Ramadan Kareem to my brothers and sisters in Islam! Ramadan officially begins tomorrow in the UAE – the Moonsighting Committee announced today. Jordan, Libya, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia will also observe the first day of Ramadan tomorrow, while Thursday will be the first day of Ramadan in Oman and some other countries.
For non-Muslims, please be guided through this link of what’s To Do and Not To Do during this holy month.
From The Sun website:
Tessa Meager, 28, was wearing a kaftan and white shorts while shopping with 10 year old, daughter Helen at Dubai Mall when a local woman stopped her, pointed to her clothes, began screaming “Respect!” and called security staff.
The distraught mum – on holiday – was then arrested by police in front of the bewildered girl. And she was subjected to a three-day ordeal during which she learned the woman claimed she had stripped naked in the plush Dubai Mall.
Mature law student Tessa was charged with “outraging public decency” following a police interrogation she did not understand.
She was finally brought before a prosecutor on Wednesday for another hour-long grilling conducted entirely in Arabic.
But the charge was dropped when CCTV pictures from the mall exposed the Arab woman’s claims as a pack of lies.
Tessa, of Morden, South London, said: “This woman took exception to me and I have no idea why.
“She started shouting at me. She was pointing at my clothes screaming, ‘Respect!’
“I tried to explain I had just been swimming. I showed her the top of the bikini I had on under my kaftan but this seemed to annoy her even more.
“She said I was disrespecting her faith.
“I don’t know why I was targeted. About 95 per cent of the people in the mall were wearing less than me.
“I’m amazed she was believed by the police.
“She told them I took everything off and was standing in the mall with no clothes on.”
Read more at The Sun website
Ramadan Kareem! Ramadan starts in a day or two. It’s important for expats like me to also understand what this holy month is about – beyond just the fasting. And it is as important to be aware of what should and should not be done during this time – as a sign of respect. Our Muslim brothers and sisters fast from sunrise to sunset. They do not eat or drink anything. They do not smoke. They do not have sex during daylight.
Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to fast for the sake of God or Allah, and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan, Muslims ask forgiveness for sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.
After sunset, everything comes to life. Try to attend Iftar if you can. Iftar is the meal taken to break the fast during Ramadan. Iftar is commonly done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. You could try to attend to one – you can find a lot of enticing Iftar buffets in the hotels.
There are “rumors” that violators (those who caught eating or drinking during the daytime of Ramadan) is punished by up to 240 hours of community service. It is considered a minor offense and not a crime actually.
The Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the fasting period of Ramadan and the first day of the following month, after another new moon has been sighted. The Eid falls after 29 or 30 days of fasting, per the lunar sighting. Eid ul-Fitr means the Festival of Breaking the Fast; a special celebration is made. Food is donated to the poor (Zakat al-fitr); everyone puts on their best, usually new, clothes; and communal prayers are held in the early morning, followed by feasting and visiting relatives and friends. The prayer is two Raka’ahs only, and it is optional (mustahabb) prayer as opposed to the compulsory five daily prayers. Muslims are expected to do this as an act of worship, and to thank God.
Two or three days before Ramadan ends, everyone will be busy preparing for Eid. Shoppers stay overtime at malls and groceries – to buy foods for the celebration and gifts too. Eid ul-Fitr is like Christmas – gift giving, a time for new things. Public offices and many private companies close for several days during this time.
From the Dubai Mall Twitter (@dubaimallnews):
The Dubai Mall is committed to ensuring the social and cultural morals of the UAE and encourages visitors to respect the country’s cultural sensitivities. We cooperated with the necessary authorities in managing the recent event that took place at the mall.
– A spokesperson of The Dubai Mall
Who says there’s no Octoberfest in the UAE? Well then, it is happening. Rocktoberfest have joined forces with Metal Asylum and their media partner Metality UAE to make sure you rock your socks off. Confirmed to perform are the following bands:
Follow this link for updates.
