----
I just received a phone call from a Christian friend of mine inquiring about the reason that Islam prohibits sleeping on your stomach. I explained to him (as per my limited knowledge and please excuse me if I am wrong) that the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) stated that it is preferred if you sleep on your right side.
The medical rationale (and this is only conjecture as I am a layman) is that sleeping on your left side places too much pressure and stress on your heart. Sleeping on your back causes you to snore and I do not know what sleeping on your stomach does (as I am not a doctor) :-) Thus, it is preferred to sleep on your right side but it is not prohibited to sleep on another side.
He stated what is the difference. The Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) was a role model for Muslims and we aim in our quest to become better people by emulating him and his actions. Thus, there are things that are directly prohibited in our religion (ex. drinking alcohol, cursing, etc...) where if we do them, we acquire sins. Meanwhile, there are other things that are preferred to be done and if we do them, then we acquire good deeds in our book, but if we do not do them, then we do not acquire sins. An example that is relevant during Ramadan is the Taraweeh prayers.
Hope that the above explanation will suffice to those of us that aim to educate non-Muslims about our religion.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Start of Ramadan; an Annual Political Excercise
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Ramadan is based upon a lunar calendar and starts officially upon the sighting of the new moon. Thus, the holy month whereas Muslims abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset might start tomorrow or Saturday. Throughout the Muslim world, people will try and spot the new moon (hilal) within an hour window at dusk time. In the Muslim countries, there is an official committee who hereby hears testimony from the witness(es) that have spotted the hilal and declare the start of Ramadan.
The irony is that this becomes a political affair whereas certain countries take the sighting of the moon in another country as applicable to their own country, while others do not. Thus, a religious and simple affair has to suffer at the hands of politics throughout the Muslim world. Instead of rejoice and solidarity amongst Muslims, the occasion become fraught with disharmony and divide. The masses suffer as a result and become disenfranchised from their political leadership.
I call upon key opinion leaders throughout the Muslim world to condemn this political grandstanding and unite behind the masses in having one start to the Holy month of Ramadan. This should be simple and benefits all Muslims throughout the world as the religion is inclusive and not exclusive. Please show us the Ramadan spirit.
Ramadan is based upon a lunar calendar and starts officially upon the sighting of the new moon. Thus, the holy month whereas Muslims abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset might start tomorrow or Saturday. Throughout the Muslim world, people will try and spot the new moon (hilal) within an hour window at dusk time. In the Muslim countries, there is an official committee who hereby hears testimony from the witness(es) that have spotted the hilal and declare the start of Ramadan.
The irony is that this becomes a political affair whereas certain countries take the sighting of the moon in another country as applicable to their own country, while others do not. Thus, a religious and simple affair has to suffer at the hands of politics throughout the Muslim world. Instead of rejoice and solidarity amongst Muslims, the occasion become fraught with disharmony and divide. The masses suffer as a result and become disenfranchised from their political leadership.
I call upon key opinion leaders throughout the Muslim world to condemn this political grandstanding and unite behind the masses in having one start to the Holy month of Ramadan. This should be simple and benefits all Muslims throughout the world as the religion is inclusive and not exclusive. Please show us the Ramadan spirit.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Changes to Medieval Traffic Laws
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Yesterday, it was reported in the local newspapers that a Filipino man was ordered to pay 100,000 AED as blood money because his wife died in a car accident while he was driving. She was his passenger. The story went on to state that he is in jail right now as he does not possess the money.
Now, the newspaper did not elaborate upon the reason for this fine and the reasoning behind the court order. I only hope that the rationale is that he was intoxicated, or that he was driving without insurance. It would be interesting to know the rationale because I find it mind-boggling to say the least that this poor man has to suffer twice.
Firstly, he has to endure the pain, suffering and guilt of helping caused his wife's death in an accidental manner. Also, he suffers having to bring up his children without their mother. Secondly, he has to pay the blood money to her parents instead of to himself. Without the money, he suffers by being incarcerated.
So, without further ado, I propose that this medieval law serves no basis and the concerned authorities take it upon themselves to investigate the matter further. I pity the person who has to suffer under this law. It does not seem to make any sense whatsoever.
