Ask Ali: Bowing to leaders isn’t how Emiratis show love

In Asian countries, people bow down to leaders and some prostate all the way to the ground. Why don't people in the Gulf do the same for their leaders?

Dear Ali: I've been travelling around Asia and have noticed how in some Asian countries they bow to their leaders and some even prostrate all the way to the ground. Why don't people in the Gulf do the same? Especially as we see the leaders' pictures everywhere – in offices, beside the roads, etc. FV, Abu Dhabi

Dear FV: Yes, we love and respect our leaders and sheikhs in the Gulf. First of all, “sheikh” means a wise man. It doesn’t mean he’s a king. All of our leaders are people just like us, who are humble and never act like or see themselves as gods. Even in kingdoms, such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the kings are actually sheikhs, and the word “king” is simply a description relating to the country being a kingdom.

We put pictures of our sheikhs everywhere as a sign of love and respect. We do not prostrate or bow to them, not because we don’t want to, but because the leaders themselves wouldn’t allow or accept it – they are believers of Allah, who created us all equal. The only one whom we should bow or prostrate to is Allah. The same leaders and sheikhs prostrate and bow to God when conducting prayers.

We do have some customs that represent our respect, such as rubbing noses and kissing the shoulder of a sheikh. These vary from person to person, but even all this is not enough to show our love to them. We show our loyalty to them by working hard, studying and developing our country in the best way we can – making sure we represent the country in the best way possible.

Each time we raise our UAE flag, we feel that we raise our love to our leaders who offered us this great way of life – a positive reputation that reflects a positive image of who we are as Emiratis, and the safety and development we have in the UAE and the whole GCC. It’s our responsibility to show our love and care to our leaders.

I remember the words spoken by our beloved Sheikh Zayed, the founding president of the UAE, when he made one of his many great quotes: “I don’t want anything from my people; I just want them to be happy, living good and happy. Allah blessed us with goods and it's my responsibility to share this and offer the best way of life to all of them – not only the Emiratis, but also the other nationalities living with us; not only that, but also whoever needs the help of the UAE, we will be there to support and make them happy.”

Sheikh Zayed ended his statement by saying: “If there is anything I would ever ask my people to do, it’s just not to forget to thank Allah for his blessings on us; never forget our one and only, the almighty God.”

Ali Al Saloom is a cultural adviser and public speaker from the UAE. Follow @AskAli on Twitter, and visit www.ask-ali.com to ask him a question.