Apple's First Retail Stores in Middle East Open October 29

[Armstrong1889]

That bottom image looks like a male stick figure who is very excited about the new Apple Store.

What is it suppose to be ?

Not sure what this picture is, but it looks like someone lying on his back, doing something I have never done.

it's a calligraphy for the Arabic word مرحباً (Marhaba) which means "Hello".

Apple wrote this on the store front:

Marhaba 29.10.15
A collaboration with master calligrapher
Samir Sayegh, extending our first hello
to the city of Dubai

 

[mactactic]

Wow , A lot of responses would like to see Tim Cook walking around any of the country's in the Middle East holding hands with his partner , He would be arrested and flogged or even the death penalty he would be subjected to .
I guess his hypocrisy knows no bounds !

 

[thelookingglass]

If I were Apple I would have no dealings or sell my products to any country in the Middle East that are repressive to woman or gay people.
If Tim Cook is so anament about gay rights and woman's rights Apple should ban all sales of products and goods !!
I'm so sick of liberal elitist that don't put there money where there mouth is !!
Jobs would have never approved of this deal !!

Money trumps ideals for almost everyone and almost every time.

And Apple is a for profit corporation, not a political machine.

 

[Bhima]

A few hours to Istanbul? Try 4,100km of driving, through Syria and Iraq. 39 hours. Pretty sure it goes through ISIL territory too.

 

[Armstrong1889]

A few hours to Istanbul? Try 4,100km of driving, through Syria and Iraq. 39 hours. Pretty sure it goes through ISIL territory too.

Probably they forgot to add "by a plane", which takes 4.75 hours.

 

[A.R.]

Not sure what this picture is, but it looks like someone lying on his back, doing something I have never done.

its says "Marhaba" which means "Hello" or "Hi"

 

[yg17]

They offer "Women Only" workshops !!

Ugh, it's unfortunate that Apple is giving in to these Stone Age barbarians but I guess money trumps values.

 

[dannyyankou]

Might as well put this in PRSI

 

[ginkobiloba]

Ugh, it's unfortunate that Apple is giving in to these Stone Age barbarians but I guess money trumps values.

Like I said in a post before, that's not Saudi Arabia ( where women-only workshops would be mandatory ), women can mingle with men in businesses and stores freely, but there are many families that are more conservative than others and feel more confortable when they are with their own gender. The Apple Store offers women-only workshops on top of regular mixed workshops, not instead of, according to the norm and the local culture. That seems very conservative compared to the West, but that's the culture there and it's a far cry from "Stone Age Barbarians" ( a term better reserved for Talibans/ISIS and other nut groups )

 

[ginkobiloba]

Not sure what this picture is, but it looks like someone lying on his back, doing something I have never done.

​

I'd love to see your answers to a Rorschach test. That would be fun

 

[CB1234]

It's not his company. He runs it, but he can be fired if he isn't doing what the shareholders want. He can't just inject his personal opinions in when it comes to who the company does business with. That's absolutely not what being the CEO of the world's largest corporation is all about.

Also, what good would it do? They would still get Apple's products, or competitor's product which does the same function, one way or another. Besides, women are able to buy and use Apple's products - the same products women in the rest of the world have access to - for their education, enjoyment, whatever. Their products aren't specifically prohibited from certain groups, otherwise they might have more to say on the matter.

I don't agree that Apple withholding sales from the ME would bring about any positive change there in those areas at all. Even if the entire technology industry followed suit and they were reduced to using inferior technology (or privately importing), it would just feel like bullying and snobbishness by foreigners who don't share their culture or understand their religion. You don't make change in foreign places; that's not your business. However, if you give them the right tools and information, you can help them make changes of their own accord. It needs to come from home. They need to realise for themselves why these changes are important and what benefits it has for their society. You can't impose that level of understanding on people.

Superb rational explanation. Hope it will enlighten a few ignorant people on here and squash a few misconceptions about Middle East and what media feeds them...

Wish I could give you a thousand likes... Excellent post...

 

[mactactic]

An excellent read .https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_in_the_Middle_East

 

[mrgraff]

Ugh, it's unfortunate that Apple is giving in to these Stone Age barbarians but I guess money trumps values.

I can't even imagine living in a country with legally-imposed gender-specific areas…

 

[Benjamin Frost]

They offer "Women Only" workshops !!

Good for them.

I'd like to see similar initiatives in the UK.

 

[mk_in_mke]

n

If I were Apple I would have no dealings or sell my products to any country in the Middle East that are repressive to woman or gay people.
If Tim Cook is so anament about gay rights and woman's rights Apple should ban all sales of products and goods !!
I'm so sick of liberal elitist that don't put there money where there mouth is !!
Jobs would have never approved of this deal !!

