Don't go topless, have sex on the beach or flash your middle finger in Dubai, or you might get arrested or deported.
Why:
Dubai cracks down on nudity, indecent behaviour on beaches; 79 detained in recent days
July 15, 2008
DUBAI, UAE - According to an AP report, authorities in the Persian Gulf tourist haven of Dubai are cracking down on topless sunbathing, nudity and other forms of indecent behaviour on beaches.
Undercover officers and uniformed police patrol beaches and stand guard in new watchtowers to enforce the social mores of this Muslim city-state, which is a booming business centre that is attracting growing hordes of foreign tourists.
Authorities said they began the decency campaign after police detained a British man and a woman who were allegedly having sex on one of Dubai's sprawling beaches earlier this month.
The crackdown has resulted in 79 arrests in recent days whose behaviour was "disturbing families enjoying the beach," said Zuhair Haroun, a spokesman for Dubai's Criminal Investigation Department, in the AP report.
First-time offenders may be issued a warning, but if caught twice, tourists could be referred to the public prosecutor for possible criminal charges, authorities said.
Thousands of European and Asian expatriates live and work in Dubai, where native Emiratis make up only about 20 percent of the estimated 1.2 million residents. Shopping malls and fast food restaurants have replaced traditional Arab houses, and English has overtaken Arabic as the emirate's lingua franca.
Many Emiratis and Arabs visiting from other Persian Gulf countries, according to the AP report, increasingly feel Dubai's ambition to become a cosmopolitan metropolis and tourist destination is overrunning their own traditions and has blinded the authorities into letting permissive ways slip beyond what is culturally acceptable.
Unlike elsewhere in the conservative Persian Gulf, tourists in Dubai are often seen wearing skimpy bikinis on public beaches and walk the city's streets in shorts. Alcohol is freely available in hotel bars and restaurants in this regional businesses and entertainment hub.
The AP report also said the Dubai municipality has embarked on a public awareness campaign to remind Western tourists and foreign residents that this Arab city-state city may have flashy hotels and glitzy skyscrapers but it also is a Muslim country with traditionally conservative values.
The city is installing signs warning tourists in Arabic, English and several other languages not to sunbathe topless or change clothes in public, said Abdullah Mohammed Rafia, an official with the Dubai Municipality whose office is overseeing the public awareness campaign.
Dubai’s sprawling shores will also be lit at night to spot inappropriate behaviour under the cover of darkness.
Authorities are "taking action in response to numerous complaints" filed by people who visit the city's beaches, Rafia said. Complaints have ranged from families "offended by displays of nudity" to women sunbathers who say groups of men stare at them while at the beach.
The police campaign also will target people who harass beach-goers with acts "deemed offensive, immoral or disrespectful," including loitering and voyeurism, said Dubai's acting police chief, Maj. Gen. Khamis Mattar al-Mazeina.
The AP report said some tourists lying under Dubai’s baking sun acknowledged they were slightly confused about what constitutes acceptable behaviour.
"I understand that I have to respect the rules of the country," said John MacLean, a British tourist on holiday with his girlfriend. But, he added, "I am not sure if I can kiss her or touch her in public."
Other related stories:
Sex on foreign shores: A whiff of hypocrisy Nothing is more guaranteed to whip the British media into a frenzy than the plight of a white, middle-class British woman holed up in a grubby prison cell in a Muslim country.
