16 February 2006

Your presence is required...

Well, it wasn't really a gilt-edged royal invitation – it was more in the form of a general mailout from ITP to their customer database.M is bemused to be invited to the 4th Dubai International Wine & Beverage Fair to be held at the Madinat Jumeirah (pictured above) on Feb 28th and March 1st.

It seems incongruous to be invited to an event that promotes alcohol-based products in a country that follows Islam.

We all know that Dubai is tolerant and lenient when it comes to alcohol - possibly to its detriment given the number of people being pulled up for drink-driving, and the high proportion of UAE Nationals caught driving under the influence - all of which was published in the Feb 9th edition of Emirates Today.

Expatriates caught D.I.C. are threatened with deportation, but what will the Emiratis face? The authorities can't deport them from their own country!

It also makes us wonder which is the greater sin for followers of the Islamic faith - drinking on its own, or drinking and driving?

We guess that it depends on whether they're caught by a mullah or by the police!

The times they are a-changing – sing it, Bob!

6 comments:

Dubai Sunshine said...

I got that e-mail too and thought it was so weird as well! I wonder if they got any e-mails from people that were offended by it.

nzm said...

No doubt if anyone has been offended, we'll hear about it on a blog! :-)

moryarti said...

Darn i missed that ..

maybe i should change my Outlook settings to NOT forward all ITP emails to the trash floder :)

Anonymous said...

I really cant believe it, where did you read this...cause if it is true..I can see where this is leading us to...
Im telling you...

nzm said...

Click the blue "Dubai International Wine & Beverage Fair" link in my post, and it will take you to the Fair's website!

cheers
nzm

black feline said...

it's no surprise at all...i roam the streets of Dubai every week...im a feline afterall..especially the whole stretch of computer street of Bur Dubai...there's a nice shop..:) with frosted glass as a front..take a peek inside..it's a supermarket with only bottles of wine, hard liquor and beer etc..nicely displayed on shelves..and trolleys provided for customers...:)