This has to be one of the worst comments ever made on this forum... So, following your train of thought: you would not have any store or any Apple service in AL, MS, MI, OH,ND... All these states who were 'forced" by the SCOTUS to grant marriage license to same sex couples... And Miss Davis from KY could not use an Iphone?

To paraphrase you:

1 - If Tim Cook is so anament (sic) about gay rights and woman's right, there would be no sales in the Bible belt.

2 - I am soooo sick of conservative cavemen who do not think rationally before they talk or write...

How more ridiculous can your statements be?

 

[BornAgainMac]

its says "Marhaba" which means "Hello" or "Hi"

In English, that symbol would mean "Excited". As it excited for the new Apple store to open.

 

[reden]

That's absolutely not what being the CEO of the world's largest corporation is all about.

Apple isn't the largest corporation in the world.

 

[SBlue1]

Wow , A lot of responses would like to see Tim Cook walking around any of the country's in the Middle East holding hands with his partner , He would be arrested and flogged or even the death penalty he would be subjected to .
I guess his hypocrisy knows no bounds !

Dude. Just behave like the laws and culture in that country is. You dont want me to speed with my Porsche on your freeway just because that's the way we drive in Germany. I will follow your laws and drive slowly. Now when we are in my country follow our laws and culture. Simple. Don't like it? Don't come over.

 

[DoctorKrabs]

n

This has to be one of the worst comments ever made on this forum... So, following your train of thought: you would not have any store or any Apple service in AL, MS, MI, OH,ND... All these states who were 'forced" by the SCOTUS to grant marriage license to same sex couples... And Miss Davis from KY could not use an Iphone?

To paraphrase you:

1 - If Tim Cook is so anament (sic) about gay rights and woman's right, there would be no sales in the Bible belt.

2 - I am soooo sick of conservative cavemen who do not think rationally before they talk or write...

How more ridiculous can your statements be?

There's a difference between being gay and having the right to gay marriage. In America, we finally allowed gay marriage across the country in states where people could still be openly gay, but previously be unable to marry.
The U.S. constitution never had any punishment for homosexuality.

In the UAE, simply being gay is a CAPITAL OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.

I'm soooooooooo sick of liberal Islamopologists that are so tolerant that they tolerate intolerance.

 

[Eraserhead]

There's a difference between being gay and having the right to gay marriage. In America, we finally allowed gay marriage across the country in states where people could still be openly gay, but previously be unable to marry.
The U.S. constitution never had any punishment for homosexuality.

In the UAE, simply being gay is a CAPITAL OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.

I'm soooooooooo sick of liberal Islamopologists that are so tolerant that they tolerate intolerance.

Gays could be punished by state laws in the US until 2003 though.

Don't disagree that the Middle East is in general very racist and culturally backwards.

 

[arcite]

UAE isn't like other Middle East Countries, it's more like a global free trade zone, a city state like Singapore, composed of a majority of expats from all over the world. For example, Dubai has the busiest airport in the world. A perfect place for Apple Store.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

They offer "Women Only" workshops !!

So Catliyn Jenner can enroll?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

UAE isn't like other Middle East Countries, it's more like a global free trade zone, a city state like Singapore, composed of a majority of expats from all over the world. For example, Dubai has the busiest airport in the world. A perfect place for Apple Store.

UAE is still strict compared to Westernized nations. You have people that still get in trouble for public kissing if they are not married, and gay right, what gay rights.

 

[DoctorKrabs]

Dude. Just behave like the laws and culture in that country is. You dont want me to speed with my Porsche on your freeway just because that's the way we drive in Germany. I will follow your laws and drive slowly. Now when we are in my country follow our laws and culture. Simple. Don't like it? Don't come over.

So you're comparing something done voluntary (speeding) to something uncontrollable (sexual orientation)? Your politically correct analogy falls apart right there. There's also a difference between a basic safety law and a basic human right. Driving a Porsche fast won't put you on death row.

It's illegal to be a gay person by Sharia law, which is in place in Dubai where one of these stores is opening. The arresting, flogging, and execution isn't an exaggeration. Openly gay people like Tim Cook can be sentenced to death there. Should he "follow their laws" just stop being gay? How would that work? I thought you were on the side that says being gay is not a choice. It's like telling someone in 1920s Alabama to stop being black.

 

[alchemistmuffin]

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

What's so controversial about this article politically?

Seriously Macrumors, if you have to put this warning, just disable the ability to comment on the article at all. Heck, in my opinion, why is "Politics, Religion, Social issues" section here on a forum dedicated to Macs? Get rid of it, and don't allow commenting if you are concerned that people will blow this thing up into political debate.