Average Web Designer Salary: AED 9,719 | USD 2,646
Click the link below to view the salary avarages of Web Developer, SEO Specialist, Programmer, Graphic Designer, dBase Administrator, and E-Commerce executives in the UAE. Thanks to BAYT for this. Just click the thumbnail to view larger chart:
Average Web Developer Salary: AED 10,106 | USD2,751
Average SEO Specialist Salary: AED 8,000 | USD2,178
Average Programmer Salary: AED 7,289 | USD1,984
Average Graphics Designer Salary: AED 7,798 | USD2,123
Average Database Admin Salary: AED 12,550 | USD3,416
Average E-Commerce Salary: AED 13,810 | USD3,759
In light of the TRA announcement of the suspension of Blackberry services, Etisalat is pleased to announce Replacement Packages for their existing customers.
The free Smart Phones can be:
The smartphone varies on which package you’ll choose. Again, this offer is available only for Blackberry subscribers as of August 1, 2010. All existing customers would have to be signed up with this offer from August 1 to October 10. It is not clear though if the replacements will be done before October 11 – when the ban would take effect.
Visit the Etisalat website to learn about the specifics of the packages, and more Terms and Conditions.
Source: Etisalat
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source: CNN
Dubai, United Arab Emirates(CNN) — The United Arab Emirates has decided to ban the web operations of more than half a million BlackBerry users until security issues can be hashed out, the state news agency reported.
The state-run Emirates News Agency said the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has confirmed that BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry E-mail and BlackBerry web-browsing services in the UAE will be suspended as of October 11.
The news agency said that BlackBerry data is immediately exported off-shore, where it is managed by a foreign, commercial organization. BlackBerry data services are currently the only data services operating in the UAE where this is the case.
“Today’s decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE,” the news agency reported.
Telecom expert Abdel Rahman al Mazi told CNN that the ban will go into effect October 11, but government officials hope to work out the issues to avoid such a move.
“This is not a new thing … it has been discussed in other countries,” al-Mazi said. “If they put enough pressure on BlackBerry …they would come with a solution that will be acceptable.
“Many people in the industry say BlackBerry (is) the most secure system, so secure that nobody can break the security level of BlackBerry…. but on that same wavelength you have to think that some of the activities that go on within the BlackBerry user community could need to be monitored by some government agencies for security reasons.”
“As a telecom person I would love to see BlackBerry stay,” he added.
BlackBerry officials could not be reached for comment Sunday as their offices were closed.
Why do you think the TRA has decided to suspend Blackberry services from October 11? Is really because they’re trying to avoid threats of terrorism (since when)? Or simply they just can’t access our data because Blackberry encrypts the message as it transports it to the recipient?
| 1 | Airplanes | B.o.B. ft. Hayley Williams |
| 2 | Eenie Meanie | Sean Kingston, Justin Bieber |
| 3 | Not Afraid | Eminem |
| 4 | Ridin Solo | Jason DeRulo |
| 5 | If We Ever Meet Again | Timbaland ft. Katy Perry |
| 6 | Te Amo | Rihanna |
| 7 | This Afternoon | Nickelback |
| 8 | Alejandro | Lady Gaga |
| 9 | Billionaire | Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars |
| 10 | If I Had You | Adam Lambert |
| 11 | California Gurls | Katy Perry ft. Snoop |
| 12 | Bedrock | Young Money ft. Lloyd |
| 13 | My First Kiss | 3Oh!3 ft. Ke$ha |
| 14 | Dynamite | Taio Cruz |
| 15 | Rock That Body | Black Eyed Peas |
| 16 | Love The Way You Lie | Eminem ft. Rihanna |
| 17 | Cant Be Tamed | Miley Cyrus |
| 18 | Stereo Love | Edward Maya |
| 19 | Secrets | One Republic |
| 20 | Cooler Than Me | Mike Posner |
Source: Virgin Radio Dubai
