarly, there are also several reputable Pakistani schools offering FBISE curriculum for expatriate children.
Dubai English Speaking School, Jumeirah Primary School, Jebel Ali Primary School,
Cambridge International School, Jumeirah English Speaking School, King's School and the
Horizon School all offer British primary education up to the age of eleven. Dubai Gem Private
School, Dubai British School, Dubai College, English College Dubai, English Language School
Pvt., Jumeirah English Speaking School – Arabian Ranches, Jumeirah College and St. Mary's
Catholic High School are British eleven-to-eighteen secondary schools offering General
Certificate of Secondary Education and A-Levels. Emirates International School, The Cambridge
International School and Wellington International School provides full student education up to the age of 18, and offers International General Certificate of Secondary Education and A-Levels.
Deira International School, Dubai International Academy and Jumeirah English Speaking School offer the International Baccalaureate program with the IGCSE program. Dubai American
Academy, American School of Dubai and the Universal American School of Dubai offer curriculum of the United States.
The Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates is responsible for accreditation of schools.The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) was established in 2006 to develop education and human resource sectors in Dubai, and license educational institutes.
Approximately 10% of the population has university or postgraduate degrees. Many expatriates tend to send their children back to their home country or to Western countries for university education and to India for technology studies. However, a sizeable number of foreign accredited universities have been set up in the city over the last ten years. The Dubai Public
Libraries (fig. 14) is the public library system in Dubai.

6) HEALTHCARE:
Healthcare in Dubai can be divided in two different sectors; public and private. While we are focusing on Dubai, each Emirate is able to dictate health care standards according to their internal laws, although the standards and regulations rarely have extreme differences. Public hospitals in Dubai were first built in the late 1950’s and continued to grow with public health initiatives. In the 80’s to ‘98 there were more than 20 medical clinics built within the Emirate.
Dubai decided to keep the momentum going by following the WHO’s policy of ‘Healthcare for all by 2000’ and kept building. 2007 launched a new year and a new initiative of the Dubai
Health Care Authority, which opened to continue progress in regulations and movements in healthcare in regards to health care. UAE nationals make up less than 20% of the population in
Dubai, making the rest of the population foreign. In the past there has been no laws forbidding foreign nationals using the national and public healthcare systems. Unfortunately due to the population overload of the international community, most hospital beds seemed to be used less for those from the homeland and more for everybody else.

7) DEMOGRAPHICS:
YEAR

POPULATION

1822
1900

1,200
10,000

1930

20,000

1940
1954
1960

38,000
20,000
40,000

1968

58,971

1975
1985
1995

183,000
370,800
674,000

2005

1,204,000

 Ethnicity and language:

According to the census conducted by the Statistics Centre of Dubai, the population of the emirate was 1,771,000 as of 2009, which included 1,370,000 males and 401,000 females.
The region covers 497.1 square miles (1,287.4 km²). The population density is 408.18/km² – more than eight times that of the entire country. Dubai is the second most expensive city in the region, and 20th most expensive city in the world.
As of 2005, 17% of the population of the emirate was made up of Arab UAE nationals, with the rest comprising expatriates. Approximately 85% of the expatriate population (and 71% of the emirate's total population) was Asian, chiefly Indian (51%) and Pakistani (16%); other significant groups include Bangladeshis (9%) and Filipinos (3%) and a sizeable community of
Somalis numbering around 30,000, as well as other communities of various nationalities. A quarter of the population reportedly traces their origins to Iran. In addition, 16% of the population (or 288,000 persons) living in collective labour accommodation were not identified by ethnicity or nationality, but were thought to be primarily Asian. There are over 100,000
British expatriates in Dubai, by far the largest group of Western expatriates in the city. The median age in the emirate was about 27 years. The crude birth rate, as of 2005, was 13.6%, while the crude death rate was about 1%.
Arabic is the national and official language of the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf dialect of Arabic is spoken natively by the Emirati people. English is used as a second language. Other languages spoken in Dubai, due to immigration, are Urdu, Hindi, Persian, Bengali, Punjabi,
Pashto, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Sinhala, Telugu, Balochi, Tagalog and Chinese, in addition to many other languages.