The other solution (and I am taking it to an extreme) is for everybody to stay single and not get married. Or at the very least, to ensure that their wife to be has her own car and drives you around. Now, that would be ideal!
Yesterday, it was reported in the local newspapers that a Filipino man was ordered to pay 100,000 AED as blood money because his wife died in a car accident while he was driving. She was his passenger. The story went on to state that he is in jail right now as he does not possess the money.
Now, the newspaper did not elaborate upon the reason for this fine and the reasoning behind the court order. I only hope that the rationale is that he was intoxicated, or that he was driving without insurance. It would be interesting to know the rationale because I find it mind-boggling to say the least that this poor man has to suffer twice.
Firstly, he has to endure the pain, suffering and guilt of helping caused his wife's death in an accidental manner. Also, he suffers having to bring up his children without their mother. Secondly, he has to pay the blood money to her parents instead of to himself. Without the money, he suffers by being incarcerated.
So, without further ado, I propose that this medieval law serves no basis and the concerned authorities take it upon themselves to investigate the matter further. I pity the person who has to suffer under this law. It does not seem to make any sense whatsoever.
The other solution (and I am taking it to an extreme) is for everybody to stay single and not get married. Or at the very least, to ensure that their wife to be has her own car and drives you around. Now, that would be ideal!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Double-entrade for Dubai Metro
-----
Being a long-term Middle Eastern marketer with the bulk of my experience being in Dubai, I note with interest any new marketing communication messages or advertisements that start over here. Call it a professional courtesy, but I usually keep my thoughts to myself, especially if it is negative. That all changed last week as I was driving down Sheikh Zayed Road up towards Dubai Internet City. Mainly, what caught my attention was the unipole (billboard) that was advertising the Metro in the Arabic language.
Why? Because a mistake had occurred which I expected anyone with common sense to spot right away (the only other condition is that they read and understand the Arabic language). The tagline that was used was literally translated: “The Metro is my choice!” which was I presume the intention of the message, thus encouraging all people, and especially the middle-class and blue collar workers to utilize the Metro instead of driving. So what is wrong? Well, it was also saying: “The Metro is optional” which directly contradicts with the former message. To elaborate, the same spelling for the written word in Arabic can mean different things depending upon the pronunciation. An equivalent in English is words like brake and break which sound the same but mean different things according to how they are spelt.
Although I find it amusing, this blooper should have been spotted by the hundreds of thousands of Arabs that drive on this busy road every day. Either they have not noticed this or they display apathy towards alerting the Metro to it or apathy with the Metro in general which is far more serious. Or the Marketing department at Dubai Metro is afraid to own up to the mistake for fear of retributions from their superiors. That is a pity, but only conjecture from my end and a topic that deserves further discussion.
There is also a broader topic of which incident touches upon; the limited knowledge of Arabic that exists amongst the marketing/communication/advertising industry within Dubai. This problem has existed for a long time. Knowledge and experience with the Arabic language is fading as more and more within the business world communicate daily in the English language. Why do we allow it to happen? What are the long-term repercussions of such a decision?
Being a long-term Middle Eastern marketer with the bulk of my experience being in Dubai, I note with interest any new marketing communication messages or advertisements that start over here. Call it a professional courtesy, but I usually keep my thoughts to myself, especially if it is negative. That all changed last week as I was driving down Sheikh Zayed Road up towards Dubai Internet City. Mainly, what caught my attention was the unipole (billboard) that was advertising the Metro in the Arabic language.
Why? Because a mistake had occurred which I expected anyone with common sense to spot right away (the only other condition is that they read and understand the Arabic language). The tagline that was used was literally translated: “The Metro is my choice!” which was I presume the intention of the message, thus encouraging all people, and especially the middle-class and blue collar workers to utilize the Metro instead of driving. So what is wrong? Well, it was also saying: “The Metro is optional” which directly contradicts with the former message. To elaborate, the same spelling for the written word in Arabic can mean different things depending upon the pronunciation. An equivalent in English is words like brake and break which sound the same but mean different things according to how they are spelt.
