The renaming of the mosque was a grand symbolic gesture.
The renaming of the mosque was a grand symbolic gesture.

Progressive reforms reflect tolerance and coexistence



At first glance, the decision to allow non-Muslims to settle matters of marriage and divorce through institutions of their own faith might seem to affect only a subset of the population. But it is in fact about much more than that. Much more than just about the making and breaking of bonds between couples. Instead, it needs to be understood within a broader context, and that would be in the aspiration of the country in general.

The UAE isn't in the business of marriage broker or counsellor, of course. Rather, it aspires to be an oasis in a troubled region. To be so, it seeks to make the mundane as resolutely ordinary as possible, including for those among us who are not of the majority faith. And so if, sadly, they need to divorce, then they should be able to do so under conditions they understand. Such "ordinariness" extended to, and protected for, those who are not of the majority group – however and in the many ways that that "majority" is construed – is the character of tolerance. In that regard, the UAE may be said to have achieved its aspiration.

Indeed, the country has sought in various ways to entrench ordinariness for those who live here but are not from the Gulf or even the wider region. Recently, a personal affairs court for non-Muslims was established. Through this, they can legally settle their family affairs – the estates of the deceased, for example – according to their beliefs and their faiths, instead of a process they might find alien and alienating. And last month, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, bestowed the name Mariam Umm Eisa to a mosque in the capital, in one stroke cementing the commonality between Islam and Christianity.

In a region stressed by conflict predicated on identity, we in the UAE suffer no insecurity over who we are. Indeed, the Emirati nation is buttressed and strengthened by its expatriate community of neighbours from nearly 200 nations. And how thoroughly and refreshingly ordinary that is for every single one of us. The only irony, perhaps. is that it takes the example of divorce to remind us of our unity in tolerance.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions

There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.

1 Going Dark

A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.

2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers

A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.

3. Fake Destinations

Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.

4. Rebranded Barrels

Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.

* Bloomberg

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About Tenderd

Started: May 2018

Founder: Arjun Mohan

Based: Dubai

Size: 23 employees 

Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital