Church in Kuwait waiting for land
James Calderwood
Last Updated: Nov 4, 2010
KUWAIT CITY // Religious hardliners on the Kuwait City municipal council are preventing Christians from obtaining land to build houses of worship, the leader of the Greek Catholic Church here said.
"The municipal council is the big problem preventing us from getting land; not all of the members, just the Islamic fundamentalists," said Archimandrite Boutro Gharib this week after the municipal council blocked an attempt by the church to acquire land in Mahboula, an area in the Ahmadi governorate south of Kuwait City.
"The government and even the emir himself have given their approval and blessing for our church to have a property," Mr Gharib said. "The council didn't give us any reason."
Mr Gharib said his church has been asking for land for several years to relieve overcrowding in the villa where they currently worship. He said the municipal council has turned down their request every time.
Mohammed al Hadiya, a member of the council, denied there was religious discrimination at play.
"Don't listen to the rumours. We don't mind about the church - the issue is about the area where they want to build," said Mr al Hadiya. "There is not enough parking in that place. It would be too crowded."
Mr al Hadiya said the council did not vote against building a church but in favour of changing the proposed site. After the municipality selects another area, the council will vote on the proposal again, he said.
"This is the first time we have dealt with this request," Mr al Hadiya said. He said the suggestion that there are extremists on the municipal council is "not correct", and stressed that it "respects all religions".
The church said the government had proposed an area of 7,500 square metres that included land for buildings and parking. Elian Farah, a board member of the Greek Catholic Church, said the government suggested parishioners use the parking facilities of two schools that are being built nearby on the weekends and the evenings in addition to their dedicated parking area.
Mr al Hadiya said the council did not consider a specific land area in their deliberations.
"We're looking for a better place for people to pray," said Mane al Ajami, the chairman of a committee in the Ahmadi governorate that gives recommendations to the council on how land should be used. He said a previous decision to allocate land for school parking would have to be cancelled before a church could be built on the proposed site.
"This is different from what we have been told," Mr Farah said.
Archimandrite Gharib said his church is paying 1,900 Kuwaiti dinars (Dh25,000) a month for a villa that is shared by two other congregations. He said if they cannot find land soon, the church will have to close. "It's all excuses. It's all lies," he said. "Every time they promise, but all their promises are for nothing."
Jassim al Randi, the manager of the chairman of the council's office, said the suggestion that the council has refused land for the church is "propaganda". He said if an area is selected that does not conflict with car parks, schools or government buildings, the council will approve the proposal within two or three weeks.
Jassim al Mubaraki, head of the Arab world department at the ministry of foreign affairs, who has been liaising with the church on behalf of the government for about a year, said the church's failure to secure land is "a technical issue".
"They oppose maybe the size of the land itself," Mr Mubaraki said. "We will find a solution - this is not finished yet." Kuwait is, and will remain, a country where religion is practised freely, he said.
The Greek Catholic community here, which consists of around 650 families, is not the only Christian group struggling to find space to worship in Kuwait. Around 460,000 Christians share four official churches - two Catholic, an Evangelical and an Anglican - and one more Coptic church is under construction.
Bishop Camillo Ballin, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's Catholics, recently said his church hosts 46 services every week, 28 of which are crammed into Saturday.
"There are four official places of worship, and up to 60 congregations who worship outside in villas, hotels and schools," said Andrew Thompson, the Anglican chaplain to Kuwait from 2006 to 2010, who is now based in Abu Dhabi.
Kuwait is in a perpetual state of tension between religious hardliners and moderates, and giving permission for Christians to build churches would be like waving a "red rag" to Wahhabis, who believe Islam should be the only religion practised in Arabia, Rev Thompson said.
"We found the higher levels of government say yes and the lower levels of government say no" to new churches, he said, adding that the municipality is controlled by religious fundamentalists.
The one success the Christian community has had in the past 40 years was when the Egyptian Copts secured land for a new church, but even they have had trouble getting a building permit, Rev Thompson said. "We know what's going on - it's appeasement."
jcalderwood@thenational.ae
Thursday 4 November 2010
Wednesday 16 June 2010
farewell to chaplain from Arab Times
‘Kuwait is a safe country for Christian Community’
Rev Thompson to embark on new journey
KUWAIT CITY, June 14: Being the Chaplain of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi in Muslim Kuwait has been a very delightful and educational journey according to Reverend Andrew Thompson and the Christian community can testify that he has brought comfort to many lives.
Sadly some journeys must come to an end for new ones to begin and Rev. Thompson’s new adventure will be taking place in Abu Dhabi where he will reside as the Senior Chaplain of The Church of Abu Dhabi. He will be heading off to the Gulf state with his wife and three children at the end of June.
“I am going to be enormously sad about leaving Kuwait. Kuwait is a very interesting country because there is such a diversity of people here. The people who leave their home country to come to work and live here are very motivated and it has been very rewarding meeting people like that,” said Rev. Thompson speaking to the Arab Times.
Awareness
Reflecting on his time in Kuwait, Reverend Thompson, who was also a regular columnist for the Arab Times, recalled first coming to the country and being surprised at how large the Christian community was here.
Like many people around the world, he believed that Kuwait as a Muslim country meant that there were a lot of restrictions on Christians practicing their faith and he was amazed to find out that the opposite was true.
“When I came to Kuwait, it was basically the tail end of the second Gulf War. There were a lot of expatriates here who were wrapping up the business in Iraq. There were a lot of military in the Churches and there was always the awareness that there was a war going on and there was real tension,” he recalled.
Rev Thompson remembered being called by the British Embassy of Kuwait to go visit a British soldier who has been wounded in action at Al-Sabah Hospital. He had lost an arm in a mortar attack. “That was a reminder to me that Kuwait is really in a very hot spot. Then Iraq became more and more invisible.”
“In my four years in Kuwait, never once have I had any negative contact with the Kuwaiti government and I’ve not had any experience of trouble or hostile persecution. Non of that exists here,” assured the Rev. Thompson.
In order to promote the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the state of Kuwait, the Reverend authored a book entitled ‘The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf’ and it was published and launched earlier this year.
