Burj al Arab – World’s Largest Christian Cross

Updated on January 4, 2022 in Architecture Rumbling

This is probably an outdated news and it is all over the internet, anyway, Burj al Arab was designed by Tom Wright of WS Atkins PLC, during the designing stage, the world was told that it was built to resemble a sail, but critics are claiming that Wright designed the cross after he had a dream to have a Christian influence in a Muslim country.

Burj al Arab - World’s Largest Christian Cross

Burj al Arab - World’s Largest Christian Cross

Some locals claim that this was an intentional move on the part of the British architects. This issue is more ironic when one considers that the Tower of the Arabs is widely considered to be Dubai’s most important landmark. A Conspiracy indeed, but no words yet from the architect himself. The real question is, does it matter if it looks like a cross?

dubai car plate number burj al dubai

In the year 2001, Dubai introduced the 4th series number plate. It has the Burj al Arab symbol, due to conspiracy theories and controversies surrounding Burj Al Arab’s resemblance to the Christian cross, the Burj Al Arab symbol was removed without any explanation in the year 2004.

An interesting story is told back to back which says that apparently any cars registered in Dubai, that have one of the older license plates which have an image of the Burj Al Arab on them, aren’t allowed to drive into Saudi Arabia.

Coming from a country that the official religion is Islam, I find it hard to digest the fact that Malaysian of other faith such as Buddhist, Christian, Hindus and others are not allowed (unofficially) to built any religious structure or building that exceed the height of any mosque in their respective towns, except for a few temples and churches like the Batu Caves temple and Kek Loh Si temple. It is not a written law, don’t believe me? Ask any senior draftsperson or architects.

See More ▼  An Architect’s Life | Peter Marino

Bias it may be but when the British disapproved the Mega-Mosque in London, the British Muslim was pissed, the mega mosque is believed to be so huge that it will dwarf many of Britain’s Christian cathedrals.

Councilor Craig, who lives in a city with 300 mosques and 500 madrassahs, suggests that Britain not allow any more mosques until Muslims allow churches in Saudi Arabia. Craig said, “Why should the Saudis pay for a mosque in the UK when there is not one single church, temple, goodwara, synagogue in Saudi at all?” – CBN

What goes around comes around, and if you need to look for a guilty then you only need to look into a mirror. After all, Burj al Arab is on Muslim soil, some minor renovation can be done to rectify this whole Christian cross issue, now, the real question is why don’t they do it? What say you?

The author is not a CAD expert nor a web genius. Just another guy spending too much time online. The tutorials featured here are meant for basic level understanding.

131 Comments

  1. cross is in everywhere. TV antennas, telegraph poles and now this!

    There is this “cross” that appears on the TV-Tower in the eastern part of Berlin when the sun shines, could be a coincidence.

  2. the meanings of the Cross has been changed throughout history, since the cross represented the meanings of love, sacrifice and peace at the beginnings of Christianity, it has become a symbol of persecution, murder and darkness and fight against Islam in Europe during the Middle Ages, but now it does not really carry any specific meanings. i mean different people with different views wears the same cross.

    • People can give different definitions to the meaning of ths Cross. But the one and the only true meaning of the Cross yesterday, today and forever is, that Jesus Christ died for us on the Cross bearing our sins upon Himself and opened the way of Salvation for whole humankind setting us free from the bondage of our sins therefore who ever believes in Him will inherit that Salvation. That SALVATION is the ONLY TRUE MEANING OF THE CROSS !

    • The meaning of the Cross is NOT culture nor age related. IT IS AND WILL ALWAYS REMAIN THE ONLY SALVATION FOR HUMANITY, YOU , ME EVERY HUMAN SINCE ADAM UNTIL THE LAST BORN OF CREATION

  3. I find it hard to believe that a bona fide architect would pull a stunt like that. Besides, it would have been visible in plans long before it was ever built. The swastika predated Hitler by centuries, and was somewhat of a good luck charm (I think). The cross, likewise, predates Christianity’s abduction of it. I’m a landscape architect, I use crosses all the time in my work, and I’m not a Christian. So…a nice story, but not true, I think.

  4. It may be a christian cross but i don’t think so even if all christians in the world( including me ) would like to believe it.
    the concept is more like a ship hull floating on the sea and the cross is the mast (mât in french) which was actually 2 pieces of wood tied like a cross…So all this is a fantasy that people like to believe…Besides, why don’t they change it? it is because if they remove it the whole structure will collapse…

  5. This story is made up, Ok I know that a sail boat already includes a giant cross also the human body is a cross.

    From the beginning and before building the burj al arab they told us it will look like a sails boat so what’s new in that stop making stories.

    After the rumors saudia government didn’t allowed the cars to go in because first of all the kingdom of Saudia Arabia is 100 percent a Muslim country and a holy country that’s why MR they don’t allow anybody to build whatever temples churches etc..

  6. Cross can NOT change anything, its piece of woods or metals put together…Muslims are not like western leaders who carry from piece of clothe in the head of Muslims women (Hijab).

    and by the way, the last two paragraphs of this article are off Topic…

    peace

  7. The cross is one thing and prayer is another we have to remember that there is a spiritual war and that we are in it . the atomic bombs in this war have no atoms but only prayer faith and the word of God the only truth that can defeat the kingdom of darkness. We must pray each day so that we can resist the attacks of evil

    God Bless Stay firm Belivers

  8. Sorry to say when britishers can’t allow to build a mega mosque in their country then how can they errect their religious sign in a architectural form by fooling Arabs ?

  9. In Response to…
    “Sorry to say when britishers can’t allow to build a mega mosque in their country then how can they errect their religious sign in a architectural form by fooling Arabs ?”

    In no way was this meant to “fool” arabs. I am a civil engineering student and believe me when I say its a necessary component of the building. For a building shaped such as that one the interior support structure would resemble, surprise surprise, something resembling the cross in question. Its simply brought out and emphasized for aesthetic purposes.

    ..And to the writer of that comment, I would suggest reading some of the other comments before posting a comment, especially one as ignorant, as yours. Only a few comments above yours an architect explained exactly what im telling you.

  10. Everyone can you please grow up! the cross is an essential part of the structure just like you would find on a sailing ship so this whole illusion of making it a cristian cross is just absurd!!

  11. hahahahahahahahaha — what is funnier! The symbol hating mediaevalists in this so called city that will undoubtedly become the Brasilia of the East or Cross Waving Fundamentalists with their consipiracies and imaginary doctrine.

    May the Light Shine on you all!

  12. hehe… to see people having a discussion about such a ‘contreverial’ topic,make me laugh. its a building.. its already been built, if it seems to resemble a cross, the question to be asked is.. does it affect any one??? i dont see anybody dying because of the building, oir being hurt or loosing sleep from it. there are much better things to do on the earth whilst we are still alive. people dying, an dgoing to lost eternities, now thats something worth talking about.

    take care,,

  13. I didn’t notice the cross effect until it was pointed out in this article. It seems that some people are always looking for something to point at and cause an issue where there isn’t one. The problem is only one of their own imagining.
    The building is fabulous and a tribute to the beauty of Muslim art.

    Paul M. Jackson

  14. The horizontal shape thing is actually a “floating restaurant” which was not plan during conception but added later during construction according to what i’ve seen in national geographic and it was the architect who suggest the design of the restaurant. So, any comment?

  15. Does it matter that it looks like a cross? Well honestly, YES of course it does! The cross-feature was the very first thing that I noticed about the structure. How can one NOT be immediately struck by this very obvious feature? It is very awe-inspiring. I happen to be a new Christian and I wouldn’t be surprised if it does have an intended spiritual purpose. Very compelling. I give it an A+ !

