Hijab Fashion

This is an old cartoon of hijab styles in Syria. But worth a quick look! You will recognise them whether you are in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or anywhere in the Gulf/Middle East. Enjoy!




Journal of an axis of evil citizen (now closed)

Investing in Dubai

Sameer Al Ansari tells us how it is. DIC is bearish on what is going on at the moment.

Dubai property market faces pressure

Has the credit crunch affected Dubai property?

Zabeel Investments and Charlton Athletic FC

You may remember that Zabeel were the outfit that were interested in Newcastle not so long ago. Well, if there are returns to be made, Charlton is a good way to do it, potentially. Of course the approach needs to be approved. And bearing in mind that this is a long term game, Zebeel are in it for the medium to long term:

Charlton could become the latest club in English football to move into foreign ownership after receiving an indicative offer from a group of Dubai-based investors.
The Addicks, who currently lie 14th in the Coca-Cola Championship having been relegated from the Barclays Premier League in 2007, are the subject of an offer from Zabeel Investments. The board at The Valley have already made it clear they recommend the offer should be accepted, which could then see a huge cash injection for the south London club. A statement from Charlton read: "The board of Charlton Athletic plc announces that it has received an indicative cash offer from Zabeel Investments, a Dubai-based diversified investment company. "The indicative offer is subject to a number of (waivable) preconditions, including due diligence, however, it is at a level at which, should the offer be made formally to shareholders, the board would recommend shareholders to accept it. "There is, however, no certainty that a formal offer will be made nor as to the terms of any offer. "In spite of being approached by various English football clubs as well as a number of well-known clubs in Europe and South America, Zabeel Investments believes Charlton is the right club for them."



What's interesting is that they could have had their pick of many clubs in the world and they picked Charlton - why - because once Charlton return to the premiership, probably in a couple of years, they will start receiving Murdoch's Sky cash that underpins the whole of the Premiership division. And then, there is huge potential.

But who are Zabeel? They basically do a bit of everything. They have equity stakes in the following: Abraaj Capital, Advanced Industries Group, Arzaq Holding, Asteco Development Management, Asteco Property Management, Capital Club Limited, Depa United Group, Emaar Industries & Investments, Empire Aviation Group, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), Madaares (National Bonds), Sony Corporation, The Light Group, Tiara Hotels & Resorts, Zed Communications, ZSML. That's basically a business that is Property, private equity, hotels, and general asset management. And now with Charlton, you can see even more diversity. Zabeel are a company for the long term. If Charlton are wise, they should accept this offer. Zabeel are not the type to strip assets bare - they are a company to invest and build.



Zabeel Investments

Press Association

Middle East Film Festival in Abu Dhabi

The Middle East Film Festival (MEIFF) in Abu Dhabi, which some are calling the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, will compete against the established Dubai Film Festival and stage its second film festival between October 10th – 19th with the largest total cash prize amount at over USD 1M for a film festival ever. There will be a total of 60 films from 32 countries categorized into long, short and student films covering feature, documentary and animation. There will also be awards for best actor and best actress, as well as best artistic contribution.

A line up of top Hollywood celebs are invited to the event including Goldie Hawn, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. The prestigious Black Pearl Award will be presented to Jane Fonda. Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve will join in the panel for Cinema Verite which concentrates on socially conscious cinema.

The MEIFF is under the umbrella of The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). Their vision, as stated on their website, is “…to make Abu Dhabi the cultural centre of the region, while promoting national culture and identity as a source of pride and inspiration to the people…”
It was launched last October along with Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC).

Middle East International Film Festival
The aim of MEIFF is to pay tribute to all arenas of film making and support networking amongst financiers, government film agencies, studio execs and film makers from around the globe. During the festival, it will exhibit international productions as well as regional thus providing audiences with a range of flavours suiting the experienced film buff to the social movie goer.


The Abu Dhabi Film Commission
The ADFC aims to provide a one-stop shop service to support film production in the UAE. This will include assistance in location, finance, permits, manpower, logistics and anything else related to commissioning a film. ADFC will also support filmmakers in providing funding in order to help local talent showcase their work globally.

The chairman of ADACH, His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan said: 'With these two initiatives, we are aiming to establish Abu Dhabi as the essential destination for international filmmakers.'

The Emirates Palace will be the main venue for MEIFF, one of the world’s most luxurious hotels. It will be managed by Pyramedia, one of the most successful production companies in the Middle East. The event will kick off with a screening of Rian Johnson's crime caper “The Brothers Bloom” at the Emirates palace. Ticket information available through the MEIFF website.

MEIFF official website


Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage official web site

The Mickey Mouse Fatwa

To think that our beloved Mickey Mouse has a fatwa against him still perturbs me. According to Sheikh Muhammad Munajid, a former Saudi diplomat assigned to the Saudi embassy in Washington D.C. is claiming Disney's Mickey Mouse as "one of Satan's soldiers".



A couple of weeks ago, in a stunning turn of events for Islamic Sharia law, all cartoonish or lovable depictions of rodents are impure, spoiling everything they touch.

