[samtheman]

If you're living there, you know more than I do. But what's the word for "people of the book", dhinni? Something like that. And isn't it a severe second-class status --- tantamount to wearing the yellow star --- in at least some Islamic countries. Maybe Dubai is more liberal than most. What's the word I'm looking for? If you live there, you must know it.

[weegie]

The phrase is something like that. UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait all have Christian Churches. In general Christians are fairly well respected (atheists are despised). the shops just now are full of holy statues for Easter aimed at the large and mainly Filipino Catholic community. Remember also that Easter is a public holiday in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.

The one exception amongst the Arab countries I have visited (and its most of them) is Saudi Arabia where possession of a bible or the wearing of a crucifix is a fairly serious crime. Why they were always held up as our best friends in the region is a mystery to me.