*2.2. Putting UAE Public Diplomacy to Test*

Taking into consideration the three dimensions of public diplomacy, i.e., news management, strategic communication and building long-term relationships with key individuals and populations (Leonard et al. 2002, p. 10), we could claim that all of them apply to the UAE 'moderate Islam' campaign, though with di fferent degrees of success.

In the first place, even though the Emirati governmen<sup>t</sup> tightly controls domestic media and promotes its peace and tolerance initiatives on Facebook and Twitter, it is impossible to distract regional and international attention from daily discussions about Yemen in light of the UN and Amnesty International reports implying Abu Dhabi's direct involvement in war crimes during the period 2016–2018 (Bruce 2018). For instance, to the accusations of unjustifiably killing thousands of civilians, including children, by targeting school buses, funerals and weddings, the UAE usually respond with ministerial tweets and press releases about the peaceful coexistence of the country's religious communities, sharing photos of newly erected churches or Hindu temples on their o fficial social media pages. Despite scaling down their military presence since the summer of 2019, war information on Twitter continues and the UAE certainly lost most of its battles (Emirates Leaks 2019). On top of that, Emirati public diplomacy lacks a tool of the size and impact of Al-Jazeera that would be essential for shaping Arab and Western public opinion on current matters (Samuel-Azran 2013). This proved to be a major setback, especially since the Saudi–Emirati rift with Qatar in 2017. Al-Jazeera releases videos on its social media about Riyadh's and Abu Dhabi's role in the 'world's worst humanitarian crisis' (Gathmman 2019), whose negative impact cannot be easily reversed.

Abu Dhabi has been more skillful in creating 'soft power' as far as strategic communication is concerned. This second dimension of public diplomacy regards managing international perceptions of the country as a whole through the mediation of several agencies and actors working in unison (Leonard et al. 2002, pp. 14–15); according to Nye (2019, p. 12), governments organize campaigns, like the 1980s peace movement diplomacy of the Soviets, that revolve around central themes and values and plan events such as conferences, partnerships, festivals, etc. to reinforce them. The goal of such a strategy is to a ffect international opinion in the long run. In recent years, the Gulf monarchy, indeed, has been quite active in its national rebranding along the lines of 'moderate Islam', as the Emirati Ambassador in the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, claimed in his CNN (Cable News Network) interview:

Divisiveness and polarization are on the rise across the world, and—if left unchecked—this trend will undermine global stability and peace. The UAE is pushing against this rising tide by creating a model that can serve as a road map for others to promote greater tolerance and openness. Unique governmen<sup>t</sup> policies, innovative partnerships and interfaith dialogues are three of the ways the UAE is leading by example. (Otaiba 2016)

The cornerstone of Abu Dhabi's strategic communication is the so-called 'Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies' (PEACEMS), which has been held five times since 2014. The first session's goals were outlined as follows:


By referring to several Quranic verses (The Holy Quran 5:2; 8:1; 49:13; 2:269; 7:170; 16:90; 21:107; 39:10), the Forum defines the 'true Islamic' values, such as tolerance (al-tasamu ¯ h. ), compassion (al-ra h. ma), reform of the self (is.la¯h. al-dhat), justice (al-'adl), patience (al- ¯ s.abr), solidarity (al-tad. amun) ¯ and religious centrism (al-wasatiyya). The UAE embassy in the US plays a vital role in rebranding Islamic values as the 'original' Emirati ones:

The UAE has a new vision for the Middle East region—an alternative, future-oriented model that supports moderate Islam, empowers women, embraces diversity, encourages innovation and welcomes global engagement. These values have been ingrained in the UAE's DNA since the country's founding in 1971. It explains why over 200 nationalities call the UAE home and why di fferent religions have built approximately 40 churches, two Hindu temples, a Sikh temple and a Buddhist temple, which welcome multi-national congregations. (Embassy of the United Arab Emirates 2019b)

