ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Friday, July 19th 2013 [ME NewsWire]
Organized by the Law Respect Culture Bureau at the Ministry of Interior, the Ramadan Councils continued across the UAE, attended by a number of officers from the Law Respect Culture Bureau; citizens, journalists and editors-in-chief from several newspapers.
On Day 2, the Councils tackled the “Role of Educational Institutions in Supporting Law Respect Culture”, and included 4 topics, namely; the law respect culture and its religious, social and legal importance; the role of Educational Institutions in Supporting Law Respect Culture; the role of social networking sites and their impact on the youth; and legal highlights.
Discussions focused on the councils’ main objectives, praising the Ministry of Interior’s keenness to achieve confidence and communication with community members, by establishing social-oriented departments, which seek to develop the sense of societal responsibility among individuals, and acquaint them with the vital role they play to support state institutions in discharging their duties, based on interaction and exchange rather than receiving and implementing orders.
The Councils’ sessions also included an overview of the establishment of the Law Respect Culture Bureau, the General Secretariat of His Highness Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior; based on the fact that acquainting individuals with the laws that apply to them, make them more efficient and contributory to achieve their security and the security of others. For this end, the Bureau has sought to educate individuals on provisions of the law and their significant importance in their lives. Following the successful mobile legal Ramadan tents that roamed the various emirates last Ramadan; and as per the instructions of the police leadership to make the legal meetings friendlier and closer, it was decided to hold the Ramadan councils in citizens’ homes this year.
Sheikh Mohammed Hamad Balrkad Al Ameri, member of the Advisory Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and chairman of the Al Ain Reconciliation Committee, hosted the second Ramadan Council at his home in the city of Al Ain. Issa Al Mail, Manager of Abu Dhabi Al Emarat TV led the dialogue in the Media Council, in the presence of a number of citizens and residents.
Addressing the gathering, Al Ameri expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, on the initiatives launched by the Ministry of Interior, which aim to reach out to all citizens and listen to their views and ideas. Moreover, he stressed the importance of the Ramadan Councils in enhancing communication and cohesion between community members during the holy month of Ramadan.
Al Ameri emphasized the need to reinforce the role of Parents’ Councils in all schools, with a view to help resolve the various problems faced by students; shedding light on some leading actions carried out by these Councils.
At the end of the Council’s session, Issa Al Mail extended his heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Sheikh Mohammed Hamad Balrkad Al Ameri for hosting the Council; and to the Law Respect Culture Bureau for its diligent efforts to organize and hold such councils.
Director General of Dubai Police Department, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, hosted the Second Ramadan Council in Dubai, led by Abdul Rahim Al Bathih; Rashed Abdullah Bin Muhyan Al Kutubi hosted the Sharjah Ramadan Council, led by media figure Ali Singel; Hamad Abdullah Ben Ghaliza Al Ghafali hosted the Ajman Ramadan Council, led by media figure Abdullah Khashif ; Ahmad Bin Khalfan Balshawi hosted the Umm Al Quwain Ramadan Council, led by media figure Rashid Al Kharji. For his part, Jassem Bin Darwish hosted the Ras Al Khaimah Council, led by media figure Talal Al Handasi; while Said Mohammed Al Raqabani hosted the Fujairah Ramadan Council, led by media figure Ahmed Al Yammahi.
As a first topic, the Ramadan Council highlighted the concept of law respect culture and its religious, social and legal importance. It has created a social culture among community members of all ages and categories, on the need to respect legislations (often referred to as written laws) and unwritten laws (customs, traditions, practices, usages, and other maxims of human conduct), because of their essential and vital role in protecting their rights and their lives and ensure their safety and freedoms. This would encourage individuals to respect the law out of conviction, not out of fear of punishment or legal penalty.
This topic explained that violating the law may often be considered as a crime, similar to murder and robbery, and is consequently punishable by a penalty determined by the law. Disobeying traditions and customs is not considered as a legal crime; it is rather a social violation often punishable by resentment and contempt from community members, unless such violations affect public morals. In such cases, the judge gets to determine if the violation constitutes a criminal behavior, and rule accordingly. This would guarantee that personal freedoms are not violated in the name of law, and that usages and laws cannot be violated in the name of personal freedom.
With respect to the social aspect, the Ramadan Council indicated that humans are social beings that cannot live or fulfill their needs alone; which prompts them to live in societies or within groups. Living in a society requires establishing relationships between its members, on the economic, social or familial levels; and such relationships need to be identified and well organized.
This explains the idea of rights and obligations. Each member of society has specific rights, namely; the right to life; equality; work and creativity. Equally, he is bound by the obligation to respect and guarantee the same rights of others; within a specific framework of freedom. Preserving and protecting these rights prompted the enactment of a law that applies to everyone, in order to guarantee the rights of individuals and prevent them from violating the rights of others. Furthermore, and in order to ensure the implementation of these laws without any discrimination; the Authority was given to the State; which had to impose the mandatory legal rules; as well as the punishment and sanctions on anyone who violates the law. The law itself was originally promulgated to protect the rights and freedoms of every individual, and is not limited to a particular individual or group.
