The tension between genuine reformers and the conservative religious faction is long established. The AbuDhabi gov’s campaign in favour of Sufism would be undermined if it appeared to be replacing Sharia. The Houthi are just round the corner and have made many incursions into AbuDhabi during the current rebellion.Not with the tight grip they have in terms of military, state police, intelligence services etc.
Their prisons are not like our prisons, you really don’t wanna end up there. They also have the death penalty, and their enforcers are a lot more persuasive and effective than our’s. Just about every branch of their power is more persuasive and effective.
They very rarely use the death penalty, I think there has been one execution in the last five years for the rape and torture of a child.
Overall, a complex situation.
Read Andreas Kreig and others in Middle East Eye. (Online)
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