UAE warns against wearing national dress abroad

A police video showing Ahmed al Menhali's arrest was published online

United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals are being urged not to wear national dress outside the region, days after an Emirati man was detained in the US.

Ahmed al-Menhali, a businessman, was detained while wearing traditional robes in a hotel in Avon, Ohio. Media in Ohio said a hotel employee feared he was pledging allegiance to so-called Islamic State group (IS).


The UAE's ministry of interior issued advice on Saturday urging citizens to be careful about what they wear abroad. UAE nationals should avoid wearing traditional costume "to preserve their safety", the ministry said (in Arabic) without referencing the Ohio incident.

Ohio broadcaster WEWS reported that police received a call from the sister of a hotel clerk who had said there was a man "in full headdress with multiple disposable phones pledging his allegiance to Isis" [another name for IS].

Police later received a call from the employee's father alleging the same thing.