Kuwait

Kuwait is a small Arab country located in the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, between Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Persian Gulf. It is a constitutional monarchy and one of the richest countries in the world, due to its huge oil reserves. The overwhelming majority of the population—roughly 1 million citizens—is Muslim. The majority

of them are Sunnī, while 15%–30% of the population are Shi'a.

Beside the local citizens, Kuwait hosts an important community of immigrants—around 2.4 million, which is to say more than twice the indigenous population! The large majority of them come from Asia—Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines—while many Arab and European expatriates also work there. Most of these immigrants are Muslims, though the Christians—among the Europeans and the Philippine workers, for instance—are numerous too. Hindus and adherents of other religions—Baha'is, Buddhists, Sikhs, and others—are also present among the Asian immigrants. In theory, non-Muslims enjoy freedom of belief, and they can practice their own religions; the country hosts several Christian churches, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and other places of worship. In practice, some cases of religious discrimination have been reported by external observers, including against the indigenous Shi'a minority, who, for instance, have encountered problems in the construction of new mosques.

Specific initiatives have been undertaken for Muslim immigrants as well as for non-Muslims who would like to convert to Islam: for instance, the use of various target languages such as English, Urdu, Tamil, Tagalog, Malayalam, or Telugu in religious books, courses, and even Friday sermons.

Though Kuwait has a parliamentary system, religion plays an important role in the political life of the country. The constitution states that the religion of the state is Islam and that the Shari'a, the Islamic law, is the main source of legislation. Many political parties are related to religious opinions: The Islamic Constitutional movement and the Islamic Salafi Alliance target the Sunnī citizens, while the national Islamic Alliance and the Justice and Peace Alliance are considered to be Shi'a parties.

Islam also plays an important role in the economy, since business, banking, and insurance must be practiced according to the Shari'a, which prohibits, for instance, the charging of interest on money lent.

Along with Saudi Arabia and Libya, Kuwait is a major actor in Islamic proselytism (da'wah) all over the world, through institutions and Islamic nongovernmental organizations such as the African Muslim Agency (AMA), by funding various development projects and by the building and restoration of [Page 681]mosques, by the distribution of Ramadan meals, and so on.