  16. as we read it from the architect himself(Tom Wright),he said that it never crossed his mind to put a cross symbol on the facade of the structure…perhaps maybe he didnt..but what if God intervined during his conceptualization of his design?:)
    Tom may didnt meant it to have it there but if its God’s will nobody can stop it.yeah we live in a world of different beliefs&religions,and we shoud respect it,but evrybody should know that Christ died on the cross for u&me..u know where ur soul is going when ur life is over?-Christ is the answer…iam a christian architect, so wether its a symbol or not–leave it…it maybe a coincidence or a conceptualization—->its d mystery of architecture.

  17. .Im living in UAE , “burj Alarab” it is in UAE ,So no one have more information than me ,so am sorry to say that but this in picture with tower is airplane runway not cross , so plz be more honest if you are really represent christianity. Secondly, i want to ask The preachers of christianity , why they are lie when there are preach for them faith.

  18. I think its ridiculous how people must observe an object, or in this case building, to such an extent just to create a conflict among people. It does create a cross, but whether it was intentional or not, the building does in no way affect the public, and therefore should not need to be called a conspriracy against religion from another.

  19. I have gone through this article & comments. If any one believes that this is a CROSS, then it is God willing that largest Cross is built on Arab Land that too in UAE where the rulers set an example to the rest of the World being religiously tolerent. I have lived 11 years in Saudi and 4 years now in UAE and seen the dramatic changes takes place in Dubai. Mecca is in Saudi where non-muslims are not allowed but for me UAE is the blessed land where the real Muslim Principles are shown in practice. If only Saudis are generous to other faith, why don’t they allow other religions to visit Mecca and try to understand Islam closely? Though Saudis don’t allow other religions to practice their faithe, they sponsor all over the non muslim states to build mosques. I think this is absolutely unfair.

  20. IM A TRUE MUSLIM SO I HAVE TO SAY A FEW WORDS TO THE PRESENT ARABS…………HEY ARABSD WHAT HAPPEN TO UR FAITH WHY ARE U SO LAZY THAT THE CHRISTIANS PREACHED HIS RELIGION IN MUSLIM COUNTRY……IM AGREE WITH THAT IT NEVER HURT ANYONE BUT IT IS OPPOSITE FROM ISLAM BY 180 DEGREE SO PLEASE TAKESPME ACTIONS AGAINST THIS.I ONLY WANNA SAY THAT PLEASE DESTRO THE SALEEEB FROM THIS BUILDING AND AFTER THE WHOLE BUILDING WILL BECOME A GREAT BUILING………..GOOD LUCK MY MUSLIM BROTHER ARABS GOD BLESS YOU

  21. First of all, this isn’t a cross…a Christian cross comes in two shapes: Either the vertical and horizontal lines are of equal length with the two lines cutting each other exactly in half, or the vertical is longer than the horizontal and the horizontal is about 3/4 of the way to the top with about 1/2 of the length of the vertical line.
    In this case, if this were a cross, the part above the horizontal would be too long, and the horizontal would be way to short for the size of the structure. As such, this does NOT AT ALL resemble a cross. It resembles…a sail…Granted, a sail should also have been wider on the horizontal, but a sail’s size IS proportional to the size of the canvas it holds, which in this case is very narrow…

    Now, for those who HAVE to insist that its a cross, let’s talk a bit about Christianity vs Islam…
    Last I heard, Muslims proudly accepted that their religion is more evolved than Christianity, just as Christians proudly claim to be more evolved than the Jewish religion. The grounds of those argument are that Christianity accepts the old testament and enhances it with the new testament, accepting Jesus as the son of God. Likewise, Muslims accept the old testament AND the new testament (but believing Jesus as a mere prophet, coming to prepare people for the next great teacher, Mohammed), but also continue the teachings with the Coran. In that case, Jesus getting crusified in his efforts to teach humanity of proper morality and God (or Allah), is NOT in contradiction nor in insult to the Muslim religion! Therefore, Muslims who see the cross as an offensive symbol are just uneducated fanatics who don’t even know their own religion!

    Finally, for those Christians who claim that “perhaps God put the idea in the architect’s mind”, you should all study your own religion, as well. Why in the world would God want a HUGE cross to be built in his honor, spending millions of dollars on such a construct when this money could very well feed millions of starving children in a couple of dozen suffering countries? Why would God need to be praised by the “Largest , Grantest, and Most Glamorous” when Jesus himself looked DOWN on the hebrew priests who lost their perspective on God by exactly trying to build the “largest and grandest” monuments and exposing riches and earthly pleasantries instead of concentrating on the spiritual truths? Also, Jesus NEVER told people to worship a cross or to use a symbol of a cross. This was a much later invention, which I can only attribute to the Romans/Byzantines who realized they can more easily manipulate the crowds if they keep them under one powerful symbol of Divine Victory, Protection, and Support. BTW, in case you don’t know, christianity originally used a variety of other symbols of much greater meaning which were (mostly) lost in time. Instead of a cross, the original symbols linked to the name of Christ and Essense of God (Beginning and End of all) were the letters Alpha and Omega, or X and P (X = Ch and P = R as per the Greek alphabet) merged into one letter, looking more like a Vertical line with an X over it, rather than a cross. Also a Fish (anagram for “Jesus Christ Son [of] God Savior) had been used. Again, cross is a symbol that some Christian King devised as a unifying symborl under which he could drive the crowds in his favor with the help of the church, emphasizing on the sacrifice that the savior made for all people.

    Finally, let us not speak of the hypocrises of religions. I have studied many religions and in ALL of them I have found hypocritical uses where religion and its conservation became the #1 EXCUSE for killing people, all while those religions STRONGLY claim anti-violence and especially anti-murder rules which are time after time said to be applied without exception or bias!!! But of course, when it is convinient, spiritual leaders come up with FAKE REASONS to bend the rules and allow killing another human for the purpose of preservation of the religion…to me this sounds like a dude with bloated ego as a (religious) ruler of a nation who is too afraid of losing his power thusly abusing the people’s trust and fear of god in order to move them into a sin, while convincing them that they are actually gaining their God’s favor in this manner!

    I, for one, believe that humans should realize that ALL religions COULD (i.e. might be, with no proof to either this or the contrary) just different manifestations of the same TRUE God, who merely presented himself in a form more understandable by the underlining culture, as a means to more easily teach people how to be good and pious. And as humans evolve and become more globalized people need to use their more advanced brains in recognition that in the end, we are all…earthlings! God would want us all to behave the same to each other, regardless of the religion of our neighbor. And while God (in accordance to various religions) asked us to educate other people of His Presence and moral rules, he never asked us to hate our fellow human for not listening or for trying to teach us something else, nor did he ask us to burn and harm those who wish not to accept our teachings. On the contrary we were asked to respect all beings (mind you, beings NOT JUST humans) and to love all other humans as if He (or She, to be fair) existed in each of them. Alas, this statement is true in over 10 religions that I’ve studied, ranging from Native Americans and Australian Aborigines to Celts, Greeks, and Romans, to Buddhists and Hindus, to Christians, Jews, and Muslims…and even to the Vikings. Yet all of the above have (at one point or another) had a period during which religious leaders lead them to the opposite actions…

    • Wonderful, +++++
      Well said.
      God bless you, at this stage I am sure you know it already, perhaps not? With all this knowledge, do you BELIEVE in Christ, as your saviour?

