For the Love of God and His Prophet

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On March 14, 2014, I was fortunate enough to go overseas for the first time ever to explore the beauty that is Dubai. Not only was I super excited to ditch the cold weather of Cambridge for the warm sun and sandy beaches of the United Arab Emirates, but I was also extremely excited to expand my knowledge on Islam by visiting a Muslim country. One of the first things to catch my eyes immediately was the dress code. I used to think that women dressing modestly in a ‘abbiyah dress, and with a shaylah headscarf was a cultural thing or at least a religious act of personal choice. In actuality, the country has its own mandated dress code. School buildings, mosques, and other public places have signs outlining the right attire. The picture below was taken in front of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. At first, I shrugged off the dress code. I thought my long pants and short-sleeved shirt were perfectly decent. But as soon as I tried to take a picture in front of the mosque, security asked me to either cover up or leave. Of course, I chose to cover up. However, not all people follow these rules. For example, while touring the American University of Dubai and shopping in the malls, the people I saw looked like Westerners with their clothing. I figure that the dress code is more important in certain places versus others. Another thing that I found really interesting was the broadcasting of the adhan in all public places. As we learned in the first week of this class, the adhan is the call to prayer. I would be shopping in a store blasting hip-hop, and then suddenly the music would cease and the adhan would be heard. The idea of prayer is definitely very important in Dubai. In addition to having the adhan heard everywhere, nearly all public bathrooms have little, almost shower-like stalls where the wudu, or cleansing before prayer, could be performed. On one of the days of my trip, I visited the Gold and Spice Souq (market), which is home to the largest gold ring in the world. Immediately, I was bombarded by locals wanting to sell me goods. The goods ranged from luxurious things like iPhones, Louis Vuitton bags, and gold, to souvenir key chains, pashmina scarves, and water bottles. I drew a connection immediately to the story we read in week 7, “The Beggar’s Strike.” The men in the souq weren’t beggars, but they did want money. And ultimately, if they were not supplied with money, the whole souq, which is a great tourist attraction, would go downhill. I empathize with the characters in the story that felt overwhelmed by those who asked for money, but I understand that the “beggars” are needed for the prosperity of the community. Visiting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi was one of the highlights of my trip. The mosque was a project begun by the late president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who is buried besides the same mosque. The mosque, both on the inside and outside, is so beautiful that it comes as no surprise that it attracts millions of tourists. The walls on the inside especially are adorned with magnificent detail and the use of flower and geometric arabesque patterns that we talked about in week 6 are apparent. In week 6, we also learned about different styles of mosques. I feel like when I hear the word mosque, I normally think of those that are architecturally similar to the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque. When we learned about the Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali, I didn’t think I would ever come across a similar looking building. Lo and behold, I came across not a mosque, but a building that looks very similar to the mosque in Mali. It was in the area of Bastakiya in Dubai. It is pictured below. I was very fortunate that when I visited Bastakiya, Sikka was going on. Sikka is basically an art fair, and I was also lucky enough to meet one of the artists, Woodman Taylor, who has very close ties to Harvard and is actually even a friend of Professor Asani. One of the pieces of art that struck me the most in Bastakiya is pictured below. I don’t even think that this was made specifically for Sikka, for it looks like it has a permanent place on the wall of one of the buildings in Bastakiya. This painting shows the clash between geometrical art and urban art. It shows the clash between colors and black and white. It looks like a cultural piece with the teakettle and oud, but the character in the art is wearing Islamic attire. I feel as if I can analyze this for days if I really wanted to. Though getting henna done, riding camels, going on a desert safari, overlooking the rest of Dubai from atop the Burj Khalifa, and doing much more touristy things were incredible, being able to experience some of the things we have talked about in this class in a natural setting was the most gratifying part of my trip.