DUBAI // The father of a boy with mental disabilities threatened to hurt a man after his son was told at a mosque to go pray at home, a court heard on Sunday.
On July 13, the boy was at a mosque in Al Warqa for fajr prayers.
“He used to recite the Quran loudly, which distracts other men at the mosque, so one man told him praying at home is better for him,” said an Emirati teacher, 39.
The teacher said he was stopped by the boy’s father after prayers and that he asked about the man who told his son to pray at home.
“He was very angry and blaming me for not standing up for his son,” the teacher said. “Then he asked me for the man’s name and address, which I didn’t give to him.
“After that he started threatening to hurt me.”
He told Dubai Criminal Court that he did not give the address because he feared the father would hurt the man.
The father told him he was a senior police official and could send him to jail, the teacher said.
“The he started saying that he would break my nose and kill me, and said he wouldn’t mind a few months in jail for it but after that he would be back and stalk us at the mosque,” said the teacher.
The defendant, 58, denied a charge of issuing threats.
The next hearing was scheduled for November 27.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
Hobbies: Drawing, basketball and poetry
Favourite car: Any classic car
Favourite superhero: The Hulk original
