Published: March 14, 2010
Op-Ed Contributor
A Kiss Is Just A Kiss... But In Dubai A Kiss Can Land You Behind Bars
By Robert Paul Reyes
"A British man living in Dubai and a female friend, were arrested in November on accusations of kissing and touching each other intimately in public and consuming alcohol, their lawyer said. They were ordered jailed for a month.
A British pair caught kissing in public in Dubai face up to a month in jail in the Gulf Arab emirate for indecency after an Emirati mother complained her child had seen their indiscretion.
A lawyer for the pair, who launched an appeal on Sunday, said there had been no inappropriate kissing and the two were just friends. A verdict in the appeal is expected on April 4.
"There was no lip kissing. It was just a normal greeting that is not considered offensive," lawyer Khalaf al-Hosani told the court, adding the complainant's testimony was contradictory." Read More
A kiss is just a kiss... When lovers lock licks or friends kiss on the cheeks, it never fails to elicit smiles from bystanders. With so much enmity in the world, it's refreshing to see expressions of love and tenderness.
A kiss is just a kiss everywhere in the world, except in Muslim nations where things are upside down. Ostensibly an Emirati mother was horrified that her child had witnessed the kiss. The mother probably wouldn't have been concerned if her child had seen on TV carnage left behind by a homicide bomber.
Dubai depends on tourism to maintain the flow of foreign cash into the emirate, it's the playground of wealthy Westerners. Threatening to jail a couple for a chaste kiss in public isn't going to help the Dubai tourism industry.
I would urge Americans and Europeans not to vacation in Dubai, why prop up a repressive and authoritarian government. Not to mention hypocritical, thousands of wealthy Arabs go to Dubai to drink alcohol, and to consort with hookers.
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Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.
* The views of Opinion writers do not necessarily reflect the views of NewsBlaze
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