“What I have noticed in Kuwait is that there are lots of opportunities to learn about Islam, which is important. It is important that the world learns about Islam from the Muslim perspective, but it is equally important for Muslims to learn and understand about people of other faiths, not only Christianity but Hinduism and other religions as well,” said Rev. Thompson.
He explained that religious freedom also includes education. It is not religious freedom when one group in power says you are not allowed to learn about the rest. Therefore the Reverend was delighted about the creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council which is a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
Appreciate
“Responsible freedom says you need to appreciate the global community and that way you can take away any misperceptions, misunderstandings and fear. I find Kuwait to be a very safe country for the Christian community. The only restriction for the Christian community is the missionary activity of the Christian Church,” the Reverend added.
He was surprised to learn that missionary activity is perceived as an aggressive activity by the government - coercion, manipulating and forcing someone to change their religion - which, according to the Reverend, no Church would ever do, at least not at this day and age. “There probably was coercion in the past but not now,” he commented.
The biggest challenge Reverend Thompson has faced in Kuwait was witnessing the misery of thousands and thousands of domestic laborers with being able to do much about it.
“If you come from a country like the Philippines and India, in their home countries the Church is very essential to their community. So when they are in trouble, the first person they call up is not the police or the hospital, quite often it is the Church,” he said. “That very quickly became apparent to me that part of my ministry to the expatriate community here was being a voice for those who have no voice... and I took the opportunity to write for the Arab Times.”
What particularly disturbs the Reverend about the domestic laborer issue in Kuwait is that these workers have no protection of the law.
Domestics
“There is a labor law but domestic workers are not covered by it. I suppose if the Church was to say anything at all it would be ‘please can you have a law that would cover the rights of all workers here’,” stressed Reverend Thompson. “For me, as a guest in Kuwait, I often wonder what the appropriate response is. Shall I just keep quite and be polite, pretend not to see anything? Or shall I do something? That is what I believe most people feel here.”
He added that although abuse is committed by a Kuwaiti and expatriate minority, the distress of the domestic workers is very real and genuine and you can’t ignore it and the problem is global one, not distinct to Kuwait only.
Currently the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi has yet to decide he leaves. American lady minister, Reverend Renee Perkins, who is already as the Reverend’s assistant, is said to become Chaplain from September to December. “She will be probably the only female minister in Kuwait, which makes here rather special,” commented the Rev. Thompson.
The Church of Abu Dhabi was established in 1960. It is right in the heart of Abu Dhabi Island and has served the expatriate community for 50 years. There, Reverend Thompson will be overseeing a compound of about 80 different congregations and will be the liaison between the government and the Church.
“Abu Dhabi has been very generous to the Christian community. They have plans to expand the Church’s location and this has been initiated by the government itself. However, I think Kuwait is quite different from the other countries because there is much more communication with the local community,” concluded Reverend Thompson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Nihal Sharaf
Rev Thompson to embark on new journey
KUWAIT CITY, June 14: Being the Chaplain of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi in Muslim Kuwait has been a very delightful and educational journey according to Reverend Andrew Thompson and the Christian community can testify that he has brought comfort to many lives.
Sadly some journeys must come to an end for new ones to begin and Rev. Thompson’s new adventure will be taking place in Abu Dhabi where he will reside as the Senior Chaplain of The Church of Abu Dhabi. He will be heading off to the Gulf state with his wife and three children at the end of June.
“I am going to be enormously sad about leaving Kuwait. Kuwait is a very interesting country because there is such a diversity of people here. The people who leave their home country to come to work and live here are very motivated and it has been very rewarding meeting people like that,” said Rev. Thompson speaking to the Arab Times.
Awareness
Reflecting on his time in Kuwait, Reverend Thompson, who was also a regular columnist for the Arab Times, recalled first coming to the country and being surprised at how large the Christian community was here.
Like many people around the world, he believed that Kuwait as a Muslim country meant that there were a lot of restrictions on Christians practicing their faith and he was amazed to find out that the opposite was true.
“When I came to Kuwait, it was basically the tail end of the second Gulf War. There were a lot of expatriates here who were wrapping up the business in Iraq. There were a lot of military in the Churches and there was always the awareness that there was a war going on and there was real tension,” he recalled.
Rev Thompson remembered being called by the British Embassy of Kuwait to go visit a British soldier who has been wounded in action at Al-Sabah Hospital. He had lost an arm in a mortar attack. “That was a reminder to me that Kuwait is really in a very hot spot. Then Iraq became more and more invisible.”
“In my four years in Kuwait, never once have I had any negative contact with the Kuwaiti government and I’ve not had any experience of trouble or hostile persecution. Non of that exists here,” assured the Rev. Thompson.
In order to promote the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the state of Kuwait, the Reverend authored a book entitled ‘The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf’ and it was published and launched earlier this year.
“What I have noticed in Kuwait is that there are lots of opportunities to learn about Islam, which is important. It is important that the world learns about Islam from the Muslim perspective, but it is equally important for Muslims to learn and understand about people of other faiths, not only Christianity but Hinduism and other religions as well,” said Rev. Thompson.
He explained that religious freedom also includes education. It is not religious freedom when one group in power says you are not allowed to learn about the rest. Therefore the Reverend was delighted about the creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council which is a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
Appreciate
“Responsible freedom says you need to appreciate the global community and that way you can take away any misperceptions, misunderstandings and fear. I find Kuwait to be a very safe country for the Christian community. The only restriction for the Christian community is the missionary activity of the Christian Church,” the Reverend added.
He was surprised to learn that missionary activity is perceived as an aggressive activity by the government - coercion, manipulating and forcing someone to change their religion - which, according to the Reverend, no Church would ever do, at least not at this day and age. “There probably was coercion in the past but not now,” he commented.
The biggest challenge Reverend Thompson has faced in Kuwait was witnessing the misery of thousands and thousands of domestic laborers with being able to do much about it.
“If you come from a country like the Philippines and India, in their home countries the Church is very essential to their community. So when they are in trouble, the first person they call up is not the police or the hospital, quite often it is the Church,” he said. “That very quickly became apparent to me that part of my ministry to the expatriate community here was being a voice for those who have no voice... and I took the opportunity to write for the Arab Times.”
What particularly disturbs the Reverend about the domestic laborer issue in Kuwait is that these workers have no protection of the law.
