UAE loosens Islamic laws, with booze and cohabitation restrictions lifted

Mideast country will allow unmarried couples to live together and criminalise ‘honour killings’, among other changes

The reforms aim to boost the country’s economic and social standing and ‘consolidate the UAE’s principles of tolerance’

3-MIN READ3-MIN

The Mall of Emirates in Dubai. Residents of the UAE will now have greater freedom to purchase and consume alcohol. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:39pm, 8 Nov 2020Updated: 1:41pm, 9 Nov 2020

The United Arab Emirates has announced a major overhaul of the country’s Islamic personal laws, allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosening alcohol restrictions and criminalising so-called “honour killings”.

The broadening of personal freedoms reflects the changing profile of a country that has sought to bill itself as a Westernised destination for tourists, fortune-seekers and businesses despite its Islamic legal code that has previously triggered court cases against foreigners and outrage in their home countries.

The reforms aim to boost the country’s economic and social standing and “consolidate the UAE’s principles of tolerance”, the state-run WAM news agency said Saturday, offering only minimal details in the surprise weekend announcement. The government decrees behind the changes were outlined extensively in state-linked newspaper The National, which did not cite its source.

The move follows a historic US-brokered deal to normalise relations between the UAE and Israel, which is expected to bring an influx of Israeli tourists and investment. It also comes as skyscraper-studded Dubai gets ready to host the World Expo. The high-stakes event, expected to bring a flurry of commercial activity and some 25 million visitors to the country, was set for October but pushed back a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The changes, which The National said would take immediate effect, also reflect the efforts of the Emirates’ rulers to keep pace with a rapidly changing society at home.

“I could not be happier for these new laws that are progressive and proactive,” said Emirati filmmaker Abdallah Al Kaabi, whose art has tackled taboo topics like homosexual love and gender identity.

“2020 has been a tough and transformative year for the UAE,” he added.

I could not be happier for these new laws that are progressive and proactive

Abdallah Al Kaabi, filmmaker