  22. Little correction for my above post:
    When I said fish is an anagram of the sentence, I meant fish is an acronym…

  23. By looking at the second picture it is an obvious grafic editing, which is far away from the real seen. To see in it a Cross, just people rich imagination, you can find it everywhere, if you want. Second to make a debate “Cross it or not” is just another stupid way to put two great religions against each other. That’s why there is no peace in this World. From small fly to make an elephant. I have asked many people who have seen Bur AL Rab from sea side and none of them saw Cross there.

  24. There is no such thing as coincidence in these things do you suppose that Pharohs room is a coincidence????
    (in one day every year light enters the room from the sun ONE DAY) Why is that side so hidden to the world that only the critics know about it. what does the person doing all the payment Know about Arcitecture any way!!!

  25. oh come on, i honestly dont think that they purposely built this 7* hotel with a christian cross on it, its just christians beleiving that the symbol of christ is everywhere, that everbody wants it on their buildings, its just a coincidence to hold the building up with metal in the shape of a cross, nothing to do with them wanting a cross. This is the reason why there are wars, everyone insists that their religion is the best and so try to get useless “signs of god” from everywhere, its ridiculous.

  26. Technically speaking, a PLUS sign (+) is a cross too. In fact, it’s precisely in the shape of one of the two acceptable forms of christian crosses, as I described above. I wonder when someone will claim that this is a Christian conspiracy, too…or when Muslims (and other religions) will stop doing additions to avoid using a “Christian Symbol” in their math. IMO, it’s crazy to be looking for symbols (religious or satanic) in things. If you really want to find a symbol (either one which pleases you or one which angers you), you will find it anywhere. The bottom line is: the building’s “cross” is of very bad proportions to be a christian cross. If one still wishes to believe it to be a cross and wants to talk about christian conspiracies, one should also consider looking up the word “delusion”

  27. Jesus Christ GAVE HIS LIFE so that YOU don’t have to burn in HELL FOREVER! and he’s not mad or anything like that, He has ARISEN! and is in Heaven HE LOVES YOU!! If you died RIGHT NOW! R I G H T – N O W! do you have any doubt where’ed you go?

    Read Romans Chapter 10 verses 9 through 13. Jesus came so that we could all be saved by his shed blood on the cross. We have a choice, accept Jesus or reject him. Jesus wants each of us to have everlasting life.

    How would you like to be in firey hell for all eternity knowing the fact that you could have gone to heaven for FREE.

    If you care to take Jesus Christ as your personal Savior today you must believe 1. That He IS the Son of God, 2. That he was born of the virgin mary, 3. And That He Arose on the 3rd day after his death. 4. And he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand throne of God the Father.

    Say the following prayer: “Jesus, I am a sinner. I am asking you to forgive me of my sins and save me. For I can not do it myself. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.*You should repent and do your best each day to live according to God’s Holy Word, The Bible. Once you ask Jesus to save you, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you (to guide and strenghten you). Read Romans Chapter 10 verses 9 through 13. Jesus came so that we could all be saved by his shed blood on the cross. We have a choice, accept Jesus or reject him. Jesus wants each of us to have everlasting life. TODAY is the day of salvation. There is no promise of tomorrow here on earth, but there is in Heaven. If you have just accepted Christ as your Savior, a good place to start reading the Bible is in the Book of John, the 4th book of the New Testament. If you don’t have a Bible, go to Biblegateway.com and read any of the Bible on-line; and when you get your own copy of the Bible, you can purchase one from Wal-mart all the way to the Dollar Tree. May God Bless You and I pray for your salvation.

    – A Christian

  28. any way Burj Al Arab is not a symbol of Islam; also it deosnt have any relationship with Islam or Muslims. As I am a Muslim, i can consider this tower as only a “BAR”. There are so many Churches and Hindu Temples across UAE. This is not a big issue, i cant understand, why medias and people gives more importants for this kind of news?

  29. A comment to the following excerpt:
    ‘Jesus NEVER told people to worship a cross or to use a symbol of a cross. This was a much later invention, which I can only attribute to the Romans/Byzantines who realized they can more easily manipulate the crowds if they keep them under one powerful symbol of Divine Victory, Protection, and Support.’

    Preceding this was a point made that since Jesus is a Muslim Prophet, Cross is not Anti-Islam.

    In my interpretation of Islam, it forbids the use of any symbols that relate to other beliefs it considers not true. And as you said, the Cross is not a Jesus or Christian symbol at all. Maybe, but even then, Cross represents Christianity. If you see a Cross in Mecca, you think wow! Christians got into Mecca.

    I do not think it is actually a cross. But just to symbolize that Islam negates Christian beliefs they can have it removed.

    thats a nicer way to battle it out.. have a symbolic war ;) no one dies!

  30. hiz i am also muslim and from pakistan and now in uae. my dear arab govt and local watni pplz what happend to ur religious y u all are quite. u still not understand whats the hell these christianity pplz are doing. plz plz i humble request to all of the govt and watni pplz do some thing about this building dont destroy all building but atleast just do some thing that cross sign. i have seen this building hundred time but today when my freind tell me this is the story i really got a shocked my dears and suddenly i chk all about this history online and after that i giving this comments plz plz do some thing. plzz

  31. Responding to Hasan:
    If Islam forbids the use of symbols that relate to other beliefs it considers not true, then Islam should stop using the crescent moon. Why? Simple enough. The wicca use the moon as a symbol! Therefore the crescent moon is a symbol relating to a pagan belief, which is of course considered false by muslims. Hence, by your own words the moon should be prohibited from usage by muslims!

    Of course, the crescent moon is a strong symbol of islam and only happens to coincide with a pagan symbol. I definitely do not think that this mere coincidence should be cause for changing the Islamic symbol. However, I mention the above to make a point. If Islam can maintain the moon despite its connection to another religion, then there is also nothing wrong with the cross, which (if nothing else) is related no less to Islam, the crucifix being a prophet of Islam itself!

    Responding to Muhammad Ali:
    If you were able to see this building so many times without realizing that it has a hidden cross until a friend opened your eyes, then perhaps you should reconsider what you just said. Instead of consider it an “opening of your eyes” you should consider it a closing of your mind. It’s like hypnotism, power of suggestion, or demagogy. Basically, you on your own are much aware that this is NOT a cross…however, you allow yourself to be convinced that it is, due to some rhetory created to urge the masses to a strong reaction.

    If you have any respect for your own intelligence you would realize that
    a) This is NOT a cross. It is not shaped like a cross. It has nothing to do with Christianity.
    b) If this IS a cross, so is the plus sign +. I suggest you never again perform addition in your life.
    c) People who try to convince others that this is a cross either have a plot or are too unintelligent to realize that someone with a plot is trying to manipulate them.
    d) If you are using an L shaped desk, please realize there is a “cross” in it as well! Look carefully, very carefully! L-shaped desks are supported by a + structure.
    e) You should never “cross” a street.
    f) you should talk to your government and force them to make worse roads, so that they never create square blocks. Streets that create square blocks actually intercept into perfect crosses!
    g) You should likewise never place square tiles anywhere in your house. Caution: square tiles create crosses!!!
    h) You might as well go take your eyes out. Want it or not, a “cross” is a very common shape that occurs both naturally (without human hands) and unintentionally by humans. If you wish to never see it anywhere, you can only avoid by blindness…Even if there never exist any more christians in the world, there will exist “crosses”…including the one in math ;)
    i) If you don’t wish to blind yourself, you should at least learn to recognize the difference between the shape of a Christian Cross and the shape of 2 random straight line segments intercepting each other at 90degrees…

    I can go on for ever on this. I think this a-i is a good start.