Domestics
“There is a labor law but domestic workers are not covered by it. I suppose if the Church was to say anything at all it would be ‘please can you have a law that would cover the rights of all workers here’,” stressed Reverend Thompson. “For me, as a guest in Kuwait, I often wonder what the appropriate response is. Shall I just keep quite and be polite, pretend not to see anything? Or shall I do something? That is what I believe most people feel here.”
He added that although abuse is committed by a Kuwaiti and expatriate minority, the distress of the domestic workers is very real and genuine and you can’t ignore it and the problem is global one, not distinct to Kuwait only.
Currently the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi has yet to decide he leaves. American lady minister, Reverend Renee Perkins, who is already as the Reverend’s assistant, is said to become Chaplain from September to December. “She will be probably the only female minister in Kuwait, which makes here rather special,” commented the Rev. Thompson.
The Church of Abu Dhabi was established in 1960. It is right in the heart of Abu Dhabi Island and has served the expatriate community for 50 years. There, Reverend Thompson will be overseeing a compound of about 80 different congregations and will be the liaison between the government and the Church.
“Abu Dhabi has been very generous to the Christian community. They have plans to expand the Church’s location and this has been initiated by the government itself. However, I think Kuwait is quite different from the other countries because there is much more communication with the local community,” concluded Reverend Thompson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Nihal Sharaf
farewell to chaplain from Arab Times
‘Kuwait is a safe country for Christian Community’
Rev Thompson to embark on new journey
KUWAIT CITY, June 14: Being the Chaplain of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi in Muslim Kuwait has been a very delightful and educational journey according to Reverend Andrew Thompson and the Christian community can testify that he has brought comfort to many lives.
Sadly some journeys must come to an end for new ones to begin and Rev. Thompson’s new adventure will be taking place in Abu Dhabi where he will reside as the Senior Chaplain of The Church of Abu Dhabi. He will be heading off to the Gulf state with his wife and three children at the end of June.
“I am going to be enormously sad about leaving Kuwait. Kuwait is a very interesting country because there is such a diversity of people here. The people who leave their home country to come to work and live here are very motivated and it has been very rewarding meeting people like that,” said Rev. Thompson speaking to the Arab Times.
Awareness
Reflecting on his time in Kuwait, Reverend Thompson, who was also a regular columnist for the Arab Times, recalled first coming to the country and being surprised at how large the Christian community was here.
Like many people around the world, he believed that Kuwait as a Muslim country meant that there were a lot of restrictions on Christians practicing their faith and he was amazed to find out that the opposite was true.
“When I came to Kuwait, it was basically the tail end of the second Gulf War. There were a lot of expatriates here who were wrapping up the business in Iraq. There were a lot of military in the Churches and there was always the awareness that there was a war going on and there was real tension,” he recalled.
Rev Thompson remembered being called by the British Embassy of Kuwait to go visit a British soldier who has been wounded in action at Al-Sabah Hospital. He had lost an arm in a mortar attack. “That was a reminder to me that Kuwait is really in a very hot spot. Then Iraq became more and more invisible.”
“In my four years in Kuwait, never once have I had any negative contact with the Kuwaiti government and I’ve not had any experience of trouble or hostile persecution. Non of that exists here,” assured the Rev. Thompson.
In order to promote the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the state of Kuwait, the Reverend authored a book entitled ‘The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf’ and it was published and launched earlier this year.
“What I have noticed in Kuwait is that there are lots of opportunities to learn about Islam, which is important. It is important that the world learns about Islam from the Muslim perspective, but it is equally important for Muslims to learn and understand about people of other faiths, not only Christianity but Hinduism and other religions as well,” said Rev. Thompson.
He explained that religious freedom also includes education. It is not religious freedom when one group in power says you are not allowed to learn about the rest. Therefore the Reverend was delighted about the creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council which is a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
Appreciate
“Responsible freedom says you need to appreciate the global community and that way you can take away any misperceptions, misunderstandings and fear. I find Kuwait to be a very safe country for the Christian community. The only restriction for the Christian community is the missionary activity of the Christian Church,” the Reverend added.
He was surprised to learn that missionary activity is perceived as an aggressive activity by the government - coercion, manipulating and forcing someone to change their religion - which, according to the Reverend, no Church would ever do, at least not at this day and age. “There probably was coercion in the past but not now,” he commented.
The biggest challenge Reverend Thompson has faced in Kuwait was witnessing the misery of thousands and thousands of domestic laborers with being able to do much about it.
“If you come from a country like the Philippines and India, in their home countries the Church is very essential to their community. So when they are in trouble, the first person they call up is not the police or the hospital, quite often it is the Church,” he said. “That very quickly became apparent to me that part of my ministry to the expatriate community here was being a voice for those who have no voice... and I took the opportunity to write for the Arab Times.”
What particularly disturbs the Reverend about the domestic laborer issue in Kuwait is that these workers have no protection of the law.
Domestics
“There is a labor law but domestic workers are not covered by it. I suppose if the Church was to say anything at all it would be ‘please can you have a law that would cover the rights of all workers here’,” stressed Reverend Thompson. “For me, as a guest in Kuwait, I often wonder what the appropriate response is. Shall I just keep quite and be polite, pretend not to see anything? Or shall I do something? That is what I believe most people feel here.”
He added that although abuse is committed by a Kuwaiti and expatriate minority, the distress of the domestic workers is very real and genuine and you can’t ignore it and the problem is global one, not distinct to Kuwait only.
Currently the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi has yet to decide he leaves. American lady minister, Reverend Renee Perkins, who is already as the Reverend’s assistant, is said to become Chaplain from September to December. “She will be probably the only female minister in Kuwait, which makes here rather special,” commented the Rev. Thompson.
The Church of Abu Dhabi was established in 1960. It is right in the heart of Abu Dhabi Island and has served the expatriate community for 50 years. There, Reverend Thompson will be overseeing a compound of about 80 different congregations and will be the liaison between the government and the Church.
