The Reputation of a Melting Pot - Essay Example

The original culture of UAE has not vanished considering the reality that UAE is the land of a broad range of cultures and races. This paper is primarily based on discussing the fact that the native people of UAE have relentlessly tried to maintain their Islamic culture even in the presence of more liberal cultural values.

Research studies done on the culture of UAE reveal the fact that despite many foreigners have been living in UAE for the past many years, they have not been able to cause a big change in the indigenous culture of UAE because the local people prefer to stick to their religious rules no matter how fast the outer world is changing culturally or religiously. A large number of local Arab women are still seen clad in the burqas despite living in a society that is fraught with more liberal foreign women who prefer to wear skirts or jeans. Islam still dominates virtually every aspect of life in the UAE. (Khalaf). The interesting fact is that the contrast between different cultures in UAE does not cause any type of prejudice or antagonism even in the tiniest bit, rather harmony and peace of an astounding nature is seen in UAE among people belonging to different cultures or races. The level of peace existent in UAE presently is envious and it suggests that the harmony among different cultures will continue to strengthen with the passing years because the challenges brought up by the intolerance existing between people from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds are never experienced by the people of UAE, thanks to the efforts made by both the local people and the foreigners. Other than the factor of religious preference, there may be many other factors that explain why the cultural values of the local UAE people have not merged with those of the Westerners residing in the UAE.

            Culture is hugely important because it reflects the identities of people forming a particular society and people sharing the same culture generally share the same thinking patterns as well. This is why research shows that a product’s success in a particular area is largely dependent on the cultural or religious values of the people residing in that area. The link between a product’s marketing and consumer behavior is sometimes so strong that the global attributes of a particular product are altogether overlooked and people start judging a product’s merits on their religious or cultural teachings. Almost the same is the case in the UAE, where sales of such widely publicized things as condoms are largely restricted and suppressed owing to the restrictive and orthodox consumer behavior of the indigenous UAE people. This is because almost all the local UAE people follow the religion of Islam and fervently prefer their Islamic values over whatsoever the global attributes of a product may be. A Muslim consumer behaves differently from another consumer in many aspects. (Consumer Behavior). It is utterly absurd to predict that in a society that is fundamentally restrictive and fraught with Islamic values, marketing such products that go in huge contrast with the cultural values of the Muslim people can be successful or even possible. That is the reason why consumer behavior holds exponential importance concerning how successful a product may be in a particular area.             

            “Those considering a move should bear in mind that Dubai operates according to Muslim traditions.” (Culture Shock in Dubai). The people of UAE who form the indigenous culture distinguish between right and wrong based on Islamic teachings and since the traditional Islamic values are preferred over the changing and more liberal patterns of foreigners, the people of UAE prefer to maintain their conventional environment that is Islamic rather than adapting to the fast pace new world. The local people of UAE are inherently so rich that it leaves them with no complexity to pursue global standards. Also, the UAE business world is under no complex to maintain certain dress codes and people prefer to wear their traditional clothes even at the workplace. Read More