ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates will change and standardise the timing of the Friday sermon and prayer across the country from 2 January 2026, the General Authority of Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Zakat (Awqaf) said.

Under the new schedule, Friday prayers and the sermon (khutbah) will be held at 12:45pm local time in all mosques nationwide.

Previously, Dubai and Abu Dhabi generally held Friday prayers at around 1:30pm local time, while Sharjah and some northern emirates conducted the prayer at around 12:30pm local time. 

The new rule brings every mosque in the country under a single, unified timing.

The authority urged worshippers to arrive early to avoid missing the sermon and to ensure they receive the full religious reward, emphasising the importance of punctuality.

Officials said the decision aims to improve organisation and ensure consistent prayer timings across all emirates, supporting better crowd management and community coordination.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday issued an executive order that has stirred deep unease and controversy among Muslims, civil rights organisations, and legal experts across the United States.

In that order, he designates the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, as “foreign terrorist organi[s]ations.”

The move comes exactly one month after Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a similar proclamation against CAIR in his state, a measure that CAIR is already challenging in federal court. With Florida now following suit, the legal and political battle around the organisation has widened significantly.

Governor DeSantis, who typically rolls out major executive actions at high-profile public events, chose a markedly quieter route this time.

He posted the order on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, announcing that it would take effect immediately. Within hours, the move had sent a chill through Muslim communities and civil rights circles nationwide, not least because this is the first time that two major US states have sought to label as “terrorist” an organisation that, for three decades, has been active in US courts and legislative halls defending the Constitution, civil liberties, and religious freedom.

In a joint statement, CAIR’s national office and its Florida chapter condemned the order as unconstitutional, malicious, baseless, and politically motivated, and declared that they will also challenge Florida’s action in federal court.

The statement argued that Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is a legitimate American civil rights organisation that for years has worked to defend free speech, religious liberty, civil rights, and justice for the Palestinian people, and that it is precisely for this reason that his administration has chosen to target it.

The Florida order asserts that some of CAIR’s founders had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, an organisation that has come under intensified scrutiny in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attack and the broader security discourse that followed.

By highlighting alleged ideological links between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, the order attempts to pull CAIR into the same orbit. CAIR, however, has consistently and emphatically rejected these accusations, stressing that it has no connection to Hamas or to any other such group.

Unlike Texas, Florida’s order does not bar CAIR or the Muslim Brotherhood from purchasing property in the state, but it does issue sweeping instructions to state agencies.

They are directed not to award contracts, grants, funding, employment, or any form of state benefit to these organisations or to any individual, entity, or supporter deemed to be associated with them.

The order further assigns responsibility to Florida’s Domestic Security Oversight Council to review existing state laws and regulations and to recommend additional measures or restrictions against the two organisations. Those recommendations are to be submitted to state leaders by January 6, 2026.

Viewed in a broader political context, the order fits into a longer pattern of criticism directed at Governor DeSantis for his hard line against American Muslims and pro-Palestinian groups.

According to CAIR, DeSantis held his first official cabinet meeting in Israel, funneled millions of Florida taxpayers’ dollars into Israeli bonds, and sought to shut down Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters on state university campuses — an effort that CAIR challenged in court and successfully forced him to retreat from.

CAIR argues that these steps are part of a systematic attempt to silence American Muslims and marginalise voices critical of US policy toward Israel.

In their press release, CAIR’s national office and its Florida chapter described DeSantis as an “Israel First” politician who prioritises the interests of a foreign state over the US Constitution, civil rights, and the peaceful civic engagement of American Muslims.

They noted that whenever CAIR has taken its unconstitutional actions to court, the governor has been compelled to step back. Now, they contend, he is seeking instead to smear the organisation and attach false labels to it. The statement pledged that CAIR will defeat this latest political stunt in court, “where decisions are based on evidence, not conspiracy theories,” and called on all Americans to speak out against the order.

Last month, the Muslim Legal Fund of America, the CAIR Legal Defense Fund, and a team of prominent attorneys filed suit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, arguing that branding an American civil rights organisation as a “foreign terrorist organi[s]ation” without trial, evidence or due process violates the federal Constitution and the fundamental rights of US citizens. That case remains ongoing, and Florida’s new order has only deepened the legal and constitutional questions now before the courts.

Taken together, these developments have created a new moment of crisis for American Muslims. On one side is the post-October 7 climate of heightened surveillance and suspicion, exacerbated by isolated incidents such as a fraud scandal involving members of the Somali community in Minnesota and a shooting by an Afghan immigrant.

On the other are two powerful states now attempting to designate a nationwide Muslim civil rights group as a terrorist entity.

