eTN, 27-10-2006
Dubai has taken an initiative to quash qualms about Islam through a religious tourism initiative.Dubai is news for an uncommon tourism initiative, related to eradicating misconceptions about Islam, especially that the religion condones violence.
Dubai’s leader, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is funding mosque tours for Western visitors.
According to AP, the ultimate goal is defusing strains between Muslims and Christians that rose after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, and the war in Iraq. Through the initiative, it is being hoped that tourists can spread understanding of Muslims in their home countries.
As per the information available, the tours of Jumeirah Mosque have grown over a decade from irregular gatherings of a dozen people to five-times-weekly tours of a hundred or more. Now, the government-linked center wants to expand inside the United Arab Emirates and beyond with an eye on the more than one million Westerners, mostly Europeans, who visit every year, added AP report. The center is also expanding tours to seven more mosques in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, capital of the Emirates.
