More than 9,000 kilometres from Paris, the stained-glass windows of the Noor-e-Islam mosque bear the colours of the French flag, a symbol of hope in the troubled history of France’s attempts to assimilate its large Muslim population.
The design reflects the gratitude of the mosque's founding fathers for official approval of the house of worship at the end of the 19th century. It also highlights an attachment to the French republic.
In the name of battling separatism and rejection of the state, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, is pursuing policies to uphold secularist values against what he calls “political Islam”.
In seeking a working model, he would do well to study the community in Saint-Denis, capital of the volcanic Indian Ocean island of Reunion.
In this far-off French outpost, prayers at the oldest mosque in France are said in French as well as Arabic.
There is no overseas influence or funding. Annual running costs of more than €1.3 million (Dh5.7m) are met from donations and income from shops adjoining the mosque and other properties it owns.
The imam takes responsibility only for worship with administrative functions undertaken by a management committee elected every three years.
"It's a very good example of the capacity of a mosque, school and religious institute to be in perfect understanding with the French republic and its values," Chantal Manes-Bonnisseau, Reunion's chief education officer, told The National.
“It is one of very few such examples in France and the achievements are due to a number of reasons.
"Imams are recruited on the island and trained by the Islamic community itself. Leaders of this community are attached to the idea of being completely independent of foreign funding.”
Ms Manes-Bonnisseau acknowledges that the affluence of many from Reunion’s Islamic community, including long-established entrepreneurs, is in contrast to the lives of most Muslims in mainland France.
But she feels their guiding principles, “completely in touch with the spirit of the republic", are not reliant on wealth.
The association that manages the mosque also runs an independent school that is recognised by the state and attracts some public funding.
There are nearly 300 primary and middle school pupils and expansion is planned.
“You couldn’t guess it’s a private Islamic school,” Ms Manes-Bonnisseau said.
“The girls are not veiled and when I visited in December, there was Christmas tree.”
The ethos of the mosque finds an echo at a theological institute at Le Tampon, an hour’s drive away, where 60 trainee imams learn about French history and civics, as well as studying the Quran.
All 32 imams leading prayers on the island are natives of Reunion, whereas a common complaint in mainland France is that too many are born outside the country.
After a French history teacher, Samuel Paty, was beheaded by a Chechen refugee outside his school near Paris last October, Reunion’s branch of France’s Muslim Council immediately published condemnation of an act of “unmitigated horror that disgusts our humanity”.
It is a far cry from fears that the religion operates apart from French society.
The relationship between Islam and the republic is rarely out of the news, not solely because of terrorist attacks that have hit France for decades.
Last week, a poster appeared at the entrance of the Sciences-Po campus in Grenoble accusing two professors of Islamophobia.
The gesture was condemned as “an attempt to intimidate” by Frederique Vidal, Minister for Higher Education.
Ms Vidal was last month the target of a petition by 600 academics demanding her resignation over a planned inquiry into “Islamo-leftism” in universities.
The phrase is used by France’s far right to denounce what they perceive to be an alliance between “fanatical Islamists” and the left.
The example of Noor-e-Islam has won recognition from influential sections of the French media.
Its leaders make no claims of special achievement but tell The National that there is no conflict with French laws.
"We do not pretend to be a model for Islam in France,” said Igbal Ingar, president of the management committee.
“The history of the Muslims of Reunion and those of metropolitan France is not the same.
“However, elements in our operation could be taken up at national level and we can say Islam is fully compatible with the laws of the republic, and we have been proving this for decades.”
Mr Ingar says that without foreign involvement, there is no possibility of pressure to adopt “religious orientations that don’t correspond to our practice of Islam”.
The mosque was financed by Gujarati traders who settled on the island, 550km east of Madagascar and 175km south-west of Mauritius.
The original building, replacing an informal place of worship that operated from the early 1890s, was completed in 1905, 21 years ahead of the Great Mosque of Paris and a few days before France passed its keystone law separating church and state.
A petition to the island’s French governor, leading to permission to build being granted in 1898, promised it would be "surrounded by walls and arranged internally in such a way as to spare the susceptibilities of other denominations".
As-ad Mogalia, the imam, is comfortable with a “complimentary” arrangement that frees him “to focus on the main objective, the exercise of worship, allowing me to be more available to the faithful”.
He says the mosque’s approach could easily serve as a source of inspiration to others, although he hesitates to claim it is the only viable model.
“For it to work, all stakeholders must have the same goal: to act sincerely in the interests of the Muslim community while respecting the laws of the country,” he said.
“As an imam representing the Muslim faith, but also as Reunionese and a French citizen, I am proud my island’s Islam finds such a favourable echo at local, metropolitan French and international level.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
