seven seas

Where have you seen people say the call to prayer is too loud?
Or that you can't drink in Ramadan (actually, you can)?

expat.brat

he was probably paraphrasing..

Autonomy

so to recap - it appears that we have ascertained that some, but not all, British Expats behave like spoiled idiots and that some Arabic speaking people are racists while others (probably most others) are not, some people of African descent have experienced racism in the UAE and others have not.

So where does that leave us? Same as before - stereotypes and generalisations are not really the answer...

shiva

er here and now, the tone deaf barsteward on st15 must have noticed a decline in 4am attendees of late as the last couple of mornings he's cranked the bloody volume right up again.
wouldnt mind if he had a good voice but the random shouts, coughs and splutters are just annoying

Autonomy

sorry... that was just me on the way home....

shiva

loud bastard

Autonomy

true... I live in Oud Metha....

tieresias

It's pretty unexciting, but I think that's a fair summary.

As the OP, thank you Autonomy for your post calling for an end to the shouting after the pages of people hoping there would be a fight.

Also thank you Romulan for adding your perspective and sticking with the thread, despite you getting a lot of personal abuse.

expat.brat

i can feel the angst in your post

Bahtatboy

What has your race, ability to speak a language and duration of stay in the ME got to do with anything? Can a Bangladeshi enter the country, leave when he wishes, and return again freely? Do Western expats have their passports confiscated by their local employers? Are TCNs given the same, legally-mandated health care benefits as me? Are Emirati women allowed to marry foreigners?

With your ability to speak the language, your near-integration with the local populace and the length of time you've spent here, you still really can't see what goes on around you? Perhaps you're the racist...

Meow

Seconded. There's an overly loud tone-deaf one in the St 15 near us. As well as another a couple of streets away. Mr St 15 gets regular complaints from his neighbours, who happen to be locals, then a week or so later it gets louder again.

As people have watches these days and all sorts of electronic devices that can tell them when to pray, I really don't see why it has to be quite so loud. And that isn't a racist comment (before someone has a go at me) but a simple observation.

Roadking

Have to agree. I actually like the call to prayer when it's done well. It's all part of the local flavour. When it sounds like someone projectile vomiting into bin bag that has a cat trapped inside, it's...well annoying.

banter64

LOL you should try living where I live - the iman sounds like a goat on eid having its throat slit !!!

The call to prayer should not be so loud that it is annoying and unbearable, even we have noticed the difference in ramadan, to be honest it is a nightmare and too loud.

Meow

Perhaps they should have X-factor style auditions before being given the job?

As for the chap reading out (by which I mean screeching) the Qu'ran each evening, for what seems like hours, I really want to give him some throat pastilles.

banter64

ROFLMAO I so know what you mean and my MIL wanted me to go with her and sit in the Mosque for 3 hours listening to it, thank you but no thank you.

I think they will be on bed rest for 3 weeks after ramadan with a sore throat

take a look at this link a beautiful and surreal voice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knu-HYHA0wM