Although I find it amusing, this blooper should have been spotted by the hundreds of thousands of Arabs that drive on this busy road every day. Either they have not noticed this or they display apathy towards alerting the Metro to it or apathy with the Metro in general which is far more serious. Or the Marketing department at Dubai Metro is afraid to own up to the mistake for fear of retributions from their superiors. That is a pity, but only conjecture from my end and a topic that deserves further discussion.
There is also a broader topic of which incident touches upon; the limited knowledge of Arabic that exists amongst the marketing/communication/advertising industry within Dubai. This problem has existed for a long time. Knowledge and experience with the Arabic language is fading as more and more within the business world communicate daily in the English language. Why do we allow it to happen? What are the long-term repercussions of such a decision?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Let the Mortgage Providers Go Back to Business School
------
A case study; You are the Chief Financial Officer for a company that manufactures a simple consumer product (let us call it Candy Bar SIWASH) that is taken as a snack by people. This company is multinational and this simple product has been in existence for a long time produced from two factories (one in Turkey and one in the UK) alongside other products. The city of Dubai was always supplied by the Turkish plant.
Well, due to natural growth and the two factory lines achieving full capacity, there will be a third factory next year which can also provide this candy bar. Thus, you will have to take some portion from each of the three factories and the unit cost will differ. How can you ensure that you are fair?
Well, one approach was to price the unit cost at an average price of the three factories thus, allowing your team in Dubai to not care who provides them with the product (assuming the packaging/taste/colors are the same as it is a simple product). Seems simple enough, and has been done before, but it is not the best answer. Why?
Because it does not reward good performers nor does it penalize bad performers. As the average price is taken, then factory managers will not identify ways to cost-cut as the incentive from them is gone. Their survival is not threatened. Meanwhile, if the price per unit is determined according to the lowest price, then the incentive is to receive orders or risk shutting down.
What does this have to do with Dubai and mortgage lenders? Well, yesterday I found out that Amlak has raised the profit rate (Islamic interest rate) on my mortgage to 7.75% which is ridiculously high. The reason behind it is due to the uncertainty in the freehold market and the fear of defaults by a significant number of people. In other words, let us penalize the ones who will be paying to make up for the defaulters. Well then, what is the incentive for a person to pay instead of deciding to default and run away? This definitely does not make sense.
Can the top officials of these organizations please go back to business schools or “common sense” school? These are the hard questions that the superiors of Dubai should be asking them. Just like the example of Simon Ford, Blue Banana owner who decided to flee as it was the better alternative to them, we will see many taking the same choice and the hole that is being dug will only become deeper and deeper. There is no confidence in any person of authority taking up the “common person’s” cause and becoming their advocate.
A simple suggestion: Amlak and Tamweel (alongside the semi-government property companies such as Emaar, Nakheel, and Dubai Holding) should renegotiate the agreed purchase prices of these properties that have a mortgage on them. They should share in the pain of “taghreer” which they have done by launching properties at highly inflated prices from their true value and reduce the prices as the end-user has to pay. So, the prices have declined by 40% (if not more) from their highs in the summer of 2008. How about a reduction in the selling prices by 20% (thus sharing in the burden with the purchasers)? Makes your mortgage payment easier, and encourages you to make it and stay instead of seeing that running away is your only option.
Sadly, I do not see RERA and/or Land Department of Dubai thinking strategically like this. Call me a cynic, but we all await the disaster that is coming. I hope I am proved wrong.
A case study; You are the Chief Financial Officer for a company that manufactures a simple consumer product (let us call it Candy Bar SIWASH) that is taken as a snack by people. This company is multinational and this simple product has been in existence for a long time produced from two factories (one in Turkey and one in the UK) alongside other products. The city of Dubai was always supplied by the Turkish plant.
Well, due to natural growth and the two factory lines achieving full capacity, there will be a third factory next year which can also provide this candy bar. Thus, you will have to take some portion from each of the three factories and the unit cost will differ. How can you ensure that you are fair?
Well, one approach was to price the unit cost at an average price of the three factories thus, allowing your team in Dubai to not care who provides them with the product (assuming the packaging/taste/colors are the same as it is a simple product). Seems simple enough, and has been done before, but it is not the best answer. Why?
