The United Arab Emirates's most populated city has long been no longer dependent on oil revenues, and today it is one of the global urban areas operating as a hub and air link that attracts millions of tourists. Over the last decade, it has attracted the attention of the world thanks to the Pharanoic, architectonic and most famous skyscrapers such as Burj Khalifa.
It is considered one of the best cities to live in the Middle East, and yet this metropolis has some shadows that raise alarms nowadays especially in the area of human rights and laws that are governed by faith. These do not match the Western-oriented culture profile that authorities have designed.
The legal system is based on the strict interpretation of Islamic sharia laws, which sketches a detailed code of conduct, the norms and ways of worship, the criteria of morality and life, the permissible and prohibited things.
This type of system could seriously jeopardize foreigners visiting Dubai, even though it is supposed to be a western city but is located in the middle of the desert. There are many foreigners who end up behind bars for actions that are allowed in their countries of origin and this raises a debate over Dubai's opening to the world.
According to The New York Times, insults like getting caught up in the public, supporting Facebook organizations fighting for animal rights, drinking alcohol without the appropriate permission, or sharing a hotel room with someone in the opposite sex who is not a spouse means jail for those who are not familiar with the domestic legal system.
There are also many contradictions that can disturb visitors and cause them to exceed the limits allowed. The case of LGBT community rights is among the worst. Despite the nightlife with many bars and nightclubs for geese, where eastern European citizens offer their sex services secretly, homosexuality remains a death penalty in Dubai but is rarely used in everyday life. There are two cases that have made noise in the UK for their absurd nature.
On one hand, a Scottish electrician, 27, was arrested and sentenced to three months in prison for killing a man in a crowded bar. The other case is that of an IT consultant who carried out a shameful gesture while driving a rented car, and it cost him 6 months in prison and is now on parole and a seizure confiscated by the authorities.