Extra tool in fight against extremism

Analysts said the new law would also combat the threat of global terror.

“The law appears to be addressing the current lack of tolerance in extremist organisations such as Daesh,” said Dr Richard Burchill, director of research and engagement at Trends, Research and Advisory in Abu Dhabi.

“A new law alone will not resolve the problems of discrimination, extremism and hate crimes but laws of this nature are a necessary part of government and social responses to intolerance and discrimination being used by others to further their extreme views,” he said.

“The law is not inclusive of any, or every, form of discrimination with actions based on gender, age or disability being excluded, but there are already legal provisions for these groups in place.

“The focus of the new law is on hate crimes so it needs to be more limited in scope to ensure effective prosecution. Women, children and others are still protected by the law when they are a victim of a crime as a direct result of their religion, caste, creed, doctrine, race, colour or ethnic origin. Therefore the law does appear to have appropriate coverage and scope.” Dr Farouq Hamada, the religious adviser at the Crown Prince Court in Abu Dhabi, said the law came at the perfect time because certain groups had a misconstrued, violent concept of religion.

“There’s a desperate need for this law at this time because certain individuals and groups have crossed a line with ideologies that have no relation to our religion at all, they are smearing the religion,” said Dr Hamada.

“Islam prohibits us from insulting other religions. This is important for diversity and inclusion. The law also addresses intra- Muslim conflicts of groups ostracising people and calling them infidels. Doing so is a major offence in Islam and cannot be taken lightly.

“Such ideologies are the root of global conflicts worldwide. They create disorder, violence and conflict. Putting an end to this by blocking those ideologies from spreading and holding those individuals responsible for the evil they are spreading is a national mandate.” The Rev Canon Andrew Thompson, senior chaplain at St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Abu Dhabi, said the law would combat the growing trend of hatred and intolerance between religions and sectarianism worldwide.

“As a Christian leader, I regret the misunderstanding and prejudice between different religions and I recognise that the UAE is doing its best to address that,” he said.