Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum: Difference between revisions

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{{Villain Infobox

|~~image~~ = ~~[[File:330px-~~Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum.png~~|thumb]]~~

|Image = Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum.png

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|fullname = Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum

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'''Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum''' is the current Emir of Dubai<ref>[https://tec.gov.ae/en/dubai-government/rulers-of-dubai/ Dubai Rulers] - Government of Dubai</ref>, as well as the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates as a whole.

==Biography==

Sheikh Mohammed is the third son of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum's four sons, members of Dubai's ruling Al Maktoum family and descendants of the House of Al-Falasi, of which Sheikh Mohammed is the tribal leader.[10] His mother was Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, daughter of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, formerly the ruler of Abu Dhabi.

As a young man, in January 1968, he was present when Sheikh Rashid and Sheikh Zayed first met in the desert between Dubai and Abu Dhabi at Argoub El Sedira to agree to the formation of a union of emirates following British notification of intent to withdraw from the Trucial States. When the new nation of the United Arab Emirates was founded on 2 December 1971, he became its first Minister of Defence.

In 1973, Sheikh Mohammed was involved in protracted negotiations with the hijackers of JAL 404, led by [[Japanese Red Army]] member [[Osamu Maruouka]], which landed in Dubai after being hijacked as it departed Schiphol. Although unsuccessful in obtaining the release of the hostages (they were finally freed, and the 747 blown up, in Libya), he was more successful in a later negotiation with the three hijackers of KLM 861, who released the balance of their hostages and handed over the plane in return for safe passage.

On 3 January 1995, Sheikh Mohammed's elder brother Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum signed two decrees that appointed him Crown Prince of Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed, at the time of being appointed crown prince, also served as Minister of Defence, a position held since 9 December 1971.

After roughly a decade of ''de facto'' rule, he became the Ruler of Dubai on 4 January 2006 upon the death of Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The following day, the Federal National Council selected him as the new Vice President of the UAE. On 11 February, the Council approved President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan's nomination of Sheikh Mohammed for Prime Minister.

As Dubai is an extremely conservative Muslim state, tourists have been imprisoned for minor offences due to their violation of Islamic law. A famous example is British tourist Jamie Harron, who was arrested after he accidentally touched a man's hip in a bar.<ref name=harron>[https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/middle-east/dubai-what-not-to-do-rules-laws-tourists-topless-sunbathing-dress-code-homosexuality-holiday-jamie-a7996456.html What not to do in Dubai as a tourist] - The Independent</ref> There is also an extreme intolerance of violating the country's dress code, especially cross dressing.<ref name=indecent>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/18/middleeast.middleeast Cross-dressing tourists held in Dubai crackdown on 'indecency'] - The Guardian</ref> It is also completely illegal to be gay in Dubai.<ref name=harron/><ref name=indecent/>