Dubai is on the way to meeting its ambitious target to be the capital of the global Islamic economy, according to the executive charged with seeing the project through.
“We have strong infrastructure as a foundation, and I’m confident that Dubai will do it in the time frame, said Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, the chief executive of the Dubai Islamic Economy Centre. “We’ve met such targets in the past and made Dubai what it is today.”
Mr Al Awar, a former chief executive of the Dubai International Financial Centre, said that several initiatives had already been launched in support of the plan to put Dubai at the centre of a global economy potentially worth nearly US$7 trillion in three years’ time.
The strategy, announced last year by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aims to put in place seven pillars of Islamic financial and economic measures in the next two-and-a-half years.
The pillars are finance, halal industry, tourism, digital infrastructure, arts, knowledge and standards. More than 40 individual initiatives have been identified as essential to complete the project.
“We have made progress in finance and banking, in sukuk, in some of the knowledge initiatives and in the halal clusters introduced in free zones. We may introduce extra new initiatives as we go along because there are lots of new ideas being progressed,” Mr Al Awar said.
He said there was a need for global Islamic indicators to quantify Dubai’s progress, and that new moves could coincide with global events taking place in the emirate. Dubai stages the World Islamic Economic Forum for the first time this autumn.
On standardisation, one of the key aspects of the aim to be a global hub, Mr Al Awar said that Dubai was talking to standards authorities in the 57 countries of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation to achieve mutual recognition agreements on “bare minimum standards” in halal and other parts of the Islamic economy.
He added that a team from Dubai had been to Malaysia, which is one of the other centres of the global Islamic economy. “Malaysia and the rest of South East Asia have got their own big Islamic populations, so Dubai is well-placed to serve the rest of the global economy.”
He said he did not see Dubai in a “conflict situation” with London, a third hub for Islamic financial services.
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SQUADS
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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