November 8, 2020

The United Arab Emirates plans to ensure harsher punishments for so-called honor killings, allow unmarried couples to live together and decriminalize the use of alcohol in the coming months to attract more international employees and foreign investment.

Until now, honor killings, in which males slay female relatives deemed to have brought dishonor to the family for such offenses as relations with men outside marriage, have brought light punishments or none at all. Under proposed laws, these crimes will be treated harshly.

However, many of the new regulations will be aimed solely at foreign workers, notes Ibrahim Al Hosani, an Emirati lawyer and chief executive officer of iLAW legal services. Foreigners from about 200 different nations make up at least 85% of the UAE’s population of more than 9.9 million.

“The broadening of personal freedoms,” Hosani told The Media Line, “reflects the UAE’s continuous efforts to keep pace with a rapidly changing society and establish itself as a global capital for tolerance and a land of opportunity to attract new talent and contribute to the growth and development of the… national economy.”

“The broadening of personal freedoms reflects the UAE’s continuous efforts to keep pace with a rapidly changing society and establish itself as a global capital for tolerance and a land of opportunity to attract new talent and contribute to the growth and development of the… national economy.”

He adds that the reforms have been percolating since 2010.

The UAE is also introducing tougher penalties for harassing and assaulting women,   and is letting married couples divorce in accordance with the laws of their home country rather than with Islamic law.

The new laws will also decriminalize suicide. In addition, anyone tried in an Emirati court who does not speak Arabic will have access to translators, and evidence in cases of indecent acts will not be made public.

While Islamic law is the rule in the Emirates, in practice there has been some flexibility. The legal change would bring laws in line with this.

“Within the previous regulatory environment, there was a slight gap between policies and legislation, but now, the laws [will] allow the UAE to focus on the diversity of its population and create an attractive and convenient regulatory framework for the appropriate segments of the society,” Dr. Majid Al Sarrah, a public policy adviser, told The Media Line.

“Within the previous regulatory environment, there was a slight gap between policies and legislation, but now, the laws will allow the UAE to focus on the diversity of its population.”

The changes, which will take effect in the coming months, will help attract more direct foreign investment, Hosani says. Bringing in investments and quality talent, especially amid a pandemic, remains key for the UAE.

The reforms might also benefit the wider region, he said, suggesting that “other countries across the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] are likely to follow suit, especially those with the highest expatriate populations.”

The GCC has six member countries, including the UAE.

The changes will not be welcomed by everyone, says Michael Kortbawi, a corporate lawyer who is a partner at BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP.

“We believe the reaction across the Gulf/Middle East will be mixed,” he told The Media Line.

“Some will see the move as [an] impetus to incorporate similar [measures locally], whereas some may look upon these changes as negative and harmful to their cultural values. Others might take a‘wait-and-see approach and, depending on how the UAE fares with these changes, choose to do the same or refrain,” Kortbawi said.

“These changes are likely to be frowned upon by those with staunch conservative beliefs,” he added.

“These changes are likely to be frowned upon by those with staunch conservative beliefs.”

Hosani feels that tolerance is a core value in Islam. Therefore, he is confident that religious leaders will welcome the reforms.

“The values of coexistence and openness to different cultures will reflect positively on the whole world by promoting tolerance as a universal concept,” he said. “This is a testament to the UAE’s commitment to advancing international efforts that ensure all people live in peace, security and welfare.”

“The values of coexistence and openness to different cultures will reflect positively on the whole world by promoting tolerance as a universal concept.”

Kortbawi agrees, singling out the new treatment earmarked for honor killings and related crimes.

“Now these crimes will be treated harshly under the law, giving women equal protection,” he stated. “Further, to protect the rights of minors and people with limited capacity, the rape of such victims will be punishable by death – a serious deterrent to such crimes.”

THE MEDIA LINE — Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the UK and recipient of the 2016 Templeton Prize in recognition of his “exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension,” died on Saturday morning.

In October, Sacks revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He was 72 at the time of his death.

From 1991 to 2013, Sacks served as the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His erudition and moral thinking was evident in the more than 30 books, including prayer books, that he wrote and edited during his career.

Upon becoming chief rabbi in 1991, Sacks called for a “Decade of Renewal” based on five central values: “love of every Jew, love of learning, love of God, a profound contribution to British society and an unequivocal attachment to Israel.”

In his role as chief rabbi, he became an ambassador for the Jewish community in the UK and beyond. British and world media often sought out his opinions.

In 2009, Sacks was recommended for a life peerage with a seat in the House of Lords. He took the title “Baron Sacks, of Aldgate in the City of London.”

Rabbi David Rosen, international director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, told The Media Line that Sacks was “probably the most significant exponent of Judaism in our time to the world at large.

“People knew him as the unique Jewish voice to the gentile world,” said Rosen.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson offered his condolences. “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. His leadership had a profound impact on our whole country and across the world,” he said.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, noted, “He devoted so much of his life to reflecting on God at the most profound level, and we are all the beneficiaries of his wisdom. Rabbi Sacks was always someone who you could relate to instantly. It was that rare combination – profound depth, and equally profound commitment to relating to others – that made the leadership he offered possible.”

Sacks was instrumental in creating and maintaining a deep relationship between the Anglican Church and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Rosen noted.

As an architect of the Anglican-Jewish Commission of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Sacks developed a special relationship with the archbishops of Canterbury. Said Rosen of Sacks: “If you build a deep relationship with different religious communities,” as he did, “then you can position to achieve much more than mere advocacy.”

Rabbi Daniel Epstein, rabbi at London’s Cockfosters and North Southgate Synagogue, stated, “Rabbi Sacks has played an integral part in maintaining that covenant [between God and the Jewish people for eternity] from humanity’s perspective with his words, his erudition and, above all, his love of the Jewish people. Our greatest testament to him is to continue on the path that he held so dear and to be exemplars in Judaism and to all of society.”

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, mourning the loss of Sacks, wrote, “We will always remember his warning against violence in the name of God and his belief that we can heal a fractured world.”

In 2017, Sacks very publicly offered his thoughts on “Facing the Future Without Fear, Together” to millions of viewers of the popular TED Talks video series.

Here he taught his audience: “When we move from the politics of me to the politics of all of us together, we rediscover those beautiful counterintuitive truths that a nation is strong when it cares for the weak, that it becomes rich when it cares for the poor, it becomes invulnerable when it cares about the vulnerable. That is what makes great nations.”

Rabbi Sacks leaves his wife of 50 years, Elaine, a son and two daughters, and numerous grandchildren.