    Responding to Light:
    Relax dude. Not everybody wants to hear your preaching and your fanaticism makes you as brainwashed as the people you claim will go to hell. Who in the world are you to say if they will or not go to hell anyway, or even to claim that hell does exist? Jesus himself never made such claims. He did ask for people to believe in him and follow his path, but he also said that He is in EACH human. So…as far as I can tell, if I wish to follow Buddha or Mohammed or whichever other righteous religious leader, then I am basically following Jesus, since Jesus is in those other humans. The key is in being a righteous and moral person, respecting other humans, believing that you are nothing compared to the greatness of the universe (and its creator). Fanatisism is condemned by ALL religions. No religion asks people to curse, intimidate, or threat others. And by your words you should realize you are doing just that. No, you are not warning them. You intimidate and threaten them.
    If you want to preach, go preach to those who wish to listen, not to those who are already upset about your unwelcomed invasion and trespassing to their beliefs.

  32. no i think it has to removed from that hotel because it is a muslim country and it is our duty to remove such things from our culture and religion…so the government of dubai has to take action against the cross..

    • And the building will collapse as the shape is holding the exo structure. Comm’on guy, it is just two pieces of steel nothing else.

  33. But it’s not a cross any more than the plus sign is…in fact, the plus sign IS a cross, whereas this one is NOT at all a cross!

    So…before you urge your government to take down the so called “cross” from this building, I suggest you urge all muslim nations to stop doing addition…or to change the addition sign.

    And if they don’t look at you like you are crazy for wanting to change the + addition sign, THEN you can move on and destroy the horizontal platform from this building.

  34. First to ‘An Earthling’ you have way way more patience than I do; I would have given up arguing the point with these uneducated posters ages ago. But it is nice to see there are people out there who are as smart as me when it comes to religion, and who don’t give up as easily. – Thanks for refuting some of the nonsense posted by religious fanatics.

    Second: To all Muslims, you believe in moses, the ark, the flood and all that. So do I, and I’m a Christian. So what the HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM WITH MY RELIGION!!! A true understanding of Christianity can be defined by just two simple words: “be GOOD” – meaning we should all be as good a people as we can be, period. I should hope that that is also what Islam is about, seeing as it is also a religion ‘of the book’, and I believe this is also the main point of Judaism.
    So have a heart, be good, and hey maybe we’ll all join one religion in the future, eh! Mujewchristlim, lol – -okay the name needs a little work.
    Furthermore, this principle can also be applied to other non-book religions. Buddhism is not only a religion, (some would say it is in fact not a religion at all) but is also a way of life, a philosophy of attaining some higher understanding of the world we live in and the worlds beyond. Anyway they also believe in the “be good” doctrine of life. In fact Osaka the Great of India, ruling around 300BC converted to Buddhism and was one of the first rulers of a major empire to declare all religions good and thus advocated for ‘freedom of religion’.
    I could espous all day about Taoism, Confusicism(that might be spelled wrong), etc. etc. but I think you get the idea, Religions can be great things that enlighten, inspire, and strengthen individuals, or they can illitcit fear, zenophobia, anger, and hatred.
    Never let your faith or your Religion tell you to be a bad person, always strive to be good.
    Finally, if you truely believe in Islam, then why are you afraid that if a Christian church moves into your country followers will leave your religion and come to mine(which both preach the same thing – be good). Also, we in Canada and the USA and countries all over Europe allow the construction of Mosques(I hope that’s spelled right)and the spread of Islam; so why can’t Christianity come to Saudi Arabia, eh . . . eh . . . eh!!!???!?!?!?
    Not that I care, cause I’m sure all Muslims are good people anyway! So to all the good people out there(including atheists) It’s just a building now put away the guns and ied’s and all have a nice peaceful day.

  35. PS Someone mintionsed a war between religions, what war? there’s no war! Chrisianity, Islam, and yes, even the Jews can all live together on one happy planet. And as a christian I would find it the worst possible thing if the world were to lose a religion such as Islam, because Islam adds to the religious diversity of our planet, as does Judaism, and many other religions. So just simmer down already, there will never be a religious war so long as I have anything to do about it!

  36. I think that the architect that made this huge building is very smart. and good for him,he made the largest cross in the world and im proud

  37. Sorry about Christian beliefs, Jesus didn’t died on cross, it’s just bluff, which was fornicated by some morons in early ages. If you don’t believe me then watch “Zeitgeist” Seeing is believing. Regarding Arabs they don’t care if anybody come across a built any sort of religious monuments in to their soil. On the contrary if it brings fame to their country…why not!

  38. It is true that a lot of the stories about Christianity (and particularly the nativity) are commonly found in astrology-based religions, including some Hinduist branches and Zoroastroism. However, there is also sufficient historical support that Jesus might have died on the cross.
    Firstly, the Romans did use crucification as a death penalty at the time. There exist archeological findings of crucificial crosses that have been dated to that time period, although no cross can be proven to be “the cross” (a Byzantine king did claim to have found the one cross, but it’s impossible to prove or disprove the fact). Secondly, the symbol of the cross was used since the early 200s AD, long before Christianity became a nation’s formal religion and long before there was any reason for political powers to refer to the cross as a means to guide the masses to their cause. Granted, political powers did abuse the cross later, but the cross was in use since several centuries prior to this. As such, I see no real reason for fabrication…unless you try to claim that the choice of the cross was to “take over” the symbol, since it has always been without argument one of the most commonly used geometical shapes/symbols.
    Finally, there exist few references from early ages saying that St.Peter denied being crossed as he felt unworthy of having the same death as his teacher (which resulted to him being crossed on an inverted cross, instead). The earlier references of the latter begin from over 100 years before the cross actually became a symbol of christianity (although I guess those could be fabricated, too).

    BTW, usage of the cross as a symbol for things (including christianity, but also many other uses):
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross

  39. It is only a design not a christens cross in these days many things are in the cross form like T.V antenna. It is only a coincidence in Islam there is no concept of cross so this building is only an architect

    frank riched

  40. BEING BORN IN DXB I HAVE BEEN VERY LUCKY TO HAVE LIVED AND SHARED A GOOD PART OF MY CHILD AND TEENAGE YRS THERE AND ONE THING THAT I KNOW IS THAT THE ARABS OF DUBAI BELIEVE THAT ALL FAITHS MUST LIVE IN HARMONY

  41. hi..
    i too am a christian…to tell eve1 the fact…the entire world goes according to christianity…ie the date,days everyhting is according to christian calenders ….den y does eve follow it?…its bcoz christianity is the truth…also eve one celebrates new year after the birth of jesus christ…i think there is no need of further clarification…

  42. It would not surprise me if the cross was designed on purpose to look like a cross. The main religion that uses the cross as a symbol is the Catholic church. (Protestant churches do not put such an emphasis on the symbol of the cross as they do on what the cross reminds them of which is Jesus’ amazing sacrifice.) The Catholic church has an influence which is far reaching which to the observant believer is a sad thought. God is a God of the Bible and any venture from that is an attempt to lead men to the power of something other than God. They and all the religions that have their roots in the Roman Catholic church are non-bible based religions even if they claim to that they are. There are 2 big examples of this fact. First of all the fact that the pope himself claims to be God on earth and has the power to forgive sin when the Bible says only God has the power to forgive. Second they switched the worship day (Sabbath) from Saturday to Sunday. Jesus worshiped on Saturday, His disciples worshiped on Saturday, and so did Paul and all the others that claimed to be followers of Jesus. UNTIL in 1566 at the Council of Trent the Catholic church decided that the pope had the power to change GOD’S LAW. No Bible believing person should believe that ANY man has the power to do that. But today all protestant religions worship on Sunday except the Seventh Day Adventist church. Sunday worship is no where in the Bible. For more info go to

