Justin Bieber is doing a particularly long/grueling world tour, working name the Believe Tour. One of his stops is in Dubai, tonight and tomorrow.

A certain segment of the local population — the usual Bieber demographic of girls ages 10 to 14, or so — has gone ape.

And what went on today demonstrates at least two points.

1. The world continues to shrink. Thirty years ago, maybe even 10 or 15, pubescent girls in the UAE would not be very clear on the notoriety of a 17-year-old Canadian singer/dancer. Now? They know; the Western expats, for sure, and more than a few others, too. And apparently his shows attract a fair number of mega-fans who travel long distances to see him perform, again and again.

2. Hard to tell what sort of staying power the kid will have, but at the moment he is huge. So huge that an afternoon rumor that he was at Dubai Mall today produced roving packs of teeny boppers at the mall, Beliebers, as they are known, looking for the 19-year-old star.

And we took this seriously enough, at The National, that a photographer in Dubai was assigned to search Dubai Mall for Beliebers … and he regretted to say he could not find them. The rumor of JB being there having been untrue, and the fans having (apparently) dispersed. (Though Dubai Mall is so enormous, one photographer might well be able to miss a large gathering.)

So, here in the UAE … you hear the call to prayer five times a day, you live among millions of socially conservative people … and Justin Bieber gets off a plane and things get nutty.