Effects of Geographic and Religious Stratification and Modernity in the Arab Gulf

Stratification in Qatar and UAE occurs both within these nations and between these nations as well as between the countries of origin of its non-citizen residents who make up 80 to 85 percent of local populations. Religion, location, citizenship, age, income, ethnicity, country of origin, and gender all play a role in the status of those living in these Arab Gulf countries. These stratifications are embedded within one another and in order to appreciate their impact on consumption, it is necessary to consider their intersections. Illustrations of the importance of local intersectionalites include contrasts such as the following: 1. A male Hindu guest worker from Kerala working in UAE for two years versus the same man when he returns to India. 2. A female Muslim Qatari married to a Bedu Qatari man (a Bedouin Arab of Qatari tribal origin) versus another Muslim Qatari woman married to an Ajam Qatari man whose heritage is Iranian and who may speak Farsi rather than Arabic. 3. A 45-year-old Qatari Muslim woman versus her 20-year-old daughter in university. 4. An expatriate Christian British businessman living in UAE versus an expatriate Muslim Indonesian cleaning woman for an Emirati family. 5. A 20-year-old Sri Lankan Muslim non-citizen born and raised in UAE versus his Emirati university friends. These illustrations, based on a three-year ethnography, demonstrate how the recent petro-wealth and Western popular culture has affected social status and consumption patterns.