    There are a lot of other examples of the Catholic church being unbiblical one of them being their history of endorsing the killing of others who do not believe in their religion e.g. the Crusades, the Reformation where they killed protestants, the French Revolution, all the way up to the Catholic church supporting Hitler’s Nazi movement (this fact is not wide spread but the evidence is there for those who seek it). Eleanor Roosevelt said herself in an interview during the WWII that the fact that the Catholic church supported Hitler would be hidden or forgotten. Do not take my word for it but search for truth yourselves. Do not let any person who teaches things that contradict the Bible trick you. I pray that you open your hearts and mind to what God wants to show you.
    God Bless. Love. Peace

  43. It can be cross but it couldn’t be a holy cross some things has religious mean so if it’s a plan to build a cross please try to demolish it.
    Keep Nature’s balance within each area I mean religious freedom, try to not to conquer any country
    puremind

  44. zem, you could not be any more ignorant!
    The calendar has almost nothing to do with Christianity. Let’s start with the days and months, as they are named in English (which follows closely with many other European languages; more so for the months than the days):
    Monday: Moon Day
    Tuesday: Tyr’s day
    Wednesday: Weden/Odin’s day
    Thursday: Thor’s day
    Friday: Frigg’s day (Frigg is basically the Norse equivallent of Venus/Aphrodite).
    Saturday: Saturn’s Day
    Sunday: Sun’s day
    Hmm…interesting. Lots of norse, celtic, and roman gods there. No christian references! Greeks use numbers (Monday is “second”, Tuesday is “Third” etc, except for Sabbat and Lord’s days, which are Saturday and Sunday, having equal attribution to pre-christian hebrew and christian belief). Japanese and Chinese still use the old names (gold, wood, fire, water, etc). I don’t know Arabic but I suspect the names of the days are likewise totally unrelated to Christianity for them too.

    Month names:
    January: Janus (God of beginnings)
    February: Februus (ancient god of purificatoin)
    March: Mars (God of war)
    April: Aprilis, the opener (blooming flowers)
    May: Maiesta, Goddess of Honor
    June: Juno, daughter of Saturn
    July: Julius Caesar
    August: Emperor Augustus
    September: Septem = 7 (SEVEN!!! NOT ELEVEN)
    October: Octo = 8
    November: Novem = 9
    December: Decem = 10

    Notice that the names of the months indicate that the first month of the year is March. It used to be March, actually…until JULIUS CAESAR changed it! Hence the JULIAN calendar.
    Also, most non-european languages that I know of, just refer to months by numbers or by the name they had for the month before they adopted the Julian Calendar.

    The Christians only made few variations to the calendar. One: The made minor corrections to the Julian Calendar because the julian calendar was falling about a day behind every few years and in the longrun it needed adjustment. Two: the christians decided to estimate Jesus’s birth year and name that as year 1. However, scientific evidence shows that King Herod died in 4 BCE! This means that either Jesus was born after Herod’s death and therefore all of christianity is a lie, or Jesus was born before Herod’s death and therefore our calendar is at least 4 years off, making it unrelated to Christianity (which is why Common Era and Before Common Era are much more appropriate than Anno Domini and Before Christ). In fact, currently we are in the year 2008 CE, which is somewhere around 2012 to 2018 AD.

    So…the reason people follow the Gregorian Calendar (which is a variation of the Julian Calendar) has absolutely nothing to do with whether christianity is the truth or not. If anything, it has to do with the fact that JULIUS CAESAR, a NON-CHRISTIAN emperor forced his calendar onto many nations, who eventually adopted the Gregorian corrections to the Julian Calendar, and who eventually became earth’s military and economic superpowers, spreading their calendar internationally.
    I should also add that many christian nations took a very long time to accept the Gregorian corrections. Many northern christians preferred to stay with the julian calendar for a very long time. Eastern christians made their own corrections to the julian calendar, independent of the gregorian one, eventhough they are indeed fairly similar.
    Most important factors to remember about calendars: what we have now is basically the calendar that Julius Caesar enforced, with the exception of when year 1 is assumed to be, which was meant to be assigned to the first year of Jesus’s life but failed miserably at that, thus it is NOT related to Christ.

    If you are going to try and pretend that you know some ultimate truth, please just TRY and be KNOWLEDGEABLE before you speak!

    N.S: What you say has a lot of truth in it. However, I find that “not” in your first sentence contradictory to most of the rest of the stuff you said. Primarily, the reason I’m saying this is: The building was architected by some Britisher. While Some Britishers are catholic, especially closer to the British-Irish sections, majority of Britishers are protestant, Agglicans, and other denominations of christianity, while even the Catholic Britishers have and still do protest against some of the Vatican practices. Therefore, if the addition of a cross was deliberate from a non-catholic, who (as you correctly point out) views little significance in the cross, that would be very surprising.
    Again, I’d like to emphasize that this is NOT shaped as a proper christian cross. Therefore, if a Christian designed it on purpose, having twisted and misshaped the cross, that would be almost like sacrilege and sinful on the Christian’s part. If a fanatical christian really wanted to purposely place a gigantic cross on that building, the cross WOULD be properly shaped!

  45. dear earthling….b4 u becum more ignorant….and think u are more knowledgeable..lemme tell u tht majority follows christianity….so first of all b4 speaking know the truth….people are not fools to follow religion in this way…..

  46. Zem: What you stated in your last post and what you were stating in your previous post are two VERY DIFFERENT things. In your first post you were claiming that the current calendar was due to christianity and that this showed how true Christianity is. What you mentioned last is merely that majority of the earth’s population believes in Christ and this shows how it’s true. VERY different things.

    And it’s true: Majority of earth’s population is Christian, but this is only by a small fraction (3 to 6%) from Muslims, and it comes after many years of witch-hunts that nearly eliminated all other European Religions.

    In addition, let me take a Socratian view on things: The fact that a majority believes something, does not necessarily make the majority right. Socrates suggests that people ought to respect the laws that were constructed by majority rule, but also strongly suggests that outside of laws one should ignore the majority and only follow the expert, if an expert exists. For example, majority of people tell you to lean your head back when you have a nose-bleed. On the other hand, experts suggest that leaning the head back is NOT good (as it sends blood clots down the throat) and instead recommend keeping the head straight, while applying slight pressure on the diaphragm and lightly massage the back of the neck. This stimulates/regulates blood flow and helps stop the nose-bleed.

    Now let me remind you that according to the majority, it was once believed that the Earth is flat. The Vatican even endorsed this view and even prosecuted people for teaching “a perverse and sinful doctrine … against God and his own soul” when said people suggested that the earth was not flat. This should be sufficient response that, actually yes, majority CAN be all fools.

    Note: I am not claiming that Christianity is wrong. I am a Christian, myself. I am only stating that majority belief in no way constitutes knowledge nor absolute truth.

  47. INteresting insights.
    I managed to find a collection of very intersting photos on the burj al arab that i’ve compiled from various sources-

    Let me know if you like it

  48. Dear readers,

    I wish my coment be the last. I am so amazed to see the cross in the heart of Arab country. I think it is a wakeup call to all readers who would like to get everlasting life. Unless you belive in Christ, who died on the CROSS and risen in the third day, you all will end up in to hell. This is the central message of our CROSS. If you have a HOLY BIBLE please read Jone 3-16.

