Caption: Did you know? In 2016, the UAE ranked first in the Arab region and third globally on an annual Tolerance Index #TheFilipinoTimes
The United Arab Emirates is a melting pot of cultures that has made it an ideal home for more than 200 nationalities, including Filipinos.
Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, said the UAE is founded on mutual respect for all nationalities, religions, and cultures.
In a statement during a ceremony at the Christ Church Jebel Ali in Dubai on Sunday, October 1, Sheikha Lubna said the UAE leadership and the Emirati people have followed in the footsteps of the UAE founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in making the UAE a country of tolerance, loyalty, and love.
“The UAE’s leadership, government, and people respect all communities, regardless of their race, colour, religion or social status, and this social methodology was established in the constitution, which states that all individuals are equal and have the freedom to practice their religious rituals without violating public order or public morals,” she said.
In 2016, the UAE ranked first in the Arab region and third globally on an annual Tolerance Index, devised by the International Institute for Management Development (IIMD) in Switzerland.
Sheikha Lubna added that UAE residents and expats could continue to have harmonious relations with one another founded on the culture of respect and openness.
According to Article 6 of the Federal Law No. 02 of 2015 on combating discrimination and hatred, any person who commits any act of discrimination of any form by any means of expression or by any other means shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period, not less than five years, and by a fine not less than Dh5,000 and not exceeding Dh1 million.
Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)
Photo credit: wamnews/Instagram
