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The early Muslim empires were forged at a time when the rest of Eurasia was in the toilet and the Sultans could easily attract talent from these places despite higher taxes and some lose notion of tolerance.

In that sense modern Dubai is just that. It is dependent on South and Southeast having a hard working and talented 5% that can't realise their potential in their own homeland and hence need to pay tribute to a rentier state. Despite all the outward aesthetics, the Arab population in Dubai are still the same race of worthless filth that populates the rest of the region.

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