UAE cosying up to Trump by defending ‘Muslim ban’

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan defended US President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban citizens from seven Muslim majority states and branded it as a “sovereign decision”.

He denied the ban being “directed against a particular religion” and argued this by saying the largest Muslim majority countries have not been affected by the ban, hinting he does not recognise Iran as a “large Muslim majority” country.

“This is a temporary ban and it will be revised in three months, so it is important that we put into consideration this point. Some of these countries that were on this list are countries that face structural problems,” he said. This comes days after Dubai’s head of security Dhahi Khalfan Tamim came out in support of Trump’s Muslim ban and said Iraqis, Iranians and Somalis deserve what is coming to them.

GCC’s racist immigration policy

The Gulf Cooperation Council states, which include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are all well known for their racist immigration policies and their disregard for the basic human rights of foreign labourers.

All six of the countries have a “kafala” system that subjugates an expat worker by forcing them to be sponsored by a citizen of the country. In some countries the sponsor also keeps hold of the worker’s passport.

Qatar has repeatedly come under fire for the lack of workers’ rights in building the 2022 World Cup stadium. Workers have been coerced into working in scorching hot conditions, have been deceived with pay and have been denied basic health and safety equipment.

Kuwait has come under heavy criticism for a national debate concerning a law that was intended to be passed in which anyone who lives or visits the country must be subject to compulsory DNA tests.