Perspectives on Kuwait
A Pictorial Essay
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Geoff Dougherty
Professor of Physics
California State University – Channel Islands
Quick lesson in Arabic
Kuwait and its neighbors
Kuwait
Kuwait City
1991: Relief of liberation
1992: damage apparent
Abandoned Iraqi tank
The people
1. The Bedu
2. The Hathar
Hospitality – coffee and tea
The Souk
The Friday Souk
The Fish Souk
Women
• Qur'an 2:228
And it is for the women to act
as they (the husbands) act by
them, in all fairness; but the
men are a step above them.
• Qur'an 4:34
Men are in charge of women,
because Allah hath made the
one of them to excel the other,
and because they spend of their
property (for the support of
women). So good women are
the obedient, guarding in secret
that which Allah hath guarded.
As for those from whom ye fear
rebellion, admonish them and
banish them to beds apart, and
scourge them. Then if they
obey you, seek not a way
against them. Lo! Allah is ever
High, Exalted, Great.
National and Liberation days …
Modern shopping malls …
Cars …
Car wrecks
Architectural styles
New houses…..
Us …
Eating ……
Mosques
www.memritv.org
Darker side …..
Persecution of Ex-Muslims
• Islam is the only
religion in the World
which does not give
freedom to its
followers to change
their faith. According
to Shariah Laws,
Muslims who leave
Islam must be
sentenced to death.
• But if they turn renegades, seize
them and slay them wherever
ye find them (Quran 4:89)
• ….for the Prophet said, If
somebody (a Muslim) discards
his religion, kill him . (Hadith –
alBukhari 4:52:260))
• …according to the statement of
Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever
changed his Islamic religion,
then kill him.' (Hadith –
AlBukhari 9:84:57)
Kuwait: Persecuted Convert
Flees to America
• October 7, 1996
• After six months in the limelight of unprecedented
international advocacy, Hussein Qambar Ali, a Muslim
convert to Christianity, fled his native Kuwait in mid-August
to an undisclosed location in the United States.
• Christian Solidarity International (CSI), an
interdenominational human-rights group that helps persecuted
Christians, flew the 44-year-old former Muslim out of
Kuwait.
• Hussein, who has changed his first name to Robert, was ruled
an apostate by an Islamic court on May 29. Under Islamic
law, any Muslim who deserts Islam is forcibly divorced,
divested of parental and inheritance rights, and subject to
execution if unrepentant.
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Although abuse was prevalent before the Iraqi occupation,25 the treatment of
Asian maids took a turn for the worse following liberation,26 a trend now
acknowledged by Kuwaiti officials.27 Every year since liberation, over 2,000
Asian maids have sought shelter in their embassies. Most who fled their
employers complained of rape, physical abuse, mistreatment or non-payment
of wages, according to information we obtained from foreign embassies in
Kuwait, Kuwaiti government officials, journalists, U.S. State Department
officials and others.
In April 1995 over 200 maids were sheltered at the Philippines embassy, 150 at
the Sri Lankan embassy and smaller numbers at other embassies. Without
offering alternative shelters, the Kuwaiti government repeatedly asked
embassies not to offer refuge to runaway maids.
Prompted by reports of abuse in Kuwait, the Philippines government banned
Filipinas from going to work in Kuwait as maids. Nonetheless, many Filipinas
still travel to Kuwait to work as housemaids, although some are lured by false
promises of other kinds of jobs.
The ruling family – the Al Sabahs
The ruling family – the Al Sabahs (up to
2006)
Kuwait University – Shuwaikh campus
Students and faculty
Kuwait
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 8, 2006
The government improved its human rights record by granting women the right to
vote; however, serious problems remained. The following human rights
problems were reported:
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no right to change the government
abuse of and alleged torture of detainees
official impunity
poor prison conditions in certain facilities
restricted civil liberties--freedoms of speech, press, assembly and association
limited freedom of religion and of movement
corruption
violence and discrimination against women, especially noncitizens
abuse of noncitizen domestic workers
unresolved legal status of bidoon Arabs
restricted worker rights
Summary
• Most Kuwaitis do not support Islamic
fundamentalists …. but there is little tolerance for
other religions …
• There is an underclass of exploited foreign labor ...
• Kuwaiti women struggle to assume a
greater role outside the home …