The Evolution of the Majlis in the UAE
A collaborative project exhibited at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2022 highlighting the development of the majlis in the UAE.
The majlis is an important social practice in the Arabian Peninsula bringing together the community and its leaders. From a humble place of sitting to a dedicated room within a private residence or an official building, the majlis – or mejles as it’s referred to in the UAE – is also a place for knowledge exchange and learning.
While the traditional majlis needs nothing more than a mat or a protective structure made from either goat hair or palm leaves, the rapid growth of the UAE from 1960s onwards emphasized the role of the majlis as a support system for decision making. The majalis often welcomed not only residents but also various foreign experts, engineers, merchants, and politicians resulting in the majlis space shifting in size and décor. More recently the role of the majlis further expanded to becoming a space for cultural, intellectual, and social forum.
In the UAE the development of the mejlis can be divided into 3 significant periods: (1) the traditional majlis prior to 1960, followed by (2) the modern-day majlis between the 1960s to 90s and developing into the current (3) contemporary majlis since 1990s. The wesite shares a brief summary of the 3 periods are discussed in more detail and supported by selected examples across the UAE.
A collaborative project exhibited at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2022 highlighting the development of the majlis in the UAE.
Project Team
- Adina Hempel, Associate Professor at the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises; Zayed University Dubai/ UAE
- Felix Hardmood Beck, Professor at the Münster School of Design; Münster University of Applied Sciences/Germany and Visiting Research Professor at Cities Center for Interacting Urban Networks; New York University Abu Dhabi/UAE
- Zlatan Filipovic, Associate Professor at the College of Architecture, Art and Design; American University of Sharjah/ UAE
Project Contributions
- Mustafa Fardan
- Abbas Makki
The project “Evolution of the Majlis in the UAE” would not have been possible without the contribution and support by so many individuals and institutions. We would like to thank Mr. Mustafa Fardan, who welcomed us into his majlis and shared so many of his stories about the importance of the pearling history with us. We sincerely thank Dubai Culture, who gave us the permission to access and scan the Etihad Guest Palace Majlis and Dar Al Etihad and supported us along the way. We are deeply grateful for the support and guidance by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, who enables us to access the UAE Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site and gave us guidance on the project along the way. Our sincere gratitude also goes to the team of the Bait Mohammed bin Khalifa in Al Ain, who guided us through the house and allowed us to document the majlis. We also would like to thank and appreciate the time and contribution by Rashid and Ahmed bin Shabib, who opened their house to us, specifically their Manama, and shared their vision behind the project with us. And to the staff of the Khawaneej Majlis, who permitted us to document the main majlis space.
And finally, the project builds on the collaboration between so many brilliant and inspiring students from Zayed University in Dubai (UAE), American University in Sharjah (UAE) and Muenster University of Applied Science (Germany) who contributed to this project for almost one year. We have listed the by university:
Zayed University Dubai Students:
Afra Abdulla Rashed Aldelail Alremeithi
Alia Essa Ibrahim Abdulla Alsamaj
Amina Saeed Khalifa Hamad Almarri
Amna Ali Mohammed Jassim Alblooshi
Asma Abdulla Mohammad Saleh Ali
Aysha Ali Musabbeh Alkhasem Alketbi
Dhabia Abdulla Hamad Obaid Alshehi
Hasa Mahmoud Hasan Ghulam Al Marzooqi
Hawra Hassan Habib Almansoor
Hind Mohamed Rashid Tarish Almesafri
Khawla Ahmed Mohammed Aldabdoob Alhebsi
Khawla Ibrahim Mohammad Ibrahim Ahmad
Lamia Hassan Essa Ghulam Albalooshi
Lamya Samir Ali Ahmad Alawar
Maitha Ebrahim Yousef Ebrahim Alteneiji
Mareya Jawad S M Redha S Mohd Y Sharaf
Mariam Hassan Abdalla Mohamed Almarzooqi
Maryam Abdulla Mohammad Albalushi
Maryam Mohammad Ibrahim Hassan
Meera Ahmad Hassan Ahmad Alhaj
Rayan Ebrahim Yousef Mohammed Alhammadi
Rayyan Ali Ibrahim Hassan Alhammadi
Reem Mohammed Saeed Mejrin Alketbi
Shahad Hussain Ali Mubarak Yaqoot
American University of Sharjah students:
Agassi Torres
Ann Parampuzhayil
Dina El Sebaai
Dunia Tarahi
Fatma El Tarhuni
Hana Hafez
Haniya Muhammad Shoaib
Jory Alkhshan
Lory Krajekian
Nabeeha Sajjad
Omnia Al-Koni
Qamar Al-Kiremli
Shams Ramahi
Yomna Badr
Zahraa Attai
Münster University of Applied Sciences students:
Luis Kirchlechner (intern)
Nikolai Jurotschkin
