Generation Faithful

The city of Dubai is has been in a storm of transformation in recent years, going from oil- and gas-based growth to a real estate, trade and financial hub in the Middle East, meshing a population consisting of 80 percent emigrants from more than 200 ethnicities. Such tremendous growth and diversity have led to a "socially freewheeling yet unmistakably Muslim state" that raises challenges to traditional Muslim societies, according to journalist Michael Slackman for the New York Times. Young Arab males living in Dubai indulge in the lack of societal structure, some drinking beer or smoking cigarettes, and most exploring their faith in new ways. Resident, Hamza Abu Zamad, raised in Jordan, notes that Dubai offers opportunity for modern life in an Arab Islamic nation, explaining: "It's free and still has Arab heritage. It's not religion, it's the culture, the Middle Eastern culture." While Dubai may presently be the exception to the rule of Middle Eastern urban life, it perhaps signals that meeting points between the Arab world and West can avoid cultural clashes and mingle in a beneficial way for the local populace. – YaleGlobal