Religion

Islam is the official religion of the UAE that is commonly practised by Emirati nationals along with expatriates originating from other Arab countries, Pakistan, Africa and India, among others.

Abu Dhabi, as is the whole UAE, is tolerant of other religions.  Residents who recognize a different faith are allowed to perform their religious duties such as attending worship services or mass in churches or chapels. The government, however, disallows evident religious activities that may conflict with Islam such as handing out evangelical leaflets near a mosque or in other designated public locations.

For the uninitiated, the following points are worth remembering:

• Friday is the Islamic holy day (compared with Sunday in other religions/states)
• Each Muslim is expected at least once in their lifetime to make a pilgrimage (called Hajj) to the holy city of Mecca (Makah) in Saudi Arabia
• A Muslim is required to pray five times each day facing Mecca; timings vary according to the location of the sun
• Some Muslims may pray outside the mosque; basic courtesy requires not to stare at people praying or not to walk over prayer mats

Arabic Language

There are three forms of spoken Arabic in contemporary Abu Dhabi.  The oldest form of the language is known as Classical Arabic (think Shakespearean English), which is not typically spoken by Arabs today, at least not in their everyday conversations. The revelation of Quran in Classical Arabic explains for the most part why the language has been preserved down the centuries; it is also the language of royal and princely courts, and the educated elite through- out Islamic history.

Literary Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), on the other hand, is used in formal or business settings such as in the broadcast media or in governmental proceedings. University or formal courses in Arabic language are oriented towards this kind of spoken Arabic. The third type is Colloquial Arabic, which combines some of the features of both Classical and Modern Arabic, but assumes regional nuances and is used by Arabs in everyday conversations. Colloquial variations explain the different pronunciations or spelling for the same alphabet in Arabic.  For example the alphabet “qaaf” is pronounced “g” in Bedouin dialects, and then becomes ‘k’ in places like rural Palestine. However in most Gulf countries the same alphabet might be pronounced or spelt as ‘j’ or ‘g’.

Abu Dhabi locals speak Gulf Arabic, which is the native spoken language of Arab nationals in countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Southern Iraq, and the UAE and, to a lesser extent, Oman.

Ramadan

Ramadan is the holy month in which Muslims celebrate the revelation of the Holy Quran. Abu Dhabi observes Ramadan, which culminates in a three-day holiday called Eid Al Fitr. Ramadan usually falls on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, in which observant Muslims not only abstain from food, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk, but in general practice restraint from all activities or behaviours that are not compatible with Islamic values. Islam is based on the lunar calendar. Therefore, the timing of Ramadan is not fixed – in terms of the western / solar calendar – but occurs 11 days earlier each year.

It is expected that non-Muslims will refrain from eating, drinking and smoking in public places between dawn and sunset during Ramadan as a matter of respect to their host culture.