Dear Ali: I was born in a country where people love telling Halloween stories, and believe in superstitions. Is this common in your culture? What kinds of superstitions do you have in the UAE or the Gulf region? DS, Romania
Dear DS: Around Halloween many people enjoy listening to an Emirati version of the Dracula story, and we also have other stories along the same lines, but more related to djinns and the devil, or Satan.
When I travel, I have noticed that people have many superstitions in common, which are probably the result of movies and television. These include, for example, saying that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, that garlic protects from evil spirits and vampires, or finding a horseshoe brings good luck.
I also learnt that in some Eastern European cultures you can’t hand a person a knife or a pair of scissors because it means the end of a friendship or divorce for a couple. In Sri Lankan culture, it is not good to keep a married women’s shoes by the door of the house, because she will have problems with her husband. Seeing a butterfly inside a house in Filipino culture could be the soul of a recently deceased loved one. Also if a family member leaves the house during dinner time, the plates have to be turned around in order to protect that person from harm.
The Gulf also has certain superstitions. For example, here it is believed that if someone walks over a seated person it brings bad luck to the one who is sitting. Petting an owl, black crow or rabbit is considered unlucky, because the owl and crow represent bad luck, and rabbits digging holes in the ground symbolises digging a grave.
Black dogs and cats are also seen here as representing something evil. So every time we see a black cat or dog, we would say: “In the name of God, the most merciful and gracious”, or “I seek God’s protection from the evil”. We say the same when entering a house, although this is not exactly a superstition – it is a practice based on our religion and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad.
The so-called “hand of Fatima”, which is the blue-eye symbol that people use believing that it can protect them from the evil eye (when someone envies you), or wearing a blue shape of an eye seek protection from a “bad eye” are not Islamic traditions, even though many people like owning these symbols.
Dear Ali: What is the etiquette for women running in the UAE? YR, Al Ain
Dear YR: Ladies are encouraged to run and conduct any training they want. For those who prefer privacy, there are plenty of women-only gyms in the country, in every emirate, which offer a private, professional environment.
Women who prefer to exercise in public need to consider the way they dress. It’s always appreciated if a woman’s legs are covered to the knee, her arms are covered and she does not show any cleavage. Some Arab and Emirati women enjoy walking more than running, because they can still be covered properly and enjoy the activity.
Remember, it is a conservative society, which respects Islamic culture. Women are encouraged to participate in sport as long as they are wearing appropriate clothing and behaving modestly.
Visible underwear or cleavage, or showing the stomach is not acceptable in public, but if it’s inside a private gym, it is allowed.
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 and to find his guidebooks to the UAE, for Dh50.