“Abu Dhabi has been very generous to the Christian community. They have plans to expand the Church’s location and this has been initiated by the government itself. However, I think Kuwait is quite different from the other countries because there is much more communication with the local community,” concluded Reverend Thompson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Nihal Sharaf
Rev Thompson to embark on new journey
KUWAIT CITY, June 14: Being the Chaplain of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi in Muslim Kuwait has been a very delightful and educational journey according to Reverend Andrew Thompson and the Christian community can testify that he has brought comfort to many lives.
Sadly some journeys must come to an end for new ones to begin and Rev. Thompson’s new adventure will be taking place in Abu Dhabi where he will reside as the Senior Chaplain of The Church of Abu Dhabi. He will be heading off to the Gulf state with his wife and three children at the end of June.
“I am going to be enormously sad about leaving Kuwait. Kuwait is a very interesting country because there is such a diversity of people here. The people who leave their home country to come to work and live here are very motivated and it has been very rewarding meeting people like that,” said Rev. Thompson speaking to the Arab Times.
Awareness
Reflecting on his time in Kuwait, Reverend Thompson, who was also a regular columnist for the Arab Times, recalled first coming to the country and being surprised at how large the Christian community was here.
Like many people around the world, he believed that Kuwait as a Muslim country meant that there were a lot of restrictions on Christians practicing their faith and he was amazed to find out that the opposite was true.
“When I came to Kuwait, it was basically the tail end of the second Gulf War. There were a lot of expatriates here who were wrapping up the business in Iraq. There were a lot of military in the Churches and there was always the awareness that there was a war going on and there was real tension,” he recalled.
Rev Thompson remembered being called by the British Embassy of Kuwait to go visit a British soldier who has been wounded in action at Al-Sabah Hospital. He had lost an arm in a mortar attack. “That was a reminder to me that Kuwait is really in a very hot spot. Then Iraq became more and more invisible.”
“In my four years in Kuwait, never once have I had any negative contact with the Kuwaiti government and I’ve not had any experience of trouble or hostile persecution. Non of that exists here,” assured the Rev. Thompson.
In order to promote the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the state of Kuwait, the Reverend authored a book entitled ‘The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf’ and it was published and launched earlier this year.
“What I have noticed in Kuwait is that there are lots of opportunities to learn about Islam, which is important. It is important that the world learns about Islam from the Muslim perspective, but it is equally important for Muslims to learn and understand about people of other faiths, not only Christianity but Hinduism and other religions as well,” said Rev. Thompson.
He explained that religious freedom also includes education. It is not religious freedom when one group in power says you are not allowed to learn about the rest. Therefore the Reverend was delighted about the creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council which is a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
Appreciate
“Responsible freedom says you need to appreciate the global community and that way you can take away any misperceptions, misunderstandings and fear. I find Kuwait to be a very safe country for the Christian community. The only restriction for the Christian community is the missionary activity of the Christian Church,” the Reverend added.
He was surprised to learn that missionary activity is perceived as an aggressive activity by the government - coercion, manipulating and forcing someone to change their religion - which, according to the Reverend, no Church would ever do, at least not at this day and age. “There probably was coercion in the past but not now,” he commented.
The biggest challenge Reverend Thompson has faced in Kuwait was witnessing the misery of thousands and thousands of domestic laborers with being able to do much about it.
“If you come from a country like the Philippines and India, in their home countries the Church is very essential to their community. So when they are in trouble, the first person they call up is not the police or the hospital, quite often it is the Church,” he said. “That very quickly became apparent to me that part of my ministry to the expatriate community here was being a voice for those who have no voice... and I took the opportunity to write for the Arab Times.”
What particularly disturbs the Reverend about the domestic laborer issue in Kuwait is that these workers have no protection of the law.
Domestics
“There is a labor law but domestic workers are not covered by it. I suppose if the Church was to say anything at all it would be ‘please can you have a law that would cover the rights of all workers here’,” stressed Reverend Thompson. “For me, as a guest in Kuwait, I often wonder what the appropriate response is. Shall I just keep quite and be polite, pretend not to see anything? Or shall I do something? That is what I believe most people feel here.”
He added that although abuse is committed by a Kuwaiti and expatriate minority, the distress of the domestic workers is very real and genuine and you can’t ignore it and the problem is global one, not distinct to Kuwait only.
Currently the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi has yet to decide he leaves. American lady minister, Reverend Renee Perkins, who is already as the Reverend’s assistant, is said to become Chaplain from September to December. “She will be probably the only female minister in Kuwait, which makes here rather special,” commented the Rev. Thompson.
The Church of Abu Dhabi was established in 1960. It is right in the heart of Abu Dhabi Island and has served the expatriate community for 50 years. There, Reverend Thompson will be overseeing a compound of about 80 different congregations and will be the liaison between the government and the Church.
“Abu Dhabi has been very generous to the Christian community. They have plans to expand the Church’s location and this has been initiated by the government itself. However, I think Kuwait is quite different from the other countries because there is much more communication with the local community,” concluded Reverend Thompson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Nihal Sharaf
Sunday 9 May 2010
Arab times article May 8th
A discordant note
THE band would have sounded great but for the fact that there was one trumpet badly out of tune with the other instruments. As the music played on, I could not help wince as the rogue trumpet continued to distract me with its harsh jarring presence. It became for me a metaphor of life in Kuwait. Consider the following events.
Ten thousand Sri Lankans forced to abandon their carefully planned National Day celebrations.
Delayed again. A British citizen waiting to hear a verdict in a court case more than three years old, has had his hearing delayed again for the umpteenth time after the relevant papers were not available. Unable to leave Kuwait, he has been separated from his family for all this time.
There are citizens of Ghana languishing in jails for months because they have no diplomatic representation. They cannot afford lawyers. They are stuck in limbo.
Those who are financially destitute and in debt are sent to jail - how does that help amend the situation?
Members of the Filipino community are appealing for justice after a Filipina maid was sentenced to death in a murder case in which critical evidence suggests that she is innocent.
Someone in authority told me of his frustration that prisoners waiting to be deported, have to wait months because someone, somewhere can’t be bothered to process the relatively straight forward paperwork. He was disturbed by the lack of justice he witnessed at work.
A decent, hardworking Kuwaiti man was fired from a national financial institution because he refused to collude with dubious banking practices.
A Western doctor who labours diligently for 60+ hours a week has not been paid again.