Recently on al-Majd television, an Arab network based in the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Munajid gave a sermon on Islam's view toward mice. The translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (a monitoring service of the American Media) reported Mr. Munajid saying "The mouse is one of Satan's soldiers and is steered by him. If a mouse falls into a pot of food – if the food is solid, you should chuck out the mouse and the food touching it, and if it is liquid – you should chuck out the whole thing, because the mouse is impure. According to Islamic law, the mouse is a repulsive, corrupting creature. How do you think children view mice today – after Tom and Jerry? Even creatures that are repulsive by nature, by logic, and according to Islamic law have become wonderful and are loved by children. Even mice. Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases."-

During the Olympic games in Beijing, Mr Munajid called the games the "bikini Olympics", "claiming that nothing made Satan happier than seeing females athletes dressed in skimpy outfits."

Responding to the criticism, the judge complained that his words had been twisted. He declared he knew all too well that Mickey Mouse was a fictional character with “no blood to be spilled and no soul”.


Saudi clerics and the threat to economic progress

The tallest building in the world will not be the Burj Dubai

The problem with aiming to be the tallest building in the world is that once you set your stake in the ground, someone will announce a taller building. And so, when the property market doesn't seem to be doing too well, and everyone at cityscape is worried about Dubai property prices tanking, Nakheel decide to announce another huge building: Nakheel Harbour & Tower

Nakheel is poised to build a tower that will be more than one kilometre high, as part of a 140 billion-dirham ($38.12 billion) project that will include the world’s first inner city harbour, company executives said.

FT: Nakheel, which is owned by the government of Dubai, at the weekend launched the project to build the world’s tallest tower and inland harbour. On Monday another government company, Meraas Development, said it would redevelop a swath of the city over 12 years in a Dh350bn project to be called Jumeira Gardens. The intention is that this scheme too should include another of the world’s tallest towers and reclaimed islands off the coast.











Here's the press release

Inspired by Islamic design and geometry, master developer Nakheel announced today that it is building Dubai's capital, Nakheel Harbour & Tower. The new community was launched at a VIP event hosted by His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World.

At the core of the Nakheel Harbour & Tower development is a tower more than a kilometre high and the world's only inner city harbour. The development will cover an area of more than 270 hectares and become home to more than 55,000 people, a workplace for 45,000 more and attract millions of visitors each year.

"There is nothing like it in Dubai", His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said at the launch. "Nakheel Harbour & Tower is located in the heart of 'new Dubai', where we have focused on creating a true community, a location for living, working, relaxing and entertaining, for art and culture. All of this is concentrated in one area."

Nakheel Harbour and Tower

In line with Nakheel's role in shaping Dubai's future and creating some of the world's most iconic developments, Nakheel Harbour & Tower incorporates elements from great Islamic cities of the past - the gardens of Alhambra in Spain, the harbour of Alexandria in Egypt, the promenade of Tangier in Morocco and the bridges of Isfahan in Iran.

"With Islamic influences governing its design, Nakheel Tower has been able to reach its height of more than a kilometre. This inspired approach has enabled us to achieve a number of amazing feats of engineering, for example the Tower will be the world's tallest concrete structure," said His Excellency.

Nakheel Tower will have four individual towers within a single structure – a groundbreaking engineering feat. A distinctive crescent-shaped podium encircles the base and complements its remarkable height.

"Nakheel has sought inspiration not just from Islamic design but also from the Islamic principles of inclusion, innovation, diversity, excellence, growth and progress. These are the same principles that have motivated and guided Islamic culture and helped create its great cities throughout history. Now they are shaping the cities of the future," enthused His Excellency Sultan Bin Sulayem.

Not only has a development of this shape and scale not been attempted before, but it is also a further example of Nakheel's innovative projects that have changed the way the world looks at Dubai.

The multibillion dollar Nakheel Harbour & Tower development will include 250,000m2 of hotels and hospitality space, 100,000 m2 of retail space and huge expanses of green spaces including canal walks, parks and landscaping. The new development is geographically central to the Emirate of Dubai, at the intersection of Sheikh Zayed Road and the Arabian Canal; and will also complement Nakheel's surrounding developments including Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Islands, Discovery Gardens and Ibn Battuta shopping mall.

The Nakheel Harbour & Tower development minimises car use and maximises train, bus and water transportation. A complete transportation hub blends into the harbour area with metro transportation combined with a unique water transport interchange, with Abra & Dhow station links.

Sustainability and safety will be key to the planning and design of Nakheel Harbour & Tower, with the latest standards and technology incorporated in the development.

"The inspiration for the project came from Sheikh Mohammed's vision for building for tomorrow," said His Excellency. "He is famously quoted as saying that 'before evaluating the future, we have to take a quick look at the past. For it is the foundation of tomorrow'.

"It sends another message to the world that Dubai has a vision like no other place on earth."


The real question is this: how much is this about building confidence in Dubai and building interest in the property market - and how much is this about building interest in another huge building?


Design unveiled for new world's tallest tower

Press release

Dubai property on red alert