The majlis: Emiratis travelling abroad wise to be wary

A screen grab from a police body camera shows Ahmed Al Menhali being pinned down in Cleveland. Courtesy WEWS NewsChannel5

The well-publicised incident in the United States involving an Emirati businessman who was held by police after a hotel clerk made a call to them claiming the man had pledged allegiance to ISIL has angered many in the UAE, for a variety of reasons.

Ahmed Al Menhali, 41, was in Cleveland for medical treatment. He was wearing national dress and speaking on his phone in ­Arabic at the time of the incident, which was very sudden, reportedly heavy-handed and caused him to faint ­afterwards.

There seems to be an atmosphere of fear that has arisen in recent years around anything that’s different to what we’re familiar with. I can’t help but feel upset at Al Menhali’s ­treatment – this man’s life was put at risk because of the clothes he was wearing and the language he was speaking. He was in the US because he was sick, but ended up coming home with a less-than-positive experience.

The incident was taken so seriously that it prompted the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advise Emiratis to refrain from wearing our traditional national dress while abroad. This makes me sad, because our country welcomes people from all around the world, without aggression and hostility. I’m never alarmed by the presence of an individual from a different ethnic group in the UAE, and I never assume the worst when I hear a foreign language spoken in front of me.

After this incident and the ­Ministry of ­Foreign Affairs’ warnings, I will be far more careful with my personal safety while travelling abroad. I don’t usually wear my abaya and shayla when I’m in a foreign country anyway; instead, I usually wear some long clothing with a hijab.

I guess that would perhaps not make it so obvious to others that I’m from a GCC country, but it would still be obvious that I’m a Muslim. People would most likely still hear me speak Arabic, and I guess it’s a little concerning that’s what the hotel clerk mistook for pledging allegiance to ISIL – this kind of ignorance puts all Arabic speakers at risk.

The state of fear across the world right now as a result of continuing unrest and terrorist acts makes me believe that the incident involving the Emirati man is not a problem associated with our culture. But there does seem to be a problem affecting ­American culture – there appears to be a wave of xenophobia sweeping the US at the moment, and it’s not nice to witness.

Fawzeya Abdul Rahman works for the Abu Dhabi Government.

If you have a good story to tell or an interesting issue to debate, contact Melinda Healy on [e-mail].