 Religion:

Article 7 of the UAE's Provisional Constitution declares Islam the official state religion of the UAE. The government subsidises almost 95% of mosques and employs all Imams; approximately 5% of mosques are entirely private, and several large mosques have large private endowments. Dubai also has large Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Bahá'í, Buddhist and other religious communities residing in the city. Non-Muslim groups can own their own houses of worship, where they can practice their religion freely, by requesting a land grant and permission to build a compound. Groups that do not have their own buildings must use the facilities of other religious organisations or worship in private homes. Non-Muslim religious groups are permitted to openly advertise group functions; however, proselytising or distributing religious literature is strictly prohibited under penalty of criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and deportation for engaging in behaviour offensive to Islam.

8) HUMAN RIGHTS:
Article 25 of the Constitution of the UAE provides for the equitable treatment of persons with regard to race, nationality, religious beliefs or social status. However, foreign laborers in
Dubai often live in conditions described by Human Rights Watch as being "less than humane", and was the subject of the documentary, ‘Slaves in Dubai’.
On 21 March 2006, workers at the construction site of Burj Khalifa, upset over bus timings and working conditions, rioted, damaging cars, offices, computers, and construction tools. The global financial crisis has caused the working class of Dubai to be affected especially badly, with many workers not being paid but also being unable to leave the country.
In 2007, Dubai's Prime Minister and UAE Vice-President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, endowed a foundation with US$100 million for improving education in the Middle
East.

9) GOVERNANCE AND POLITICS:
Dubai's government operates within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, and has been ruled by the Al Maktoum family since 1833. The current ruler, His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is also the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United
Arab Emirates and member of the Supreme Council of the Union (SCU). Dubai appoints eight members in two-term periods to the Federal National Council (FNC) of the UAE, the supreme federal legislative body.
The Dubai Municipality (DM) was established by the then ruler of Dubai, Rashid bin
Saeed Al Maktoum in 1954 for purposes of city planning, citizen services and upkeep of local facilities. DM is chaired by Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai and comprises several departments such as the Roads Department, Planning and Survey Department,
Environment and Public Health Department and Financial Affairs Department. In 2001, Dubai

Municipality embarked on an e-Government project with the intention of providing 40 of its city services through its web portal, ‘dubai.ae’. Thirteen such services were launched by October
2001, while several other services were expected to be operational in the future. Dubai
Municipality is also in charge of the city's sanitation and sewage infrastructure.
 Law enforcement:

The Dubai Police Force, founded in 1956 in the locality of Naif, has law enforcement jurisdiction over the emirate; the force is under direct command of Mohammed bin Rashid al
Maktoum, ruler of Dubai.
Dubai and Ras al Khaimah are the only emirates that do not conform to the federal judicial system of the United Arab Emirates. The emirate's judicial courts comprise the Court of
First Instance, the Court of Appeal, and the Court of Cassation. The first Court of First Instance consists of the Civil court, which hears all civil claims; the Criminal Court, which hears claims originating from police complaints; and Sharia Court, which is responsible for matters between
Muslims. Non-Muslims do not appear before the Sharia Court. The Court of Cassation is the supreme court of the emirate and hears disputes on matters of law only.
To maintain traffic, the Road & Transport Authority of Dubai has put in place a well defined system to ensure that the population follows traffic rules. There are heavy fines and a complete list of these fines can be found on the official website of Dubai Police. One can also check the fine imposed upon him and can also pay the fine online.

APPENDIX:

fig. 1 - Founder

fig. 3 - Crown Prince

fig. 2 - Ruler

fig. 4 - Burj Khalifa

fig. 5 - Dubai shopping festival

fig. 6 - Dubai Summer Surprises

fig. 7 - Deira City Centre

fig. 10 - Bedouin folk music

fig. 12 - Reel Cinemas

fig. 8 - Kandura

fig. 9 - Abaya

fig. 11 - Yowalah

fig. 13 - Dubai Desert Rock Festival

fig. 14 - Dubai Public Libraries