Because it does not reward good performers nor does it penalize bad performers. As the average price is taken, then factory managers will not identify ways to cost-cut as the incentive from them is gone. Their survival is not threatened. Meanwhile, if the price per unit is determined according to the lowest price, then the incentive is to receive orders or risk shutting down.
What does this have to do with Dubai and mortgage lenders? Well, yesterday I found out that Amlak has raised the profit rate (Islamic interest rate) on my mortgage to 7.75% which is ridiculously high. The reason behind it is due to the uncertainty in the freehold market and the fear of defaults by a significant number of people. In other words, let us penalize the ones who will be paying to make up for the defaulters. Well then, what is the incentive for a person to pay instead of deciding to default and run away? This definitely does not make sense.
Can the top officials of these organizations please go back to business schools or “common sense” school? These are the hard questions that the superiors of Dubai should be asking them. Just like the example of Simon Ford, Blue Banana owner who decided to flee as it was the better alternative to them, we will see many taking the same choice and the hole that is being dug will only become deeper and deeper. There is no confidence in any person of authority taking up the “common person’s” cause and becoming their advocate.
A simple suggestion: Amlak and Tamweel (alongside the semi-government property companies such as Emaar, Nakheel, and Dubai Holding) should renegotiate the agreed purchase prices of these properties that have a mortgage on them. They should share in the pain of “taghreer” which they have done by launching properties at highly inflated prices from their true value and reduce the prices as the end-user has to pay. So, the prices have declined by 40% (if not more) from their highs in the summer of 2008. How about a reduction in the selling prices by 20% (thus sharing in the burden with the purchasers)? Makes your mortgage payment easier, and encourages you to make it and stay instead of seeing that running away is your only option.
Sadly, I do not see RERA and/or Land Department of Dubai thinking strategically like this. Call me a cynic, but we all await the disaster that is coming. I hope I am proved wrong.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Clue to Birthday Bash Location
----
Dear Friends (not Best Friends Forever which is another contest being conducted in Dubai at the same time);
Your first clue to the birthday party celebration is in the two paragraphs below. It will be fun for you to try and solve it. Give it a go and you should be fine. Pilots, cabin crew and military personnel have an advantage. I will be there at 9pm. Thus, give me a call by 8:30pm if you still have not figured it out. In addition, please feel free to read my blog and comment on the different opinions expressed. I look forward to it. See u soon and let us live it up before the Dubai Blues sets in.
Sierra looked up as she heard the echo off the valley. It was some distance away and she could not be sure of the words, although they sounded familiar. The language was not English which was her mother tongue. Where was Victor when you needed him she thought in frustration. Although Palestinian, he had lived in Calcutta, India and Lima, Peru for a number of years and spoke 8 different languages fluently. Then she remembered a trick her Body Combat instructor, also from Lima, had taught her.
"I have found out what the echo is telling me," smiled Sierra.
Did you?
Another clue (you can solve either one independently) is
c2is o slamelte ve 9
This is simple code used by Julius Ceasar to submit secret messages. A hint is that it is composed of 16 characters. So the number 16 will help you out. Again, if you cannot figure it out before the party, call me.
A present will be offered to the first person who is able to figure out both puzzles. Will it be you?
Dear Friends (not Best Friends Forever which is another contest being conducted in Dubai at the same time);
Your first clue to the birthday party celebration is in the two paragraphs below. It will be fun for you to try and solve it. Give it a go and you should be fine. Pilots, cabin crew and military personnel have an advantage. I will be there at 9pm. Thus, give me a call by 8:30pm if you still have not figured it out. In addition, please feel free to read my blog and comment on the different opinions expressed. I look forward to it. See u soon and let us live it up before the Dubai Blues sets in.
Sierra looked up as she heard the echo off the valley. It was some distance away and she could not be sure of the words, although they sounded familiar. The language was not English which was her mother tongue. Where was Victor when you needed him she thought in frustration. Although Palestinian, he had lived in Calcutta, India and Lima, Peru for a number of years and spoke 8 different languages fluently. Then she remembered a trick her Body Combat instructor, also from Lima, had taught her.
"I have found out what the echo is telling me," smiled Sierra.
Did you?