She looks exhausted. No wonder ! This Ethiopian maid has not had a day off in two years of working long hours for a local family. With no rights and no recourse to labour law, she suffers in silence. This week at least five maids committed suicide or were fatally injured in trying to escape from their sponsors.
These are real stories. Their broken lives point to an apparent lack of justice. Kuwait is a country which I have come to appreciate and I meet so many wonderful, kind and compassionate people. Yet the lack of justice strikes a discordant note which jars the soul.
Justice is an important theme in both Islam and Christianity. Scripture is full of reminders that God is righteous and just. In other words God always does the right thing — all the time. He is always merciful and compassionate. The divine law was given in order to establish a society who would love God and love their neighbour. It is significant to me that in human history, the Middle East is the region where laws of justice and fairness were hammered out. The Arabian Peninsula witnessed the formation of the ancient Hammurabi’s legal codex (Iraq), the Mosaic ten commandments and Islamic Sharia’ law. If any region in the world should be known for justice, we need look no further than the Middle East. So where has it gone wrong?
Perhaps we have simply stopped caring. People can’t be bothered anymore.
It was the prophet Isaiah who said “Learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow”. In other words, don’t stop caring, be bothered. I pray that one day this discordant note will fade away as people start to care and make beautiful music in the land of Kuwait.
THE band would have sounded great but for the fact that there was one trumpet badly out of tune with the other instruments. As the music played on, I could not help wince as the rogue trumpet continued to distract me with its harsh jarring presence. It became for me a metaphor of life in Kuwait. Consider the following events.
Ten thousand Sri Lankans forced to abandon their carefully planned National Day celebrations.
Delayed again. A British citizen waiting to hear a verdict in a court case more than three years old, has had his hearing delayed again for the umpteenth time after the relevant papers were not available. Unable to leave Kuwait, he has been separated from his family for all this time.
There are citizens of Ghana languishing in jails for months because they have no diplomatic representation. They cannot afford lawyers. They are stuck in limbo.
Those who are financially destitute and in debt are sent to jail - how does that help amend the situation?
Members of the Filipino community are appealing for justice after a Filipina maid was sentenced to death in a murder case in which critical evidence suggests that she is innocent.
Someone in authority told me of his frustration that prisoners waiting to be deported, have to wait months because someone, somewhere can’t be bothered to process the relatively straight forward paperwork. He was disturbed by the lack of justice he witnessed at work.
A decent, hardworking Kuwaiti man was fired from a national financial institution because he refused to collude with dubious banking practices.
A Western doctor who labours diligently for 60+ hours a week has not been paid again.
She looks exhausted. No wonder ! This Ethiopian maid has not had a day off in two years of working long hours for a local family. With no rights and no recourse to labour law, she suffers in silence. This week at least five maids committed suicide or were fatally injured in trying to escape from their sponsors.
These are real stories. Their broken lives point to an apparent lack of justice. Kuwait is a country which I have come to appreciate and I meet so many wonderful, kind and compassionate people. Yet the lack of justice strikes a discordant note which jars the soul.
Justice is an important theme in both Islam and Christianity. Scripture is full of reminders that God is righteous and just. In other words God always does the right thing — all the time. He is always merciful and compassionate. The divine law was given in order to establish a society who would love God and love their neighbour. It is significant to me that in human history, the Middle East is the region where laws of justice and fairness were hammered out. The Arabian Peninsula witnessed the formation of the ancient Hammurabi’s legal codex (Iraq), the Mosaic ten commandments and Islamic Sharia’ law. If any region in the world should be known for justice, we need look no further than the Middle East. So where has it gone wrong?
Perhaps we have simply stopped caring. People can’t be bothered anymore.
It was the prophet Isaiah who said “Learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow”. In other words, don’t stop caring, be bothered. I pray that one day this discordant note will fade away as people start to care and make beautiful music in the land of Kuwait.
Friday 30 April 2010
British Embassy Kuwait Article
Interfaith Reception
29 Apr 2010
HMA Frank Baker hosts an 'Interfaith Reception' to mark the launch of Andrew Thompson's book.
Her Majesty's Ambassador to Kuwait HE Mr Frank Baker hosted an Interfaith Reception at his Residence on Wednesday 28 April 2010 to mark the launch of Vicar of St Paul's Anglican Church, Reverend Andrew Thompson's book - 'The Christian Church in Kuwait, Religious Freedom in the Gulf.'
The book promotes the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the State of Kuwait.
The reception was attended by prominent figures in Kuwait, including the Pastor and caretaker of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait, Reverend Amanuel Benjamin Ghareeb.
29 Apr 2010
HMA Frank Baker hosts an 'Interfaith Reception' to mark the launch of Andrew Thompson's book.
Her Majesty's Ambassador to Kuwait HE Mr Frank Baker hosted an Interfaith Reception at his Residence on Wednesday 28 April 2010 to mark the launch of Vicar of St Paul's Anglican Church, Reverend Andrew Thompson's book - 'The Christian Church in Kuwait, Religious Freedom in the Gulf.'
The book promotes the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the State of Kuwait.
The reception was attended by prominent figures in Kuwait, including the Pastor and caretaker of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait, Reverend Amanuel Benjamin Ghareeb.
Kuwait Times Newspaper 30th April
Catholics hope Amir's visit with Pope will secure their home
Published Date: April 29, 2010
KUWAIT: The inclusion of the Vatican in a state trip by His Highness the Amir to Europe that began this week has left Kuwait's Catholics praying for an announcement that will secure the future of their church and relieve overcrowding that they say is putting their congregations at risk. The Amir was in Germany earlier this week and will also visit Italy and the Vatican during his tour.
The possibility of a meeting with the pope has raised hopes among Kuwait's 350,000 Catholics that Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Sabah will use the opportunity to renew a 50-year lease for church land, which was given to the church by former Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah and is due to expire in 2016.
Bishop Camillo Ballin, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's Catholics, who has worked in the Middle East for 41 years, including five in Kuwait, said: "I'm trying to see what might happen after six years.
Bishop Ballin said the Vatican never invites other states to visit so the Kuwaiti delegation must have asked to meet the Pope. He said he is not involved in discussions about what the two leaders will discuss, but "we hope that the contract will be renewed for 50 more years".
