In Dubai, your business loan can be as “halal” as your Big Mac. For many Western Muslims, this is an attractive promise and an alluring reason to permanently resettle there.
I reverted ten years ago and two years ago moved to Dubai for Hijra. Here I was able to attend Islamic school for free, where they teach Arabic and have daily lectures for women. I was able to befriend a group of Muslim women, spend Ramadan with others for the first time. I love hearing the Adhan everyday, and I love having a mosque nearby and being able to wear hijab and abaya or not (!) freely without being policed. UAE is not a perfect state by any stretch, but I find it strange that people in the UK or US feel they have a moral leg to stand on when both these places are actively coordinating a genocide against Palestine. That was a huge reason I left the US. Many people in Dubai are just living normal lives with their families, many of them not only from the west but Pakistan, Egypt, and other places. The Ummah exists here for better or for worse and I’m unsure of what the purity argument is here, it’s a Muslim country, and the majority of people there are practicing Muslims. What will however begin to garner scrutiny, I believe, is how Muslims remain in the US and actively prop up its genocidal imperialist state and justify it when places like Dubai or Riyadh or Doha exist with comparable levels of comfort and access to capital. May Allah guide us all.
Yeah I think that is what is overstated. I know many in Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar live similarly vapid lifestyles under the veneer of Islamic culture, but that is less a UAE thing and more, as the author states, Neoliberalism/ that global capital is being concentrated in a very few Western-aligned populations who then spend their money on a mono-culture of excess consumption and vanity propagated by IG and TikTok. Idk if the idea here that Hijra is unworthy/invalid in Dubai is correct, based on my experience of Hijra in Dubai. There are definitely two Dubais, a Khaleeji one and a Miami one, but it is possible to live squarely in the halal Dubai and live as a proper Muslim.
All the people talking about moving to Muslim majority countries are simply trading one set of values for another. They might gain outward practice of Islam, more mosques, people celebrating the same holidays, technically “halal” food but they forget about the rampant corruption, lack of public services, etc. they are going back as elites and not the common people
This raises many great questions, some of which have been replaying in my mind for years.
Though we haven’t set foot in Dubai, our family relocated to Oman last year. We’re French, were more recently living in Dublin (which has become increasingly hostile to Muslims - the recent money laundering issues uncovered at the Islamic Centre of Ireland certainly didn’t help!) and were lucky my husband found a great opportunity for a job in Muscat.
It’s great, but not perfect, and certainly doesn’t always feel like we’ve made hijra. We knew what our intentions were, which is maybe the most important. It’s better than home - and I’m glad you mentioned French Muslims relocating to Birmingham! - and safer than most places (including Birmingham, where I lived 12 years ago), and mostly, very kid-friendly, which is paramount for young parents like us.
As someone who’s lived in five countries, I’ve come to realise no place is perfect. That includes the Muslim world. Dubai, to me, is an extreme case - a place we wanted to avoid at all costs - but some of its traps are present elsewhere, too, including here in Oman. Decentering the West is crucial but will be a very long process, especially perhaps in Gulf countries.
Nice, but the author forgot that the regime is very oppressive and Islam cannot be practice except if it forgets about politics there. So there is no liberty. Its not a good place to make hijrah to.
I thought the exposure of what Dubai is was great, however didn’t see the link to Muslims reminiscing a ‘golden age’. Most Muslims who truly understand and enjoy the series you’ve mentioned, look back to a time when Islam had sovereignty, and are aware that it is the systems we have now that are the issue. They are hardly supporters of Saudi, or the Gulf (in fact those who are, hate these series as they depict Islamic forms of justice and ethics.. marred with human mistakes too- think Salafis).
The people travelling to these countries, are the basic level modern Muslim, who are looking to simply halalify their capitalistic, consumerist life, with no regard for the exploitative structures they are at their core, or the fact that these countries are directly responsible for the oppression and persecution of countless Muslims. They don’t care, because there are highly individualistic products of Western society and ideology. They don’t actually care for an Islam of the past nor care for series where honour and courage are displayed.
I have read the article with great interest, and the comments with even greater interest. These are fruitful discussions. Thanks to the author and the commentaries.
There is also another aspect to the Hijra discussion: People benefit from a social market economy, tax-funded education, infrastructure, safety, and often from Muslim communities that have overcome many challenges. And the moment they have enough money, they leave to a tax-haven, a millionaires open air bunker. It's selfish to always look for greener grass.
Amazing piece, thank you for writing and I hope more and more people see through the facade.
Excellent essay, truly eye-opening. Thank you for this.
