[Shark24]

I can tell you from working in the UAE, they made the decision to be a “pragmatic” partner with the US a number of years ago. Most Americans could visit Abu Dhabi and have a nice week of western life including alcohol, pork and bikinis at the pool. ;). The F1 race track is very nice too.

[Vigilanteman]

A friend of mine goes there regularly for business and says they decorate their shopping malls and many other public places for Christmas better than many American locations. My closest thing to a visit was a stopover to catch a connecting flight.

The UAE is the main home of the Maliki Branch of Islam, one of those few off-shots which is genuinely tolerant.