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UAE Political Islamists Are Not 'Defenders of Human Rights'

The UAE’s political Islamists have been referred to in the West as human rights activists. Sultan Al Qassemi has followed their rhetoric as many Western writers cannot — in Arabic. He explores the social-media posts of one such character, whose writing he describes as xenophobic, exclusionary and repugnant.
The twin minaretes of a mosque are seen with office towers along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, November 29, 2009. Abu Dhabi, wealthy capital of the United Arab Emirates, will "pick and choose" how to assist debt-laden neighbour Dubai, a senior official said on Saturday, after fears of a Dubai default sent global markets reeling. Dubai said earlier this week that two companies plan to delay repayment on billions of dollars of debt as a first step toward restructuring Dubai World, the conglomerate that spearhea

For almost two years, the UAE’s political Islamists have been referred to in the West as human rights activists. No doubt, they are indeed activists with an agenda but there is also no doubt that they are not our version of Nelson Mandela, nor is their vision for the country that of the Magna Carta. I have been following their rhetoric — in Arabic — over the past few months on social media with great concern. I have found it to be xenophobic; anti-Semitic; sectarian; exclusionary; racist toward Asians, Africans and other Arabs and overall repugnant.

For instance, a few months back Shamma Hamdan, an 18-year-old Emirati who participated in the "Arabs Got Talent" TV show, bore the brunt of the criticism of the UAE political Islamists (along with other conservative elements). Shamma was referred to as a boya (a slur for "lesbian") who should not even be allowed into local universities. Twitter comments by the UAE political Islamists wondered why her passport wasn’t withdrawn, and why she was “given the nationality” while their own comrades had had theirs revoked. Hardly the language of "human rights defenders."

The case of Hassan Al Diqqi

Hassan Al Diqqi, a leader of the UAE political Islamists, is often referred to, along with his comrades, as a human rights defender. In his 2002 book Features, Al Diqqi peddles countless conspiracy theories about a “Christian-Jewish-Persian project” to dominate the region. Sectarian and ethnic references are found all over the book.

For instance, Al Diqqi refers to the “dangerous Hindu nuclear bomb” (page 50) that India tested in the late 1990s. (There are over 1.75 million Indians living in the UAE.) He also cites the jihadi war against the Christian state of the Philippines and the Hindu state in Kashmir, along with the jihad against Jews, Alawites and Shiites. He also sings the praises of the holy war in Afghanistan (page 129) calling it the greatest form of modern jihad.

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