    Glory to be the almighty God!

  49. I think that it is all well and true, but couldnt it have been a mistake by the arcetechs? (i apologize for the awful spelling…) anybody could have done it…

  50. NayNay: I really do not think it was a mistake. I believe it was a feature they really wanted to add to the building: that is, a deck which adds support to the structure while it also looks like a boat’s sail!

    Mesay: Once again, this is not a cross. Or will you now say that powerlines also bring the “light of God” to arabs, because their poles may sometimes look like this:
    http://www.themodernapprentice.com/power_lines1.jpg
    Come on, people…let’s please be reasonable.
    Also Mesay: If you wish to believe that YOU will go to hell if you lost faith in God, that’s fine. You can pray to your God to show mercy to people whom you feel are undeserving of Him or whatever. However, to go and THREATEN other people that they will suffer for all eternity just because they didn’t share the same belief as you is far and beyond your rights as a human being. Do realize that yes, you ARE threatening people! You may feel like you are doing them a favor, trying to “teach” them, or however you may wish to beautify and glorify your actions, but in fact you are just threatening people. And your own bible teaches that people should not threaten each other and those who threaten are doing evil (i.e. should go to hell)! As far as I can tell, then, Muslims who are pious and good people will go to heaven, but Christians who threaten Muslims of eternal damnation will go to Hell.

    Might I also remind you how badly the church has twisted the holy documents? How they started wars, murdered and burned people, and how they lead their own believers to fear, just so that the church retains or accumulates more power?!

    Christ taught people to be good. And all good actions were encouraged by Him. All good people, regardless of their religion, in truth follow the same good teachings all good religions teach. As a Christian you should be able to realize that all good people follow the same rules as those set by Christ. They all “follow” Christ (there goes another interpretation of John 3-16), even if they do not follow the name of Christ. Even if they actually follow Allah, Buddha, Shiva, Zeus, the Great Wolf, the Giant Snake, or whatever other deity and religion.
    But anyway, this is not a talk about which religion is right. This is about whether that deck on the building, along with the main vertical building line make up a cross or a boat’s sail, and whether this was purposely added by the architect as a brainwashing medium or whatever. To all this, I have stated again and again: It’s not a christian cross. It doesn’t even have the right shape for a christian cross. There is no reason to add a christian cross in such a building. If they wanted to add a christian cross as an insult to the arabs, it would be facing towards the ground, not towards the sea. There are hundreds of other “crosses” in that same country that are also not associated with christianity (antennas, powerline poles, crossroads, tiles, etc etc etc). There is no reason why anybody with at least half of a reasoning brain would imagine that this is a cross, that it was purposely placed, and that it aimed at a propaganda, or brainwashing, or raising controversy.

  51. although what I know in this major is a little, since I am still a student of architecture, but what I want to say is that it’s really a big shame for us the humans to talk in such a way even if we are christians or muslims like me, let us think in a scientific and logic way, a great building with that great height and dimensions need to have a support stong enough to protect it from collapse, for that reason I think the architect used the cross as a means for support, and he was perfectly right for using this type of support. It’s really hard to see people who are shallow waiting for any thing even if it was scientifically verified just to fight and talk in an illogical manner, but we can do nothing because it’s we, the humans.

  52. cross does not means any statue, its our intension to look to the matter. make sure that arab will not allow cristian to pray over there cross. cross is simple structure to resist load. this is all politics to create to one more terrorism issue.

  53. to an earthling i believe that one day you will come to know our lord jesus christ one day as your lord savior. you can run and be so ignorant for so long till the lord will take you aside and show you his true face and who he is and who you are in him. i believe that when you come to know him you will want to share with everyone and become a great pastor and you will influence many. i say this because i have seen it happen many times.

    as for the Burj al Arab it is shaped in a cross…by intention or not it is what it is…you can say it is a sign of hope you can say it is a mistake and want it removed but in the end it all comes down to you and your beliefs i believe that just like how the bible is inspired by god written by man this building was inspired by God and built by man as one of the tallest building which would draw attention to it and people would come to see his glory being shown through the little things

    there is a purpose and reason for all things after its done its been fullfilled so leave it at that… embrace the beauty… because all in all this would have never been here if God didn’t create the earth and all in it.

  54. some comments were out the subject; this is not a relegios website; some are trying to let others to follow their own relegion, or as if they are not respecting the other relegions. for those who don’t know islam is also the same as christianity, they are both relegions seeking for same goals and have the same foundations. And if you know nothing about islam you must read and dicuss your vision with others just as i must read about christianity. and stop saying that burj al arab is god’s miracle on earth; there are many other taller buildings and they are still standing, but they are not god’s miracle as you say. the cross is a matter of support not more, and if it was a christian cross and i don’t think it’s so; it is very silly and stupid way to let muslims follow what you believe by creating this cross in the middle of the arab world, because as for you; you deeply believe in your relegion and so we are, nothing can change our thoughts and beliefs just as you. and a very big note: we belief in christ as a prophet o god, a prophet for all the true and holy values. try to think logically and stop searching for any narrow window to speak arbitrary abd illogically for god’s sake. wish you all a happy year all of you and god bless islam and everyone else.

  55. Most people look for what they want to see in most things. That is human nature. I found this page because I was trying to find some information on the recommended proportions for a Christian cross, so that I could have one modified that seemed a bit too elongated. The typical aesthetically accepted ratio for a cross is a function of ‘The Golden Mean’ or a ratio of 1.618 H X 1.00 W. If this one above was intended to be a cross frankly it is a very poorly designed one.
    Rev Nicholas Randall

  56. do they have a mosque in vatican city? well? just like the vatican, saudi arabia (because of mecca) is sacred and therefore thare are no churches there.

  57. Lets face reality, first none of us have a heaven or hell to put anyone in. I don’t have to down grade anyone to tell them the tructh about Jesus. Whether or not the cross was done intentionally or somehow being unaware that he done it. Illregardless its a cross it don’t matter the size, dimentions, height, width. It does not mattter its a cross. And whenever you think of a cross, you can’t help but think about Jesus. For the the Scripture says that He will have a name above all names, and at his name every knee shall bow and every tongue will Confess that he is Lord.So whether we praise him now or when he returns God is still going to get the Glory. Even if you don’t want to deal with it or Face it, Its saying that God is still In control, So whether you think its a conincidence or not God is still Gloried whether you do it or not.Then God can seen a Storm and tear down the whole hotel and leave the GLORY STILL STANDING, and don’t tempt the Lord thy God.

  58. As a Muslim and a national from Dubai I believe it is disrespectful for anyone to think that this represents a Christian Cross, because this hotel and an entertainment please and people book a room for a leisure. What I mean is that Christian have a much higher meaning in our religious so it should be associated with holy pleases only.
    The top where the actually cross meet is a bar, for drinking, I hope people don’t judge the architect wrong by saying he has meaningfully done such an act.
    Going forward this hotel is making some serious money for profit and not for any other cause so maybe you can call or see it as you please.

  59. This is just an architecture. Even if it IS a cross, so what? Two pieces of building material crossing over each other do not ALWAYS make a Christian cross. Grow up people.

  60. Sorry about that. I take it back, it DOES look like a christian cross. It fills me with shame that we let such an insult slip through. Its too bad that our own incompetent architects were unable to design a building shaped like a crescent moon.

