Where West Meets the Middle East - Jumeirah Mosque Visit

The Jumeirah Mosque in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), provides a rare opportunity to bridge the gap between hosts and guests by offering visitors a glimpse of UAE nationals' religion, customs and way of life via a mosque visit. This paper analyses the participants' perceptions of both visit and guides. In addition, it examines the role of guides as cultural brokers providing non-Muslim mosque visitors an opportunity to understand local religion, culture and tradition. The research reveals that most visitors appreciate the opportunity to learn about Islam and Arab Muslims' culture. The guides regard the visit as a way to build bridges between cultures. Visitors do not consider that the guides need to be Emirati; however, the visitors believe that guides should be knowledgeable in Islam, Arab culture and Western culture. In addition, some visitors indicated a preference for female guides to interpret the role of women in Islam and the Arab world.