I reverted ten years ago and two years ago moved to Dubai for Hijra. Here I was able to attend Islamic school for free, where they teach Arabic and have daily lectures for women. I was able to befriend a group of Muslim women, spend Ramadan with others for the first time. I love hearing the Adhan everyday, and I love having a mosque nearby and being able to wear hijab and abaya or not (!) freely without being policed. UAE is not a perfect state by any stretch, but I find it strange that people in the UK or US feel they have a moral leg to stand on when both these places are actively coordinating a genocide against Palestine. That was a huge reason I left the US. Many people in Dubai are just living normal lives with their families, many of them not only from the west but Pakistan, Egypt, and other places. The Ummah exists here for better or for worse and I’m unsure of what the purity argument is here, it’s a Muslim country, and the majority of people there are practicing Muslims. What will however begin to garner scrutiny, I believe, is how Muslims remain in the US and actively prop up its genocidal imperialist state and justify it when places like Dubai or Riyadh or Doha exist with comparable levels of comfort and access to capital. May Allah guide us all.
I think this article is about people who move to live the Instagram life
Yeah I think that is what is overstated. I know many in Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar live similarly vapid lifestyles under the veneer of Islamic culture, but that is less a UAE thing and more, as the author states, Neoliberalism/ that global capital is being concentrated in a very few Western-aligned populations who then spend their money on a mono-culture of excess consumption and vanity propagated by IG and TikTok. Idk if the idea here that Hijra is unworthy/invalid in Dubai is correct, based on my experience of Hijra in Dubai. There are definitely two Dubais, a Khaleeji one and a Miami one, but it is possible to live squarely in the halal Dubai and live as a proper Muslim.
Agreed
All the people talking about moving to Muslim majority countries are simply trading one set of values for another. They might gain outward practice of Islam, more mosques, people celebrating the same holidays, technically “halal” food but they forget about the rampant corruption, lack of public services, etc. they are going back as elites and not the common people
This raises many great questions, some of which have been replaying in my mind for years.
Though we haven’t set foot in Dubai, our family relocated to Oman last year. We’re French, were more recently living in Dublin (which has become increasingly hostile to Muslims - the recent money laundering issues uncovered at the Islamic Centre of Ireland certainly didn’t help!) and were lucky my husband found a great opportunity for a job in Muscat.
It’s great, but not perfect, and certainly doesn’t always feel like we’ve made hijra. We knew what our intentions were, which is maybe the most important. It’s better than home - and I’m glad you mentioned French Muslims relocating to Birmingham! - and safer than most places (including Birmingham, where I lived 12 years ago), and mostly, very kid-friendly, which is paramount for young parents like us.
As someone who’s lived in five countries, I’ve come to realise no place is perfect. That includes the Muslim world. Dubai, to me, is an extreme case - a place we wanted to avoid at all costs - but some of its traps are present elsewhere, too, including here in Oman. Decentering the West is crucial but will be a very long process, especially perhaps in Gulf countries.
Nice, but the author forgot that the regime is very oppressive and Islam cannot be practice except if it forgets about politics there. So there is no liberty. Its not a good place to make hijrah to.
Forms of Islam "frowned upon" by Saudi influence are simply not welcome nor allowed 😒
I thought the exposure of what Dubai is was great, however didn’t see the link to Muslims reminiscing a ‘golden age’. Most Muslims who truly understand and enjoy the series you’ve mentioned, look back to a time when Islam had sovereignty, and are aware that it is the systems we have now that are the issue. They are hardly supporters of Saudi, or the Gulf (in fact those who are, hate these series as they depict Islamic forms of justice and ethics.. marred with human mistakes too- think Salafis).
The people travelling to these countries, are the basic level modern Muslim, who are looking to simply halalify their capitalistic, consumerist life, with no regard for the exploitative structures they are at their core, or the fact that these countries are directly responsible for the oppression and persecution of countless Muslims. They don’t care, because there are highly individualistic products of Western society and ideology. They don’t actually care for an Islam of the past nor care for series where honour and courage are displayed.
Reminds me of verse of Al-Tin
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ
ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَاهُ أَسْفَلَ سَافِلِينَ
I have read the article with great interest, and the comments with even greater interest. These are fruitful discussions. Thanks to the author and the commentaries.
Excellent piece.
There is also another aspect to the Hijra discussion: People benefit from a social market economy, tax-funded education, infrastructure, safety, and often from Muslim communities that have overcome many challenges. And the moment they have enough money, they leave to a tax-haven, a millionaires open air bunker. It's selfish to always look for greener grass.