Dubai Roundup
Number of Mosques Increases in Dubai
The number of mosques in Dubai increased by around 36 percent during the last four years, Gulf News reported recently.
In 2008, there were 1043 mosques in the emirate while the recent number was calculated to be around 1,418.
The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) is responsible for managing all the mosques in Dubai, but it does not mean that other entities cannot establish mosques in the emirate. However if some other entity wants to establish a mosque, collaboration with IACAD is required.
According to the newspaper, IACAD established around 495 mosques in Dubai, while philanthropists were next to IACAD with the establishment of 478 mosques. Many government departments also reportedly contributed in the noble of cause of establishing mosques and they set up around 283 mosques in the emirate.
As per rough estimates, different mosques in Dubai can accommodate a number of worshippers ranging from 100 to 1000 or more. In total, the overall mosques present in the emirate at the moment can cater around 600,000 worshippers.
Thousands of Volunteers Gathered to Serve Labours
As part of its ongoing campaign to serve labours, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently collaborated with Adopt-A-Camp initiative to support the labours of the emirate.
The initiative aimed at collecting and packing personal items for distribution at any labour camp was able to gather around 6,000 volunteers belonging to different cultural and social background. The volunteers collected daily use items, packed them and distributed them at a labour camp.
According to details, the volunteers collected and distributed around 5,000 care packets among labours.
Hassan Al Hashemi, Director, External Relations, Dubai Chamber, said of the initiative:
“This humanitarian initiative helps Dubai Chamber’s responsible business strategy by bringing the community together for a good cause.”
Arab Drama Industry Discussed
A recent gathering at Dubai Press Club (DPC) discussed the Arab drama industry and the new trends that are being introduced.
A number of experts from the drama and television production industry participated in a session titled “New Trends in Arab Drama Production”.
Khaleej Times quoted an Emirati artist and producer Ahmed Al Jasimi as saying:
“We are witnessing a transition in the Gulf and Arab drama landscape, which requires us as producers to upgrade our technical skills and resources. The recent developments in the political scene have also impacted the course of Arab production.”