CAIR describes this as a grave assault on civil liberties in US history, a direct attack on the identity and legitimacy of American Muslims and a clear violation of constitutional principles.

Governor DeSantis’s decision has opened the door to a far-reaching legal and political confrontation, and the coming months are likely to be critical for the future of both constitutional rights and minority protections in the United States.

The decision appears to settle a US debate about whether Nvidia and rivals should maintain their global lead in AI chips by selling to China or withhold the exports, though Beijing has told companies not to use US technology, leaving it unclear whether Trump’s decision would lead to new sales.

Nvidia shares rose 2pc in after-hours trading after Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, following a 3pc rise during the day on a report by Semafor.

Trump said in his post that he had informed President Xi Jinping of China, where Nvidia’s chips are under government scrutiny, about the move and that he “responded positively.”

He said the US Commerce Department was finalising details of the arrangement and the same approach would apply to other AI chip firms such as Advanced Micro Devices and Intel.

Trump’s post said the fee to be paid to the US government was “$25 per cent”, and a White House official confirmed he meant 25 per cent, higher than the 15 per cent proposed in August.

“We will protect national security, create American jobs, and keep America’s lead in AI,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Nvidia’s US customers are already moving forward with their incredible, highly advanced Blackwell chips, and soon, Rubin, neither of which are part of this deal.”

Trump did not say how many H200 chips would be authorised for shipment or what conditions might apply, only that exports would occur “under conditions that allow for continued strong national security.”

Administration officials consider the move a compromise between sending Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips to China, which Trump has declined to allow, and sending China no US chips at all, which officials believe would bolster Huawei’s efforts to sell AI chips in China, a person familiar with the matter said.

“Offering H200 to approved commercial customers, vetted by the Department of Commerce, strikes a thoughtful balance that is great for America,” Nvidia said in a statement.

Intel declined to comment. The US Commerce Department, which oversees export controls, and AMD did not respond to requests for comment.

A White House official said that the 25pc fee would be collected as an import tax from Taiwan, where the chips are made, to the United States, where the chips will undergo a security review by US officials before being exported to China.

Asked about the approval on Tuesday, the Chinese foreign ministry said that China believes it should cooperate with the US to achieve mutual benefits.

Fears of chips strengthening China’s military

China hawks in Washington are concerned that selling more advanced AI chips to China could help Beijing supercharge its military, fears that had first prompted limits on such exports by the Biden administration.

The Trump administration had been considering greenlighting the sale, sources told Reuters last month.

Trump said last week he met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and that the executive was aware of where he stood on export controls.

“It’s a terrible mistake to trade off national security for advantages in trade,” said Eric Hirschhorn, who was a senior Commerce Department official during the Obama administration.

“It cuts against the consistent policies of Democratic and Republican administrations alike not to assist China’s military modernisation.”

According to a report released on Sunday by the non-partisan think tank, the Institute for Progress (IFP), the H200 would be almost six times as powerful as the H20, the most advanced AI semiconductor that can legally be exported to China, after the Trump administration reversed its short-lived ban on such sales this year.

The Blackwell chip now in use by US AI firms is about 1.5 times faster than H200 chips for training AI systems, the IFP said, and five times faster for inferencing work where AI models are put to use. Nvidia’s own research has suggested Blackwell chips are 10 times faster than H200 chips for some tasks.

Several Democratic US senators in a statement described Trump’s decision as a “colossal economic and national security failure” that would be a boon to China’s industry and military.

Republican Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the House China Select Committee, said in a statement to Reuters that China would use the chips to strengthen its military capabilities and surveillance.

“Nvidia should be under no illusions – China will rip off its technology, mass-produce it themselves and seek to end Nvidia as a competitor,” he said.

In recent months, Beijing has cautioned Chinese tech companies against buying chips that Nvidia downgraded to sell to the Chinese market, which are the H20, RTX 6000D and L20, two sources said.

George Chen, partner at consultancy The Asia Group, said he expected Chinese regulators to soften their hardline approach to Nvidia following Trump’s comments on Xi’s reaction, given efforts to improve US–China relations. The H200 was also far more useful to China than the H20, he said.

“I expect state media to gradually change their narrative and be more welcoming to Nvidia,” he said.

Bo Zhengyuan, political analyst at consultancy firm Plenum, said he also believed that Beijing would be more cautious about intervening.

“But on a longer horizon, we don’t know how long this window can last. China will not be disturbed by this easing, and it will remain ultra-focused on gaining advanced chip-making capability of its own,” he said.

China’s domestic AI chip companies now include tech giant Huawei Technologies as well as smaller players such as Cambricon and Moore Threads.