A diplomatic source close to the issue believes the Amir might use the visit to announce something related to the Kuwaiti churches. He said this "could be the moment of truth" for the Catholic community in Kuwait.
Bishop Ballin said: "I hope to keep this land and besides that to have other land, especially in the boundaries in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, because there are many thousands of Catholics and they need a place otherwise they are lost.
We don't ask for privileges, we don't ask to have special laws, special agreements, we just ask to be able to pray." The church has not asked for the lease to be renewed yet, "because this procedure should start one year before the expiry", Bishop Ballin said. He believes the church's location is coveted by owners of hotels and restaurants.
Two of Kuwait's churches - Evangelical and Catholic - are built on prime sites near the capital's coast. Another Catholic and an Anglican church are built far from the city centre in Ahmadi on land that is owned by Kuwait Oil Company. The government recently relocated the Coptic Orthodox from the city centre to the suburbs because of construction and compensated it with a grant of land 10 times the size of the previous plot. The Armenian and Greek Orthodox denominations also worship in rented villas in the
city.
Representatives of the Evangelical Church were unavailable for comment about their lease. Archbishop Petar Rajic is the apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and the UAE and apostolic delegate in the Arabian Peninsula, making him in effect the Vatican's ambassador to the region. The Archbishop declined to answer questions related to the leases because "I do not feel competent to do so", but did say that the Amir's visit would be "beneficial for both sides".
Another major concern for all of Kuwait's 460,000 Christians is that they are vying for space in existing places of worship. At the Catholic Church on Sunday, several hundred crammed inside for the service while hundreds more gathered on the grounds, ready to file in as soon as the previous congregation left.
Bishop Ballin said his church hosts 28 services on Saturday and Sunday and a total of 46 every week. He said the church is built on 5,000 square meters of land, but it needs at least 40,000. Two years ago, he requested more land from the Amir, but did not receive a reply, he said.
If panic is caused in the church, we will have hundreds of people die. So we are just asking the country for a place to pray: to pray for the country, to pray for the Amir ... We don't want anything else," he said.
Any move to give the country's Christians more land will not be received well by some of Kuwait's Islamists, who believe that no non-Muslim places of worship should be built in Kuwait.
Many other denominations use the grounds of the city centre's two churches. Father Jose Mathew, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's 10,000-strong Indian Orthodox community, which mostly comes from Kerala, hosts two services a week in the Evangelical Church. He said 83 other congregations share the church's two main halls and several smaller rooms.
At a flat in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh under two large pictures of the long, white-bearded supreme head of his church, Baselios Marthoma Didymus I, Father Mathew said a lack of space in his services forces most of his congregation to stand outside the church, and they cannot hold many of their traditional celebrations and feasts because their allotted time is not enough.
Most of the people are hesitating to come. They are coming with their families and they are not getting space inside the church, so they feel that they should stay and pray in their homes. They have the basic right to worship," he said.
Some of the country's largest Christian communities, including Catholics, Copts, Protestants, Armenian and Greek Orthodox, voice their concerns through the Christian Council Forum, which is also attended by a Kuwaiti Christian, Rev Amanuel Ghareb.
Father Mathew said the group met in December and voiced concerns over a lack of space, and Rev Ghareb promised to bring the issue up when he met the Amir, but he has not yet heard a reply. The reverend declined to comment on anything related to the leases or new land. "We hope and pray" the Amir will announce something on his visit to the Vatican, Father Mathew said.
Published Date: April 29, 2010
KUWAIT: The inclusion of the Vatican in a state trip by His Highness the Amir to Europe that began this week has left Kuwait's Catholics praying for an announcement that will secure the future of their church and relieve overcrowding that they say is putting their congregations at risk. The Amir was in Germany earlier this week and will also visit Italy and the Vatican during his tour.
The possibility of a meeting with the pope has raised hopes among Kuwait's 350,000 Catholics that Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Sabah will use the opportunity to renew a 50-year lease for church land, which was given to the church by former Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah and is due to expire in 2016.
Bishop Camillo Ballin, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's Catholics, who has worked in the Middle East for 41 years, including five in Kuwait, said: "I'm trying to see what might happen after six years.
Bishop Ballin said the Vatican never invites other states to visit so the Kuwaiti delegation must have asked to meet the Pope. He said he is not involved in discussions about what the two leaders will discuss, but "we hope that the contract will be renewed for 50 more years".
A diplomatic source close to the issue believes the Amir might use the visit to announce something related to the Kuwaiti churches. He said this "could be the moment of truth" for the Catholic community in Kuwait.
Bishop Ballin said: "I hope to keep this land and besides that to have other land, especially in the boundaries in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, because there are many thousands of Catholics and they need a place otherwise they are lost.
We don't ask for privileges, we don't ask to have special laws, special agreements, we just ask to be able to pray." The church has not asked for the lease to be renewed yet, "because this procedure should start one year before the expiry", Bishop Ballin said. He believes the church's location is coveted by owners of hotels and restaurants.
Two of Kuwait's churches - Evangelical and Catholic - are built on prime sites near the capital's coast. Another Catholic and an Anglican church are built far from the city centre in Ahmadi on land that is owned by Kuwait Oil Company. The government recently relocated the Coptic Orthodox from the city centre to the suburbs because of construction and compensated it with a grant of land 10 times the size of the previous plot. The Armenian and Greek Orthodox denominations also worship in rented villas in the
city.
Representatives of the Evangelical Church were unavailable for comment about their lease. Archbishop Petar Rajic is the apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and the UAE and apostolic delegate in the Arabian Peninsula, making him in effect the Vatican's ambassador to the region. The Archbishop declined to answer questions related to the leases because "I do not feel competent to do so", but did say that the Amir's visit would be "beneficial for both sides".
Another major concern for all of Kuwait's 460,000 Christians is that they are vying for space in existing places of worship. At the Catholic Church on Sunday, several hundred crammed inside for the service while hundreds more gathered on the grounds, ready to file in as soon as the previous congregation left.
Bishop Ballin said his church hosts 28 services on Saturday and Sunday and a total of 46 every week. He said the church is built on 5,000 square meters of land, but it needs at least 40,000. Two years ago, he requested more land from the Amir, but did not receive a reply, he said.
