UAE religions
United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi - Dubai - Sharjah - Al Ain
The constitution of United Arab Emirates declares that the official religion
of UAE will be Islam. The Muslim Population of the country constitutes 96% of
the total population. The influence of Islam is reflected in every sphere of life
in all the seven emirates of the nation. Among the Muslims the Sunni population
is 85% and most of them adhere to the Malki legal tradition. There are some followers
of Al Wahabi and Shafii legal school. The Islamic religion in UAE is regulated
by a Central federal regulatory authority. It distributes weekly sermons to both
Sunni Imams and Shia Sheikhs. Under the Islamic belief they are supposed to respect
the Koran and not convert to other religions. They are also supposed to fast during
the ramdan month and abide by other rules. This religion in UAE is protected by
making Islamic studies mandatory for children attending public schools for Muslim
children attending private schools. They are also prohibited from being converted
to other religions.
However predominance of Islam does not make UAE a closed society and followers of other religions in UAE also enjoy personal and religious freedom to a great extent. It is therefore often regarded as one of the most liberal countries the region. This fact is substantiated by the presence of huge expatriate population in Dubai and other emirates of the nation. According to 2006 population estimate there are around 1.2 billion Indians in 5he country. In Dubai one can also find a Hindu temple and a Sikh Gurudwara. In order to make the life of the people of all religious beliefs in UAE comfortable the UAE government has also banned an Abu Dhabi think tank linked to Arab League. There is also a large number of churches in Dubai. Financial facilities to other religions come from the Dubai government in the form of donation of land for construction of churches and other religious site. Thus religion in UAE plays a very important role in preserving the culture and tradition of the country and yet the 4% of population belonging to other religious beliefs can enjoy a lot of religious autonomy and personal freedom.
However predominance of Islam does not make UAE a closed society and followers of other religions in UAE also enjoy personal and religious freedom to a great extent. It is therefore often regarded as one of the most liberal countries the region. This fact is substantiated by the presence of huge expatriate population in Dubai and other emirates of the nation. According to 2006 population estimate there are around 1.2 billion Indians in 5he country. In Dubai one can also find a Hindu temple and a Sikh Gurudwara. In order to make the life of the people of all religious beliefs in UAE comfortable the UAE government has also banned an Abu Dhabi think tank linked to Arab League. There is also a large number of churches in Dubai. Financial facilities to other religions come from the Dubai government in the form of donation of land for construction of churches and other religious site. Thus religion in UAE plays a very important role in preserving the culture and tradition of the country and yet the 4% of population belonging to other religious beliefs can enjoy a lot of religious autonomy and personal freedom.
