'Zayed taught me' tweet from UAE Prime Minister goes viral

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid posted the message during National Day celebrations

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. Photo by WAM

Thousands of people from across the UAE have reacted to a tweet sent by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid during Sunday’s National Day celebrations.

The post quickly went viral after being displayed on a giant screen in front of a vast crowd at Zayed Sports City Stadium.

Starting with the hashtag #علمني_زايد - which translates as "Zayed taught me" - the Vice President and Prime Minister wrote: "Humans are greater than buildings, achievements are greater than a position. A country is greater than its people".

Other leading figures then joined in by using the same hashtag and revealing what the Founding Father had taught them.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces, wrote: “Human values are the foundation of any progress, and the achievements of dreams stems from faith and the confidence to achieve.”

Sheikh Mohammed sent his tweet while watching live National Day celebrations from inside Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City Stadium.

Event organisers quickly displayed his message on the stadium’s screen, promoting thousands of others to react. Within half an hour the post was trending on Twitter in the UAE.

Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation responded: “There is power in simplicity” while Shiekh Saif bin Zayed, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, wrote: “To serve my country, and my leader, and my community, and my family. All of which gives strength to them.”

Members of the public reacted too, with one saying the Founding Father “taught me not to let go of my dreams, but embrace them and pursue them”.

He added: “He also taught me that everything is possible, even a desert can be a paradise.”

Another wrote: “Sheikh Zayed was everyone’s voice; the weak, the poor, the strong, the rich – the Emirati, and the non-Emirati.

“He was diversity personified and tolerance manifested. He taught me humanity, love and compassion.”