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| Arabia |
| Islamist teachers claim 'unfair' removal from UAE jobs |
| 2007-11-30 |
| More than 80 Islamist-leaning teachers in the United Arab Emirates have been ‘unfairly’ moved from the education ministry to other departments because they support reform, one of them said on Thursday. “We did not commit any offence. The only ‘offence’ of these 83 people ... is that they demand democracy and human rights and uphold the rights of (Emirati) citizens. They are active elements,” Ahmad al-Nuaimi told AFP. The former school director said the 83 were told in August not to report to work in the new academic year and were transferred to other ministries, such as health and labour, “which are outside the scope of their specialisation.” To publicise their plight, around 25 of the educators, including school directors and teachers, staged a sit-in in Dubai last week, a rare event in a conservative oil-rich Gulf state which bans any form of public protest. The UAE government, which has close ties with Western countries, prides itself on its moderation and does not allow Islamist or other political organisations such as those active in Gulf neighbours Bahrain and Kuwait. Islamist commentators are also banned from writing in the government-guided local press. |
| Posted by:Fred |