  61. To ramin
    You are very ignorant person.
    No one wants churches in Mecca ,only churches in Saudi Arabia.
    There are not mosques in Vatican but there are many in Rome !

  62. Ha ha ha… I can only laugh at it… someone must be reaaaaaallly crazy to believe it is a cross structure… and yeah I am a Christian… and I know how a cross looks… It is definitely not a cross :D

  63. The question, is the Burj Al Arab structure the world’s biggest cross?

    Categorically speaking, the answer is No. It is the world’s tallest hotel. Period.

    From a cultural standpoint, it is in every respect, representative of Dubai, a Moslem country, in view of its nautical heritage.

    But I do believe that the structure resonates a Christian philosophy as it does technically depend on the “cross” for support, meaning, the whole weight of the building basically depends on it.

    It looks as if the foundations of Islam depends on Christianity. At least, philosophically speaking.

  64. To Mohammad Ahsab Khan

    I thought finally here comes an Islam with an open mind, a Moslem who does not limit his God-given faculty for understanding with some myopic view or outlook of the world. But no, you just had to take it back, didn’t you? You almost won me over; now given your unfounded religious standing, I would say, you are the one who needs to grow up.

  65. It is of course a conspiracy theory and nothing else, people are trying to drag it a little too far.

  66. if its made with da purpose of christian cross wutver but i nt gonna help christianity to prosper i think there is thousands of islamic wonders in da world sau we dont believe in this

  67. Well I know if Iran ever decides to invade the UAE the first thing they would do is burn down this building.

    That would be the best thing Iran has ever and ever would do.

  68. In response to Lili: way to go. Your completely right.

    There are mosques in Rome, because christians are tolerant of other religions. However, the biggest proof of the IN-tolerance of the Muslim religion to other religions is the way you decide to call a city or a country a MUSLIM country. where the hell is the tolerance in that? A building is built with something that resembles a cross and a whole fuss is made and people want to destroy it and get it out of their country and culture, where the hell is the tolerance in that?
    and to all you people who called yourselves arabs out there, i am an arab too but i am a christian. stop making it seem like all arabs are muslims. there are a lot of christians in the middle east but they are all suffocated by the intolerance of the muslim religion. dont forget that christianity began in the arab world.

  69. It really does not matter if you build a cross in the islamic country. What matters is your intension.Architect designed with a bad intension and keept it secrete and deceived the employer.as we muslim belive in JESUS we know it it not the teaching of JESUS CHRIST to deceive people. if the designer is followers of JESUS he would not have done that. it clearely show how much he belive in teachings of JESUS.

  70. Jesus teachings or not, who said its a cross on purpose in the first place. This is the in-tolerance i was talking about, you think it resembles a cross, so you go and attack and condemn the architect because he put something that may resemble a cross in YOUR MUSLIM country. Seriously. Tolerance all the way.

  71. So, now that Switzerland has banned minarets on mosques, what is the spin on only Islamic countries being intolerant of other faiths?

    Followers of both (and any other “faith”) are on the wrong path, and the discussion of which is better is silly at best — and, as we know, a call to intolerance, oppression, and violence at the worst.

    When you purposely classify yourself in a way that separates you from mankind, makes claims of superiority, and has teachings which are entirely incompatible with the “beliefs” of others, violence is the destination of your path.

    “Tolerance” is a behavior Muslims and Christians (just examples) reserve for non-believers who don’t scare them. Once they become afraid, they all act the same towards those who hold incompatible, yet equally fantastic beliefs.

    If you feel some sympathy for the Swiss’ decision regarding minarets, then you also understand why the cross and other Christian symbols are routinely oppressed in the Islamic countries.

  72. Oh, last thing: it’s a sail with a mast. The cross-beam is called a spreader. Anyone who sees a cross in the Burj al Arab needs to visit a harbor and look at some sailboats.

    That the building’s shape serves as a Rorschach test for people who see something that isn’t there says much more about the viewer than it does anything about the building (or the builder).

  73. I think this is useless discussion regarding the cross sign beam of Burj al Arab. Leave it.
    May be this Burj al Arab world’s largest tower help business man to quit from this difficult situation or time.

    All the best!

  74. (Dear Moderator, can I get the email address of ‘An Earthling’, these are some of the most cogent arguments that I have read on how ‘little do we understand our own religions’ and would like to discuss them further)

    I was googling on the Burj Al Arab because I think its a beautiful building. I’m glad I ended on this blog and had a chance to go through all the comments and arguments.

    My humble request to all the people (except ‘An earthling’) on this discussion is to at least make a feeble attempt to understand their respective religions. At least spend sometime on Wikipedia actually reading about your religion and you will be surprised how little you know about what the Quran or even the Bible teaches.

    Also please do not make the mistake of READING these holy BOOKS take the trouble of UNDERSTANDING on how they want us to lead our lives.

    The Burj is just a beautiful building and all religions will just teach you to look at it that way

  75. This is a good proof that arabians are not bothered what other people are doing in their country.
    pls be noticed these kind of things.

  76. lols…. the writer of the article seems to be too jealous of the Muslim’s richess, architecture and culture and rather over possesed with his christianic ideology. No where in the world Muslims stop churches or religious buildings to be high or anything. A christian must understand that a Muslim’s faith can not complete without having faith in Jesus (with a Muslim point of view).
    This is just accidental that the other side of this building gives a cross look due to the restaurant and if these poor christians are happy to make it resemble a cross then let them be happy.
    The Bulidings are niether Muslim nor Christian nor Hindu….. buildings are just buildings …..

  77. I recently saw the interior of the building which is excellent. Why doesn’t the architect honestly say what did he have in mind when he designed the building?. If he has done something bad, he will surely be accountable with Allah for it?.

  78. They way muslims treat other religions in Islamic-dominated countries is appalling, this is some well deserved payback!

    Wether the designer intended it for Christian influence or not its still in the shape of a cross no matter how you look at it, honestly you muslims deserve this thrown in your face after all the sh*t you’ve given to everyone else.

    And looking at the quote “are you inspired by the extrodanary” with it purposely facing that perfect angle of the “cross” I’d say it’s more than a coincidence.
    Most Christians use those kind of sayings when speaking about Jesus or God so well, it’s kinda obvious.

    But in the end the only person who really knows if this was intentional is the designer himself.

  79. Well, I am not from UAE. But I kinda suspect that the symbol looks like a cross. It is not Anti-Muslim anyway. But it represents the greatest love of God and His perfect holiness. I put my trust in Jesus who paid for my sins on the cross and i am forgiven. I will live eternally with God because of Jesus’ cross and I invite you all to put your trust in Jesus. The architect might never have intended it. But now all the people of the world has a chance

  80. Well Forgiven… Sorry that you put your trust in Jesus..seems Jesus gets all the glory when its God who does all the work! Anyway, if you really a follower of Jesus why then do you not do like Jesus did?? Jesus did not eat pork, Jesus does not drink liquor, Jesus prostates himself when praying..Jesus was circumcised…Why…Why do you not follow Jesus but instead follow that enemy of Jesus…Paul aka Saul?? Paul was the one who claimed the divinity of Jesus, allows drinking of liquor & eating of pork etc etc all the stuft that modern christianity had been blindly following. Ask yourself then…Are you a follower of Jesus or are you a follower of Paul? Jesus throughout claimed to be a son of men, never once did he claimed to be son of God. Can you show me anywhere in the Bible that Jesus said he was the son of God?? You know (that if assuming you know your bible well and depending on which hundreds of version of the bible you follow – there is only ONE QURAN….Praise be to Allah!)