If panic is caused in the church, we will have hundreds of people die. So we are just asking the country for a place to pray: to pray for the country, to pray for the Amir ... We don't want anything else," he said.
Any move to give the country's Christians more land will not be received well by some of Kuwait's Islamists, who believe that no non-Muslim places of worship should be built in Kuwait.
Many other denominations use the grounds of the city centre's two churches. Father Jose Mathew, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's 10,000-strong Indian Orthodox community, which mostly comes from Kerala, hosts two services a week in the Evangelical Church. He said 83 other congregations share the church's two main halls and several smaller rooms.
At a flat in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh under two large pictures of the long, white-bearded supreme head of his church, Baselios Marthoma Didymus I, Father Mathew said a lack of space in his services forces most of his congregation to stand outside the church, and they cannot hold many of their traditional celebrations and feasts because their allotted time is not enough.
Most of the people are hesitating to come. They are coming with their families and they are not getting space inside the church, so they feel that they should stay and pray in their homes. They have the basic right to worship," he said.
Some of the country's largest Christian communities, including Catholics, Copts, Protestants, Armenian and Greek Orthodox, voice their concerns through the Christian Council Forum, which is also attended by a Kuwaiti Christian, Rev Amanuel Ghareb.
Father Mathew said the group met in December and voiced concerns over a lack of space, and Rev Ghareb promised to bring the issue up when he met the Amir, but he has not yet heard a reply. The reverend declined to comment on anything related to the leases or new land. "We hope and pray" the Amir will announce something on his visit to the Vatican, Father Mathew said.
Thursday 29 April 2010
Book Launch of The Christian Church in Kuwait
Book Launch at British Embassy 28th April 2010.
Author’s Speech
I want to begin by thanking H.E Frank Baker for his hospitality and support for this evening. I also want to thank the many people who have encouraged me and gave practical help in getting this book to print. Without you, quite simply there would be no public record of the story of Kuwait and the Christian community.
Nearly two thirds of the world’s population is either Muslim or Christian. The future of our planet depends on our ability to not just tolerate one another but to co-exist and co-operate with one another in the daily business of living. The problem is that the history between our two communities has been a chequered one. Periodic outbreaks of persecution by one community against the other is only too depressingly the pattern. But not in Kuwait.
This is what makes Kuwait special for me. In contrast to her neighbours (and indeed some Western countries), Kuwait has found a model of interfaith community which works. In my research I have found very little in the historical records where there was blatant mass hostility or persecution towards Christians in Kuwait. In my albeit admittedly short experience of living in Kuwait I have always felt welcome as a Christian leader by Kuwaiti people. Yet their hospitality is firmly rooted in their Islamic tradition.
I wrote this book for two reasons.
1) To retell the story of Christianity in Kuwait and to show how Christians have made a positive and vibrant contribution to this part of the world. This was facilitated by the genuine hospitality of the people of Kuwait .
2) To celebrate the model of religious freedom which we enjoy here under the Kuwaiti government. It is a great achievement which is actually little known outside of the country. Back in the UK people constantly express their surprise that Christians are allowed to worship freely in Kuwait. They assume that because Kuwait is an Islamic nation that there is no freedom. This is simply not true and I for one want to share with the wider global community that the Church is alive and well in Kuwait and we sincerely thank the Kuwaiti people for their welcome
It is good to celebrate friendship and faith between Muslims and Christians. Ultimately, we all worship the one God who created the heavens and the earth and that we believe he has revealed himself through scripture as a God of mercy, compassion and justice. To God be the Glory.
Thank you all for coming tonight.
Wednesday 7 April 2010
Where is Rupa?
A YOUNG Nepali citizen arriving in Kuwait to work as a maid, has ended up a victim of an organised human trafficking ring based in Riggae. She was carried unconscious into the place used as a brothel and later made a desperate appeal to be rescued so that she could go home.
Unfortunately a visit to the premises revealed that the gang have now moved Rupa to another apartment. It was through the Arab Times that her message was sent. Since then we have been trying to locate her, so that we can send her home.
Rupa is not alone. According to one person in authority that I interviewed, there are several ways in which girls get exploited by the flesh trade. One is that they are duped into coming on bogus company visas. Second they are runaway maids who have absconded from abusive employers and ended up in the clutches of a gang or thirdly they are bought in on private sponsorship and either willingly or unwillingly end up in a brothel.
Human trafficking is a global problem, but there is always a local solution. One of the local solutions proposed by Kuwait Parliament is to abolish the private sponsorship system and establish a mechanism by which maids and other domestic workers have their working conditions and salaries monitored and administered by a government appointed agency. This is an excellent idea. The thorough application and enforcement of such a mechanism could possibly reduce as much as 70 percent of the misery experienced by some of the most vulnerable workers in Kuwait.
In the wake of yet another critical report on human rights issues the whole issue of the ‘kafeel’ system (private sponsorship) deserves to be examined again. While it is true only a minority of employers abuse their workers, the present system allows no protection or enforcement of law. The result is the continuing ugly spectre of maid suicide, unjust imprisonment of absconding workers and general human misery.
This week the season of Lent draws to an end. The global Christian Church enters Easter Holy Week, a time when we recall the Passion of Christ. In the midst of this story of suffering and injustice, hope and divine purpose triumphs. To Rupa! Wherever you are. In the midst of your suffering I pray that you will find hope. May you find your way home soon!
Unfortunately a visit to the premises revealed that the gang have now moved Rupa to another apartment. It was through the Arab Times that her message was sent. Since then we have been trying to locate her, so that we can send her home.
Rupa is not alone. According to one person in authority that I interviewed, there are several ways in which girls get exploited by the flesh trade. One is that they are duped into coming on bogus company visas. Second they are runaway maids who have absconded from abusive employers and ended up in the clutches of a gang or thirdly they are bought in on private sponsorship and either willingly or unwillingly end up in a brothel.
Human trafficking is a global problem, but there is always a local solution. One of the local solutions proposed by Kuwait Parliament is to abolish the private sponsorship system and establish a mechanism by which maids and other domestic workers have their working conditions and salaries monitored and administered by a government appointed agency. This is an excellent idea. The thorough application and enforcement of such a mechanism could possibly reduce as much as 70 percent of the misery experienced by some of the most vulnerable workers in Kuwait.
