DUBAI, 18 July 2005 — More and more of Dubai’s Muslim men are removing their shoes outside mosques before they pray, according to custom, and when they exit are discovering that their shoes have been stolen, police say. “The police have posted officers at the gates of mosques during prayer times, especially on Fridays, to arrest the thieves red-handed,” Saif Al-Jabri, head of the Islamic Guidance at Dubai Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities told the English-language Khaleej Times. The problem has spread to the nearby affluent Gulf emirate of Sharja, according to a police source. Police, who have recently succeeded in arresting culprits red-handed, have learned that the stolen shoes are being copied and sold on foreign markets. “The thieves confessed to the police that they were stealing only expensive shoes with unique designs not available in the United Arab Emirates markets,” said the police source. Police have instructed imams to arrange closets with locks at mosque entrances and to advise worshippers not to wear expensive shoes when coming to pray.
