Beach sex trial highlights Dubai cultural divide

Sex on the beach or drunken trysts may not raise eyebrows in many cities, but a recent case in Dubai has exposed a growing cultural divide between native Muslims and Western residents seeking fun in the sun.

The story of a British pair facing possible jail terms on charges of having drunken sex on the beach made headlines around the world, but in Dubai, reports are frequent of hapless foreigners falling foul of local laws that strictly control drinking and ban homosexuality or kissing in public.

Dubai's foreign population has expanded rapidly in recent years, dwarfing the native population, as the Gulf Arab trade and tourism hub tries to put itself on the international map with a promise of tax-free earnings and year-round sunshine.

But balancing its Muslim identity in what remains a deeply conservative Gulf Arab region with the lifestyles of expatriates who comprise over 90 percent of its population is no mean feat.

"Everybody who lives in this country, whether they are citizens or expats, can sense how massively difficult it is to be a minority in your own country and feel such pressure on your habits, your language, your religion," said Abdel-Khaleq Abdullah, an Emirati political scientist.

Expatriates live and work on three-year visas. Many Westerners work in free zones that are akin to economic enclaves and live in newly developed suburbs, rarely mixing with locals.

The contrasts are stark. Nationals receive free housing, education and healthcare in what analysts say is a tacit understanding whereby rulers redistribute oil wealth in return for political loyalty. Bikini-clad tourists sunbathe on the beach, watched by women draped in black robes.

"There are now so many foreigners they feel they have collective security. Western behavior has become the norm and does not fit in with the culture of the indigenous population," said Durham University's Christopher Davidson, author of two books on the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai.

Agencies

(China Daily 09/25/2008 page11)