Custom «Culture in the UAE» Essay Paper Sample

The UAE is a country that enjoys cultural diversity. Its capital city is Abu Dhabi. This is one of the best destinations in the world, and it forms an area where many people meet to trade and other activities. UAE enjoys cultural diversity in most areas thus boosting a sense of belonging and nationalism among the citizens. The Emirati people are the most dominant group in UAE and occupy main cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Its culture could be divided into language and religion, song and dance, and dressing.

This essay explicates the UAE culture.

Religion and Language

Islam is the main religion practiced by most occupants of the UAE. It is dominated by the Sunni Muslims who have a strong religious background in matters relating to Islam. They observe every ceremony that is in the Islam calendar. To support this, there are mosques spread all over the country, to ensure that these citizens get access to religious facilities for worship. Al-Abed, Vine, and Hellyer (2004) assert that they strongly observe ceremonies such as Ramadhan. During fasting, they always expect even non-Muslims to observe and respect their culture. They do not support issues such as eating in public while fasting. In addition, occupants mainly speak Arabic, which is their official language. This promotes peace in the country because of increased understanding among people. They also speak English, Hindi, and Farsi. According to MobileReference (2010) these languages are also vital because they enable the local people to communicate with the outside world. UAE citizens are extremely welcoming and hospitable individuals. They are always open to tourists who come visiting to have an experience of their diverse culture. This is promoted by the learning of many languages that they use to communicate to different people who do not understand Arabic.

Music and Dance

The culture is dominated by the art of music and dance. UAE citizens appreciate music and dance as their integral part especially on most occasions.  Hurreiz (2002) observes that they have considerable respect for different ceremonies hence developing various pieces of music and dance to grace different occasions. Each music and dance is matched with the happenings in the society. The male population dominates most of the dancing section.  According to Al-Abed, Vine, and Hellyer (2004), everyone attending a ceremony is always welcome to join the dances thus encouraging full pleasure. To make music and dances sweeter, drums are incorporated. Weddings form the utmost ceremonies where dance and song are performed. Songs and dance in the UAE is locally composed in Bedu dialect while some came in with the immigrants who also contribute to this industry.

Dressing

The mode of dressing is a vital part of UAE culture. It forms an integral part of the culture. This helps in giving the local people an identity of belonging to the country. Gerstein, Leung, Norsworthy, and Heppner (2009) assert that the dress code is developed according to one’s gender. The male gender mostly wears dishdasha, which is an ankle-length shirt. In addition, they wear ghutra, which is a white or any other acceptable head cloth. To complete their full dressing, they wear agal, which is a black rope that holds the ghutra in place. Sheiks wear abba to distinguish themselves with other men in the society. Women also have a strict dress code, and they mostly cover themselves from head to the feet. They wear long dresses referred to as the ahaya. According to Gerstein, Leung, Norsworthy, and Heppner (2009), the UAE population is strict on matters relating to dressing, and they expect visitors to respect this by wearing respectable attire.

In conclusion, the UAE has a wide variety of cultural practices. Its culture is keenly observed and respected by all citizens. The culture is divided into religion and language, music and dance and dressing. Visitors are expected to adhere to these cultural practices as a show of respect to the country.