“Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE all have better material standard of living than, say, Dearborn”
I don’t think this is the case.
For some people in Saudi, Qatar UAE and Kuwait this may be so, the fairly privileged natives, but this is not true of all foreign workers including foreign Arabs. And I wonder very much about just how well off the natives are in Saudi. Its a welfare state but the standard of living considering the high cost of living isn’t up to Euro or US standards.
Ah, but how hard would it be to persuade our beloved mahometan friends that they do have lands of milk’n’honey? And sharia too! What’s not to like?
I defy you to step outside in August in Michigan and say that you’re worse off than if you were in Saudi Arabia. It is an oven there and for the average Saudi citizen it is not a better living than in the US.