Cultural Challenges for a Western Person in Dubai

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When a person comes to Dubai for the first time from New York, he will be surprised. On arrival in the UAE, a businessperson, especially from the Western world is very easy to be in a culture shock. He must be well prepared because the difference is very big. While walking the streets, you can see people dressed in beautiful traditional clothes. Dubai is full of representatives of different cultures, but Arabic traditions are deeply rooted here and should be considered in every business and social interaction.

The businessman from the Western world will be definitely surprised to see dressed in traditional Gulf countries dishdashas and abayas, not only on holidays but also in everyday life. Men wear long dresses of bright, spacious cotton tissue, and women – elegant dresses with long sleeves, gold and beads decorations. An obligatory attribute of national costumes is the variety of headscarves and women also wear special types of the veil covering the face. These outfits are caused not only by religious features but also the desire to adapt to the local climate. Light cotton clothing protects against heat (“Dubai: The Complete Residents’ Guide” 35). The Western person should always keep in mind that Dubai is a young city in the literal and figurative sense, and also – a cosmopolitan city, where there are many young Arab people who were educated or lived in the West for a long time, and they do not always strictly adhere to Islamic customs (Schwaighofer 31).

People in Dubai are very hospitable. In no case one should refuse the invitation to come for a visit. Traditionally, visitors welcome a cup of coffee with cardamom, a sign of good tone is the use of not one but two or three cups. For the hospitality of the owners, one will certainly need to thank (Torstrick and Faier 134). However, many different food habits that are common in New York are not present in Dubai. If you eat bread, you should break it with your hands, use your right hand when you take food, money and other things. In no case should you eat and walk at the same time.

If you are drunk, and you are in public places you can be brought to court, fined or arrested, or deported. Driving in a drunk state is considered a crime in Dubai. For doing that you will be arrested and prosecuted (Walker 94). If you come to somebody’s house or to a Mosque you should always take your shoes off. It may sound very untypical for a New Yorker, but Arabic customs and traditions are not like American. It is highly offensive and insulting to Arabs if somebody sits in front of them and faces their soles (Walker 103).

One of the most striking differences that the Western businessman will face is the Arabic perception of time. If the business people in the West perceive the time as something linear and will definitely come to the meeting on time set. For Arabs, time is a non-linear and unstructured concept, so it is quite common for them to come a couple of hours later (Shiraev and Levy 100).

There are many women from different countries in the UAE, and they dress up in different ways. If a woman is true Arabic and a Muslim, it almost impossible to see her, because they go in tinted cars, and shopping malls visited specialty stores exclusively for women. But there are highborn Arabic, who wear a Western type of clothes and adopt Western traditions. The only difference from the other is very expensive cars. A lot of them wear a scarf because it is a sign of prestige and style. For many girls wearing headscarves is a sign of maturing. In Islam, women’s wear generally depends on education and on the will of the husband or father, if she is not married (“Dubai: The Complete Residents’ Guide”: 27).

The Western businessperson might find it difficult to communicate with Arabic women who strictly adhere to traditions. During business negotiations, he should pay extra attention to his attitude towards a woman; she can never be touched, and the tone of one’s voice should sound especially modest and even stern. It is restricted to take an Arab woman by an arm, especially the married one; otherwise, one may even end up in prison if a sexual harassment will be proved (“Dubai: The Complete Residents’ Guide” 29).

When you meet another man, you should bow to him, and not use hands because people are not accustomed to it. Sometimes men shake hands, but if they do, they do not look into each other faces and should turn away. It is also inappropriate to hold a cigar in another hand while shaking a hand or hold it in a pocket. Handshake among Arabs is a special sign of friendliness and liking, so it is somewhat longer than the Europeans and Americans expect. Saying goodbye, do not forget to shake hands. If the person is especially pleasant and dear to an Arab, he will shake the guest’s hand with his two hands. One should not try first to shake hands with a Muslim woman. If it is acceptable, she will do it herself (Samovar et al. 289).

The Western person may be surprised by the rules of public behavior in Dubai. For instance, it is prohibited to chew gum in public places. It is also strictly forbidden to throw rubbish in streets, parks or other public places. One should never swear or use other bad words like threatening or using other negative expressions because it can result in a criminal offense (Walker et al. 118). In America, people treat alcohol and drugs in other ways. If somebody uses drugs in Dubai, it is he will go to prison for up to 5 years. And if he sells drugs to people he will be killed by the government. It is also prohibited to make photos and videos of government agencies, palaces of sheikhs and military facilities, photo and video shooting of Arab women and so on. In America, it is treated in another way (Walker 132).

Dress code is extremely important too. One cannot attend public places in sport track suits or in swimsuits. It is strictly prohibited to stay on the beach when one is nude (both men and women) with or without the top of a bathing suit (for women only of course) (Torstrick and Faier 105). If the businessman will consider taking an American girlfriend with his, she has she to reconsider her clothing habits significantly. Women cannot wear clothes with an open or semi-open chest, mini skirts and close fitted dresses, blouses and other clothes. It would be appropriate and useful in this country wear modest clothes covering the knees, chest, abdomen, neck, shoulders, and elbows (remember that clothes should not be too tight fitting and showing silhouette).

If a Western woman is in public transport, take she must take a place alongside women and do not flirt with Arab men. If she needs help in a public place, she should be directed to persons of the same sex (Torstrick and Faier 109). A lot of American girls and women like to get acquainted with Arab men in places like discos, tourist shops, markets, diving centers. If you are familiar with men in similar places, pay attention to his behavior. As a rule, if the attitude towards women is respectful, a man in this country will not sexually harass her on the first date. Confirmation of respect for an unfamiliar woman may be a choice of topics for communication, such as religion, family planning any events, as well as employment (Samovar et al. 278).

Upon his first arrival at Dubai, the man from America or another Western country will be definitely shocked by the cultural differences, which are quite substantial. Dubai is a very religious city, although it has many tolerant and understanding people. It will take some time to get acquainted with it, and when he comes for the first time, the person must know how to behave himself in public. Knowing these cultural peculiarities, the person will have fewer problems if further business communication. A good advice for Western foreigners is to do what other people do and try not to offend other people and respect the local traditions.

Works Cited

Dubai: The Complete Residents’ Guide. Dubai, UAE: Explorer & Distribution, 2006. Print.

Samovar, Larry, Richard Porter, Edwin McDaniel, and Carolyn Roy. Communication Between Cultures. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

Schwaighofer, Verena. Tourist Destination Images and Local Culture Using the Example of the United Arab Emirates. Wiesbaden, Germany: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2014. Print.

Shiraev, Eric, and David Levy. Cross-Cultural Psychology Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications, Fifth Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis, 2015. Print.

Torstrick, Rebecca, and Elizabeth Faier. Culture and Customs of the Arab Gulf States. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2009. Print.

Walker, Jenny. Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula. 3rd ed. Footscray, Victoria: Lonely Planet, 2010. Print.

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Cultural Challenges for a Western Person in Dubai

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