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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (223022)	3/8/2007 3:41:33 AM
From: kumar	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

It is true that expats can not become citizens in most GCC countries - citizen thru marriage is an exception - (an Indian friend married a Bahraini man - she is now a Bahraini citizen). She was and is still a practicing Catholic in Bahrain. Her son visits the church on Sundays, and visits the mosque on Fridays. In terms of criminal proceedings, there is a rule of law that gets enforced in the courts in the GCC countries. do a crime, pay the price, regardless of the religion practiced by the individual that committed the crime.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (223022)	3/8/2007 3:52:14 AM
From: Elroy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

I would amend it to say, sometimes treated well but never as equals. And always subject to change at the will of the ruler. True, but that's a chacteristic of any monarchy - it has little to do with Islam. Even the local citizens are not "equals", and are subject to changes of will of the ruling family. It's not a democracy, its a monarchy. What happens in Dubai when a citizen accuses an expat of committing a crime against him? Especially if the expat is a Christian or a Hindu, or a woman? They go to sharia court. For example A friend's wife (American) was accused by a local of giving the local the finger as the local drove by. He wrote down her license plate and called her into sharia court. In court the local testified she gave thim the finger (which I guess is illegal here), and she testified she didn't. She was acquitted. I don't think her religion was an issue. I have no special experience, but my hunch is that if the local had another witness the wife would have lost. I'm unaware of anyone having legal troubles due to their religious beliefs - but I'm also pretty unaware of anyone having legal troubles at all. I know of lots of Muslims that have been arrested and lashed for being drunk. There are often stories in the paper about locals getting arrested and imprisoned for raping non-locals. Here's one for example, between a local and a Pakistani girl. The religion of neither is an issue. gulfnews.com Polish people can dress up as pirates, and not get punished for it (check out the picture): gulfnews.com In general, you're better off not getting into legal troubles, but I don't think the discrimination you may experience is based on religion. I think a Muslim laborer from Pakistan is going to have a harder time using the legal system than a well off Christian businessman.