Dubai prides itself on it's multicultural and mixed communities and the fact that so far they have not been a victim of a terrorist attack. But don't hold your breath.....
On the cultural front in Dubai, locals are confronted by a very foreign culture at every turn. Expats flaunt short skirts and skimpy tops and get drunk on the beach, yet local female students require a pass-card to leave the university campus in fully covered black garb. Fashionable restaurants only permit Western clothing and turn away men in Arab costume. Friday is the holy day in Islam, but it’s the day of drunk partying and sexual debauchery for Westerners. And there is almost no cultural integration between the locals and the foreigners.
What would happen if just one act of terrorist violence targeted expat tourists or resident professionals?
International investment would dry up; the million tourists who flock there to shop and sun themselves each year would melt away; the footballers and pop stars who have bought exclusive villas on the new Palm Islands development, such as Michael Owen and Rod Stewart, would doubtless move to safer shores.But it could happen.......Moreover, since Dubai is the Middle East’s cosmopolitan melting pot, and its experiment with Islamic capitalism could become the blueprint for surrounding Arab states, its failure would have dire consequences for the entire region.
