A friend from America returning by one Muslim country (5)

I believe the answer is:

dubai

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'muslim country' is the definition.
'dubai' can be an answer for 'country' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'muslim' bit.

'a friend from america returning by one' is the wordplay.
'friend from america' becomes 'bud' (bud or buddy, US slang for a friend).
'returning' says the letters should be written backwards.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'a'+'bud'='abud'
'abud' reversed gives 'duba'.
'duba'+'i'='DUBAI'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dubai that I've seen before include "One of the UAE and its capital" , "Country" , "Persian Gulf emirate" , "sheikdom?" , "One of the United Arab Emirates" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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