  81. I have really enjoyed reading all comments. I can only say that this is doen in God’s will and He allowed this so that people in teh dark may see the Light. If they refuse to see it, then it is their problem. Jesus would never bring anyone to Kingdom of god by force. he has given us all free will, so that we can make our own decision. I am sure that many have seen light and have come to Christ by seeing light of this cross. It may be God’s Grace that when Dubai was going through financial crisis, it did not collapse all together – some good has saved this wonderful city. It could be this largest cross overlooking the city from the sea.

  82. Dear Joyesmith, buildings are and have always been the central part of religion. Manys wars have been foughts because of buildings – In India the case of Ayodhya temple and Babri masjid is all about building. So how can you say it is absurd. I am sure that this building is committed to Christ with the symbol attached to it and it will draw many to His kingdom. The Cross may be offensive to many but it is a symbol of salvation. The message of the cross is a stumbling block to some (1 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 5:11)

  83. i really enjoyed this conversation..but…please..dont talk about our pure religion over a building..its not worth it..dont pissd each other off..n im sure whtevr religion it is all of it must said tht we human hav to respect each other..its juz a building a beautiful 1..butthe thing is..the structure arent really suit in land of ARAB coz it is land of islam come from..it may hav offense many ppl..but plz..dun take it to the heart..its true cross is almost anywhere so do most of thing tht we didnt realise..im a muslim i believe in ALLAH S.W.T. the creator..n im also juz a dude tht hav a clear mind..
    love n peace.

  84. I’m glad it looks like a Cross. It send a message to all Muslims that we Christians will not be persecuted. If Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia do not allow Churches then every single Mosque in Europe should be torn down or converted into a Christian Church. They complain how bad Europe is yet they come to our countries. Stay out! You are not wanted! Neither are your cult buildings!

  85. I’m a Christian, and I didn’t think it looked like “the Christian cross”, and big-whoop anyway, I’m pretty sure – as reading some replies above – that it’s a part of the architecture of the building and is very necessary.

    If they were to hang a figure of a huge body on it, then that would spark proper debate, or perhaps war…

  86. The fact that they avoid to show the other side of Burj al Arab supports the idea of a cross… no one is showing it, not Atkins website, not Tom Wright website… not even a single website related to Dubai or UAE.

  87. i will say that anything could be happend. catch that designer ask him with torture ofcourse he will not say because he think if he will die without teelling the truth he will go direct heaven. and kill him because muslims know there is no heaven for christion and only ALLAH send EISA(A.S) to make people muslim but as now happening third party refuse EISA(A.S) and after his gone they said he is a son of god(naa). so they make a new genretaion in the face of christion and now the same roll are rolling. they will make a new generation not for EISA(A.S) but for {DAJJAL}

  88. It’s all about architecture. It has nothing to do with religion or whatsover. I think its not offensive at all if you’re open-minded. Muslims, u have the right to be offended if this “cross” is facing Meccah.
    I have nothing against muslims,and I respect them. In fact I lived in dubai for 20yrs and 3yrs in qatar. I also read the Quoran eventhough I’m a roman catholic. And just so u know, Islam started when an angel appeared to prophet Mohammed. I think both religion should stop arguing about this,and they should respect each other. Just appreciate this work of art. I’ve seen the big progress of this emirate since
    4 yrs old. I must say that Dubai has first become famous because of the Burj al Arab.

  89. And I think, before putting this structure into a reality, the Sheikh has to check and approve its blueprint. Every project/structure/infrastructure must undergo Sheikh’s approval in UAE.

  90. Ridiculous isn’t it?)))

    Assuming the crucifix was deliberately built into the building, then it wouldn’t mean anything to Muslims for several reasons: 1st – because cross is just a geometric shape to us and it existed thousand years before Christianity; 2nd – One can find cross shape in any building if one wants; 3rd – Muslims do not believe in things like stones, wood, icons, statues and monuments, shapes and forms.
    Although we respect Jesus and Mary as one of the most respected persons in Islam we do not believe in cross as it was introduced long after Christianity got its popularity hence it is even foreign to Christianity itself. Early Christians did not treat the shape of cross as it is done by contemporary Christians.

    I personally have doubts that the architect did it in purpose. Even if so, what’s the point after all of putting crucifix on the land where it does not have any meaning…as we, Muslims, do not tie religion with visual and tangible objects, instead we treat religion by its meaning independent of visual, sensible or material support any material shape or object.

  91. I read all the comments above(what waste of time), and just found a few sensible comments others are pure BS!

    IT IS NOT A CROSS!!!

  92. If they have to remove the building bcoz it’s a muslim country, shouldnt they also ban all Chevrolet cars because their logo is also a cross ????
    hehehe

  93. it is nothin related to religion
    sum idiot found it out to break the unity of muslims and the america to be more harsh with the muslims i sincerely think that this is really needed or required for the structure of the building

  94. this is ridiculous. if this is a cross, then the plus symbol in math can’t be used. what about that symbol on your keyboard? Hey don’t touch it!? notice that red button on the top right of your Windows PC monitor? don’t click it cuz it’s a rotated cross, or a cross literally. so don’t close this window! don’t get me started on the letter ‘t’ on any any ANY keyboard, laptop, phone etc!

    as a muslim myself, I can’t believe this kind of mindset even exist anymore in the 21st century! it is this mindset that keeps these people from moving forward. Grow UP and be intelligent! also don’t argue about the rules of religions. these rules were set like thousands of years ago and don’t tell me we haven’t changed since then! some aren’t even practical anymore and it only brings us back to the stone age which seriously something you wouldn’t want too right. lame x infinity. oh no i typed a ‘x’!

  95. as everybody told,its not at possible to build a masjid in british country..but the british built a biggest christian cross in a muslim country…this is only because of the uae poor rule..y they allowed a british to design that…its too late to speak abt this matter…

  96. better remove sky bar from burj al arab
    (+)– and if this arami dubai need money can re build sky bar at back side..no one will get hurt due to this symbol:-)

  97. burj al arab claim the 7th star hotel. they don’t have an idea what makes it a 7th star hotel, the cross, of course. ha ha

  98. Try to remove the cross in burj al arab hotel, the entire building will collapse. Because the cross is served as the foundation of the building.

  99. Even if it’s Cross Cross, a geometric shape has no value, but after what Ihouda as the cross of Christian religious belief

    As for the sweeper in Saudi Arabia there is no need for the claims it has no built in the country Msihristin
    But mosques Vord God pure in any place to stay links

    Thank you for your message Kharafi

  100. If its a cross then WHAT? Is anybody loosing sleep over it?muslims u guys really need to stop being barbaric, tear the building down then i guarantee u nothing better than that building will ever happen in uae!for Christ’s sake just appreciate nature at its best without any hard feelings.

  101. well , when a Christian people build the tower , don’t ask. but i see that the Architect doesn’t mean to design it like .

  102. As I Christian even I think this is a load of lies. Stop trying to create stories out of nothing or perpetuating unsubstantiated nonsense. Every right angled joint could be considered a cross the same way partially viewing a circle represents a crescent. Does anyone use their brain anymore?

  103. it is all maind sat if u think it is a cross so it is not rong but if u think it is a jast a shape so u r also right so dipend on u,

  104. Nonsense, why you don’t talk about the Plus sign which is filling all math. books in arabian world? everywhere there are thousands of crosses, and half moon signs.
    I don’t think that christians will prohibit banana for its shape.

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