Another clue (you can solve either one independently) is
c2is o slamelte ve 9
This is simple code used by Julius Ceasar to submit secret messages. A hint is that it is composed of 16 characters. So the number 16 will help you out. Again, if you cannot figure it out before the party, call me.
A present will be offered to the first person who is able to figure out both puzzles. Will it be you?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saudi license plate; save money in Dubai
-------
On the occasion of renewing my driving license today (gosh has it been ten years already) and the announcement of metro charges in the local papers, I thought that I would share a little tidbit of information for those curious and inquisitive minds amongst us. Did you ever wonder what happened to all of those non-UAE license plates (e.g. mainly from Oman and Saudi) that appear on Dubai’s streets?! What happens to the fines that they incur and do they have to have Salik (the tag that electronically charges your account once you cross the toll gates within Dubai)?!?!
Well, this was a major concern for a friend of mine when he first moved to Dubai. He is a Saudi citizen and as he was working in Dubai, decided to ship his car from Saudi to here and never bothered to get Dubai license plates for his car. Well, as many of us do, at least I speak for myself, is not pay for my parking and speeding tickets except when I have too (i.e. at the annual renewal of car registration). The thinking is; why pay for something until you absolutely have too and besides, maybe one of the royals will issue a pardon for speeding tickets during Ramadan or Eid or National Day so that we get an exemption or reduction in fees. Usually my annual fee is around 1000-2000, but lately it has been getting lower and lower :-).
Anyway, so this friend of mine was worried as he did not have to register his car and kept on accumulating fines and more fines. He was afraid that he might end up with a bill in the hundred of thousand Dirhams once they finally caught up with him. So, he made it his mission to find out!
It turns out that there is an agreement between the GCC countries to pre-pay for the cars registered in their countries, then pass the charges to the actual owners. The responsibility for this tracking falls upon the individual countries. Apparently, Dubai does that and ensures that the owner pays for all of his car fines when he renews. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia does not have this system so they just pay for all of the fines for Saudi cars and keeps the fines in boxes without processing them further.
Thus, one of the cost-cutting methods for the cost of living (in addition to the flexibility of parking) is to get a Saudi license-plate car and have it in Dubai. It will save you a lot of headache and money. For Salik, I assume that it operates the same way, but I will have to check that to be sure.
On the occasion of renewing my driving license today (gosh has it been ten years already) and the announcement of metro charges in the local papers, I thought that I would share a little tidbit of information for those curious and inquisitive minds amongst us. Did you ever wonder what happened to all of those non-UAE license plates (e.g. mainly from Oman and Saudi) that appear on Dubai’s streets?! What happens to the fines that they incur and do they have to have Salik (the tag that electronically charges your account once you cross the toll gates within Dubai)?!?!
Well, this was a major concern for a friend of mine when he first moved to Dubai. He is a Saudi citizen and as he was working in Dubai, decided to ship his car from Saudi to here and never bothered to get Dubai license plates for his car. Well, as many of us do, at least I speak for myself, is not pay for my parking and speeding tickets except when I have too (i.e. at the annual renewal of car registration). The thinking is; why pay for something until you absolutely have too and besides, maybe one of the royals will issue a pardon for speeding tickets during Ramadan or Eid or National Day so that we get an exemption or reduction in fees. Usually my annual fee is around 1000-2000, but lately it has been getting lower and lower :-).
Anyway, so this friend of mine was worried as he did not have to register his car and kept on accumulating fines and more fines. He was afraid that he might end up with a bill in the hundred of thousand Dirhams once they finally caught up with him. So, he made it his mission to find out!
It turns out that there is an agreement between the GCC countries to pre-pay for the cars registered in their countries, then pass the charges to the actual owners. The responsibility for this tracking falls upon the individual countries. Apparently, Dubai does that and ensures that the owner pays for all of his car fines when he renews. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia does not have this system so they just pay for all of the fines for Saudi cars and keeps the fines in boxes without processing them further.
Thus, one of the cost-cutting methods for the cost of living (in addition to the flexibility of parking) is to get a Saudi license-plate car and have it in Dubai. It will save you a lot of headache and money. For Salik, I assume that it operates the same way, but I will have to check that to be sure.
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