Undoubtedly, international conferences constitute a powerful asset in public diplomacy. Together with the Moroccan dynasty, the Emirates provided their valuable 'know how' in holding the Conference for the Rights of Religious Minorities in Predominantly Muslim Lands in Marrakesh, in January 2016. The Conference resulted in the famous Marrakesh Declaration—the purpose of which is to alleviate Western concerns over the fate of non-Muslims in Muslim societies (Marrakesh Declaration 2016). Central themes in Islamic tradition and historiography such as the *Charter of Medina*—a document referring to Prophet Muhammad's contract with the people of Medina who o ffered him shelter after the Hijra (622 AD)—are reinvented under the prism of present-day minority issues, interfaith dialogues and common counter-extremism e fforts. Another such event is the World Tolerance Summit that is hosted by Dubai every November, since 2018, in conjunction with UNESCO's International Day for Tolerance (16 November). Its first session was attended by 1866 participants from 105 countries around the world (Al-Shaibani 2019).

Strategic communication, though, is not limited to annual forums and conferences. Over the last five years, the governmen<sup>t</sup> enacted a variety of laws and policies aiming to institutionalize the concept of tolerance at home, while exporting the 'Emirati model' abroad. Just to mention a few, a Ministry of Tolerance has been established (Al-Zayani 2016); the National Program for Tolerance was launched in 2016, praising Emirati Islam and culture as 'truly moderate' (UAE The Cabinet n.d.c). In 2017, the—first of its kind in the Arab world—International Institute for Tolerance was founded by the country's PM, Sheikh al-Maktoum and, in late 2018, the Emirati President, Sheikh Khalifa al-Nahyan, announced the National Research Project on Tolerance, reminding the world that his country 'is now a global beacon of civilized behavior' (Khamis 2018).

The third dimension of public diplomacy is identified as relation building; this process takes place either through the mediation of key personalities (religious leaders, thinkers or politicians) or at the level of populations who work, study, participate in cultural exchange or simply visit the country under question. Just like Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Schmidt or Anwar Sadat, who, according to Nye (2019, p. 13), 'adopted and promoted American values, after having been educated in US institutions', the UAE seek to influence future Arab leaders by instructing them on their own tolerant values. The seminars and courses taught in the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government are indicative of Emirati intentions to exercise public diplomacy through educational programs (Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government n.d.).

Furthermore, Abu Dhabi set up a special relationship with two prominent religious figures: Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Doctor Ahmad al-Tayeb. Sheikh al-Nahyan visited Pope Francis in 2016 and then the Ponti ff repaid the visit in February 2019. During his historic speech in front of more than 150,000 people, the Pope commented on the war in Syria and Yemen in a rather ambiguous way; the serious accusations concerning Abu Dhabi's deep indulgence in the humanitarian crisis of Yemen did not prevent Pope Francis from whitewashing his hosts' alleged war crimes, when he stated that 'the UAE are a modern country and an open society to dialogue that educate its children by looking forward' (Barbarani 2019). Concerning the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, he was singled out thanks to his influential status in the Sunni world; he had already met Pope Francis at the latter's visit to al-Azhar in 2017 and all Muslim autocrats consider him an indispensable interlocutor. During the Pope's UAE visit, he was invited to cosign the 'Human Fraternity Document' with the Ponti ff (Associated Press 2019). Consequently, the UAE capitalized on the presence of those high-profile personalities to create 'soft power' via interfaith dialogue diplomacy.

At the level of peoples' public diplomacy, Leonard stresses the need 'not just to develop relationships but to ensure that the experiences which people take away are positive and that there is follow-up afterwards' (Leonard et al. 2002, p. 18). This can be true for a country like the Emirates, where more than 80 percent of the country's population according to 2019 data consists of Indian, South Asian, European and other expatriates (United Arab Emirates Population Statistics 2019). Constructing new places for worship and protecting the rights of every faith are adequate reasons to keep non-Muslims content. In 2017, in a strongly symbolic and rather spectacular gesture, Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi was renamed to Mariam Umm Eisa, honoring the mother of Jesus. Hence, it is no wonder that American pastors publish articles praising the tolerant, multireligious Emirati society:

Di fferent religions have built 40 churches, two Hindu temples and a Sikh temple, all on land donated freely by the ruling authorities, who welcome multi-national congregations in the UAE. The region's largest Anglican Church is currently being built in Abu Dhabi and will accommodate more than 4000 worshipers once complete. (Reverend et al. 2018)
