In the 600s and 700s Islam arrived to the region and the people accepted this religion. It didn't alter their diets or even their architecture (as a primarily nomadic people there was little), but their lifestyles changed to meet the restrictions and rules of the new religion. Since this time the people have had greater outside contacts as new foods were introduced and their language became more uniform with the rest of the Arab world.
From a visual perspective, in the villages little has changed in the U.A.E. as the people continue to dress in their "National Dress," their homes remain traditional, and their foods are heavily influenced by the Lebanese cuisine, which arrived shortly after Islam. In fact, many locals share this culture in the cities, but the lifestyle is vastly different as business drives most schedules and life seems more complex. However both in the villages and in the cities the culture is changing, and at a very rapid pace.
With the discovery of oil in the U.A.E. in the 1900s the country became a rich and highly influential country. As the government controlled these resources and the income derived from it, they modernized their country quickly by building modern buildings, roads, transportation hubs, and introducing computers, televisions, and other technology. Today, the people have accepted these items while retaining traditional aspects of their culture, most notably in the form of dress and religion. Despite this, most locals own cars, have high-paying jobs, and have access to, and the resources to afford, the world's best technology.
Much of the U.A.E.'s economic success comes from free trade, oil, and foreign workers. As foreign workers arrive, the locals receive the higher paying jobs and if there is a smaller demand for jobs, the government simply lets fewer immigrant workers into the country to guarantee the locals have jobs. This essentially makes the local population the upper class in a multi-classed society.
Due to the growing number of jobs, the foreigners have changed the culture to a substantial degree. These people, from every part of the world, have brought with them new dress, foods, religions, and a new way of life. Despite clinging to their traditional roots, the local Emirati people, at least in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have grown accustomed to Italian, Indian, and American food as they have grown extremely tolerant of religious, ethnic, and cultural differences. With this comes constant pressure as the local people (most particularly the sheiks) feel obligated to cater to the foreign population, who is running their economy in some ways. This has led to a difficult balance of maintaining the traditional, while integrating the foreign. This has also led to a growing pride in being Emirati by some as traditional dress, clothing, language, and lifestyle are points of emphasis and pride by the locals.