Much excitement about the Hag Al Laila, which translates as For this Night and is traditionally celebrated on the 15th day of Sha’aban, the month before Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. A hashtag that abhors sectarian hate. And football fever. It’s been a healthy, happy and really quite hearty week on social media.
Countdown to Ramadan
Hag Al Laila became a Twitterfest with people posting pictures of happy children dressed in traditional Emirati clothes and of specially designed giveaways.
TOM (@__TooOm) tweeted that it was lovely “to see those little kids carrying those bags of sweets and their cute smiles” and Lamya (@Lamyxa_), who was obviously adult, used Twitter to reveal that she was waiting for the children to come home with the stash of sweets and other treats that they had collected from the neighbours.
Myth (@Mythaah_) said it was a night to spend with the family and the Health Promotion Department of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (@Sharjah_Health) warned against leaving young children unattended or sending them out on their own dressed in a way that might attract unwanted attention from strangers.
But it wasn’t a wholly party atmosphere. There was heated debate about whether Hag Al Laila is Islamic or not, with some saying it should not be celebrated because the Prophet did not.
Others disagreed. Abdullah Al Neemi (@AbdllahAlneaimi) tweeted: “Every good occasion is allowed by religion and I don’t need a fatwa to know this.”
And Ameera Ahmed (@AmeeraAhmed__) said: “By the way, Hag Al Laila is a traditional occasion that is intended to make people, especially children, happy. We never claimed it’s an Islamic occasion.”
No to sectarianism
People also showed their wholehearted rejection of violence and hate speech with the Arabic hashtag “No sectarianism, No terrorism”, which trended pretty much throughout the week in this country.
Dr Ali Rashed Al Noaimi (@Dralnoaimi) tweeted that “our Islam and our humanity say no to sectarianism, no to terrorism.”
Sultan Al Ameemi (@alameemi) said: “There is a hidden sectarianism and a hidden terrorism and they are no less dangerous than the ones that are obvious.”
Omniyat Al Hajeri (@omniyatalhajeri) tweeted that terrorism dons its “favourite mask, sectarianism” and Ali Al Neami (@AAlneami) urged people to join together to hit this divisiveness hard.
Mariam Naser (@MariamNsr) said: “My closest friend is from another sect. And when we are together, I don’t understand the sectarian ugliness that is written and spoken.Both of us worship the same God.”
Bedryah (@BedryahOt) expressed the hope that every community, be it a family, a school, mosque or a media outlet, would promote tolerance towards the Other.”
A big week for fans
It was a week in which UAE football fans closely tracked Arsenal’s FA Cup final win over Aston Villa on Saturday. The hashtag #FACupFinal trended solidly and Arsenal fans were in high spirits.
Heba Al Samt (@HebaAlSamt) tweeted that yellow was the colour of champions and Shikha Bhattacharya (@crackwit) cheered: “And Arsenal wins it in style!!!!! 4-0.”
Az Muhammad Saul (@azhar_m_s) tweeted: “Yea, we were as good as the score line suggests.”
Ahmed Al Khoori (@Ahmed91Gooner) tweeted: “Congratulations. Officially, Arsenal is the English club with highest FA Cup wins (12 times) and Arsene Wenger is the coach with the highest number of world-class championships (6 times).”
The mood was a lot darker as football fans discussed Tuesday night’s unexpected announcement that Sepp Blatter would step down as Fifa president in the wake of a corruption investigation engulfing the world football body.
Suhail Al Abdool @s_alabdool) tweeted: “It’s not the end. There are still many missing pieces in the puzzle of Fifa, Sepp Blatter and corruption. We will see several new chapters in the coming days. I will not be surprised if some officials in this region are involved in corruption cases as well.”
Nasser Yahya (@nasser_yahya) said: “I’m surprised by Arabs’ interest in Sepp Blatter’s resignation, almost as if our national teams sit at the top of the international rankings. Why do we care this much?”
Sarah Khamis is away
aalmazrouei@thenational.ae
On Twitter: @AyeshaAlmazroui
