Everything is relative...

"cultured, cosmopolitan, forward-looking, yet treasuring its past."
- Sounds like Qatar and more up my street than Dubai.

"Part of the outrage appears to stem from the realisation that these states are not fun-and-business parks with European values and governance that just happen to be in the Arabian Gulf."
- Normal human behaviour to want to have others conform and not tolerate, appreciate and learn from differences.