Therefore, legal sanctions are not designed to punish individuals, but to preserve their rights.
With respect to the religious aspect, the Council revealed that the provisions of the Islamic Law are based on two sources: the Holy Quran and the Sunnah; and the enactment of laws guarantee the good interests of people. Islam calls on world leaders to promulgate laws that regulate life and relations, in keeping with the times; provided that these laws are consistent with the Quran and the Sunnah, the main source of legislations. This would ensure a smooth progress and provide security and safety for modern societies. It is necessary to abide by the rule of the law, which aims at protecting rights, and ensuring compliance with the rules and usages in societies, with respect to protection of religion, country, individuals, honor, money and the mind; as well as protection of individuals against moral crimes. Therefore, it is mandatory to obey officials and leaders who enacted the laws that aim at achieving progress and development, protecting rights and identifying obligations, as per the provisions of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah.
With respect to the legal aspect, the Council ascertained the importance of legal culture to guarantee that individuals do not violate law regulations out of ignorance. There is an established legal principle in the Islamic jurisprudence that says: “ignorance of the law excuses no one”. It means that when a law is approved and published in the Official Gazette, it becomes binding to every individual within the State borders; and no one can claim that he or she is unaware of the law in question to avoid liability., Therefore, it is important to create a positive relation among individuals and the law, to convince them that the binding laws enacted by higher authorities are not in vain; but were established for the specific purpose of protecting individuals and achieving justice and equality in society. Moreover, the law-making process is not arbitrary; it is done according to a scientific methodology and well-advised statistics, to achieve the best interests of all individuals. These laws, even if they restrain freedoms to a certain extent, were promulgated to protect individuals, who should be aware that it is in their good interest and the interest of others around them to respect the law.
The second topic tackled the educational institutions’ role in instilling the law respect culture, whereas the family and schools are considered of the most important tool of socialization, and play a key role in instilling and promoting collective sense making, which allows individuals to be sensible and to others’ feelings and to respect them. The family’s failure to play its role in instilling and enhancing the sense of emotional and physical connection during childhood and adolescence, is one of the most important factors that contribute to produce troubled individuals, non- compliant with the laws, regulations and values of society (Antisocial personality). Moreover, such flawed family education prompts individuals to choose negative criteria over the positive standards with respect to society, which in turn, leads to a personal willingness to violate the laws of society.
The third topic tackled the social networking sites and their impact on the youth, noting that in 2009, the UAE ranked first among Arab countries in terms of the number of Internet users which amounted to more than 41 million users at the end of 2008, i.e. by more than 50 percent of the total population of the State, according to a study conducted by the “Saban Center for Middle East Policy”. According to the study, young people spend most of their time using their mobile devices, whether their computers, mobiles, iPads, in order to communicate with their friends, browse Internet pages to view information, images, and movies. Hence, they create for themselves a virtual world, which may either be positive or negative, or a mix of positive and negative aspects.
What do we do for our children? Are we watching them? Are we taking advantage of their new acquired knowledge? Are protecting and enlightening them, or granting them the full freedom to discover this new world alone???
Moreover, the fourth topic tackled legal highlights, explaining that the legislative process is a dynamic and continuous process that issues laws and amends others… It also revokes laws that may affect us directly or indirectly; laws that may be closely related to us as individuals, or to those around us. It is only fair that we acknowledge that many of us are unaware of these laws’ provisions even if they directly affect our life. We may also inadvertently violate these laws on a daily basis. Yet, it is a fact that one everyone should be acquainted with these laws, to ensure that they don’t find themselves involved in a legal problem “without knowing that they have committed a crime”; and "ignorance of the law is not an excuse to avoid liability. Some individuals may be surprised to see certain daily practices punishable by the law, or the extent of some sanctions on actions they deemed minor or trivial. Some might even claim that they never heard of precedence in such cases, or say that some crimes cannot be proven under some circumstances. However, experience in the justice system has shown the importance of knowing the provisions of the law, as the best means to prevent the consequences of law violations.
Cyber crimes inadvertently committed by young people
Many young people believe that using their computer at home or using a fake username to exercise his freedom on social networking sites, make it safe for them to do and say what they deem fit, without supervision. But in fact, modern technology devices, which provide the latest means of communication, have also provided law enforcement bodies in the State with the latest techniques and facilities to supervise the use of these modern devices to ensure they are not used to commit crimes against others and against the community. For this end, competent departments and electronic patrols roam the virtual world to ensure the safety, freedom, and legal use of this world.
It is noteworthy that the third day of the Ramadan council organized by the Law Respect Culture Bureau will be held on Monday, July 22 across the country, and will tackle the role of sports organizations in supporting the law respect culture.
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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.
Contacts
The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department
Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media
Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317
E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com
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