In the wake of yet another critical report on human rights issues the whole issue of the ‘kafeel’ system (private sponsorship) deserves to be examined again. While it is true only a minority of employers abuse their workers, the present system allows no protection or enforcement of law. The result is the continuing ugly spectre of maid suicide, unjust imprisonment of absconding workers and general human misery.
This week the season of Lent draws to an end. The global Christian Church enters Easter Holy Week, a time when we recall the Passion of Christ. In the midst of this story of suffering and injustice, hope and divine purpose triumphs. To Rupa! Wherever you are. In the midst of your suffering I pray that you will find hope. May you find your way home soon!
Tuesday 16 March 2010
No Justice in Kuwait for some
The band would have sounded great but for the fact that there was one trumpet badly out of tune with the other instruments. As the music played on, I could not help wince as the rogue trumpet continued to distract me with its harsh jarring presence. It became for me a metaphor of life in Kuwait.
Consider the following events.
Delayed again. A British citizen waiting to hear a hear verdict in a court case more than three years old, has had his hearing delayed again for the umpteenth time after the relevant papers were not available. Unable to leave Kuwait, he has been separated from his family for all this time. The judges could not be bothered to do their paperwork properly.
A Nepali girl who was beaten unconscious and kidnapped shortly after her arrival in Kuwait and then forced to work in a brothel, cannot be rescued because of the ‘protection’ offered to the gang by local police. “Don’t bother’ was the advice I received.
There are citizens of Ghania languishing in jails for months because they have no diplomatic representation. They cannot afford lawyers. They are stuck in limbo.
Those who are financially destitute and in debt are sent to jail – how does that help amend the situation?
Members of the Filipino community are appealing for justice after a Filipina maid was sentenced to death in a murder case in which critical evidence suggests that she is innocent.
A police officer told me of his frustration that prisoners waiting to be deported, have to wait months because someone, somewhere can’t be bothered to process the relatively straight forward paperwork. He was disturbed by the lack of justice he witnessed at work.
A decent, hardworking Kuwaiti man was fired from a national financial institution because he refused to collude with dubious banking practices.
A Western doctor who labours diligently for 60+ hours a week has not been paid again.
She looks exhausted. No wonder ! This Ethiopian maid has not had a day off in two years of working long hours for a local family. With no rights and no recourse to labour law, she suffers in silence.
These are real stories. Their broken lives point to a disturbing lack of justice. Kuwait is a country which I have come to appreciate and I meet so many wonderful, kind and compassionate people. Yet the lack of justice strikes a discordant note which jars the soul.
Justice is an important theme in both Islam and Christianity. Scripture is full of reminders that God is righteous and just. In other words God always does the right thing - all the time. He is always merciful and compassionate.The divine law was given in order to establish a society who would love God and love their neighbour. It is significant to me that in human history, the Middle East is the region where laws of justice and fairness were hammered out. The Arabian Peninsula witnessed the formation of the ancient Hammurabi’s legal codex (Iraq), the Mosaic ten commandments and Islamic Sharia’ law. If any region in the world should be known for justice, we need look no further than the Middle East. So where has it gone wrong?
Perhaps we have simply stopped caring. People can’t be bothered anymore.
It was the prophet Isaiah who said “Learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow”. In other words, don’t stop caring, be bothered. I pray that one day this discordant note will fade away as people start to care and make beautiful music in the land of Kuwait.
.
Consider the following events.
Delayed again. A British citizen waiting to hear a hear verdict in a court case more than three years old, has had his hearing delayed again for the umpteenth time after the relevant papers were not available. Unable to leave Kuwait, he has been separated from his family for all this time. The judges could not be bothered to do their paperwork properly.
A Nepali girl who was beaten unconscious and kidnapped shortly after her arrival in Kuwait and then forced to work in a brothel, cannot be rescued because of the ‘protection’ offered to the gang by local police. “Don’t bother’ was the advice I received.
There are citizens of Ghania languishing in jails for months because they have no diplomatic representation. They cannot afford lawyers. They are stuck in limbo.
Those who are financially destitute and in debt are sent to jail – how does that help amend the situation?
Members of the Filipino community are appealing for justice after a Filipina maid was sentenced to death in a murder case in which critical evidence suggests that she is innocent.
A police officer told me of his frustration that prisoners waiting to be deported, have to wait months because someone, somewhere can’t be bothered to process the relatively straight forward paperwork. He was disturbed by the lack of justice he witnessed at work.
A decent, hardworking Kuwaiti man was fired from a national financial institution because he refused to collude with dubious banking practices.
A Western doctor who labours diligently for 60+ hours a week has not been paid again.
She looks exhausted. No wonder ! This Ethiopian maid has not had a day off in two years of working long hours for a local family. With no rights and no recourse to labour law, she suffers in silence.
These are real stories. Their broken lives point to a disturbing lack of justice. Kuwait is a country which I have come to appreciate and I meet so many wonderful, kind and compassionate people. Yet the lack of justice strikes a discordant note which jars the soul.
Justice is an important theme in both Islam and Christianity. Scripture is full of reminders that God is righteous and just. In other words God always does the right thing - all the time. He is always merciful and compassionate.The divine law was given in order to establish a society who would love God and love their neighbour. It is significant to me that in human history, the Middle East is the region where laws of justice and fairness were hammered out. The Arabian Peninsula witnessed the formation of the ancient Hammurabi’s legal codex (Iraq), the Mosaic ten commandments and Islamic Sharia’ law. If any region in the world should be known for justice, we need look no further than the Middle East. So where has it gone wrong?
Perhaps we have simply stopped caring. People can’t be bothered anymore.
It was the prophet Isaiah who said “Learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow”. In other words, don’t stop caring, be bothered. I pray that one day this discordant note will fade away as people start to care and make beautiful music in the land of Kuwait.
.
Thursday 18 February 2010
The Christian Church in Kuwait
Hot off the press is the new book by Andrew Thompson is The Christian Church in Kuwait: Religious Freedom in the Gulf.
This book surveys the history and the diversity of Christianity in Kuwait. It answers such questions such as "Is Kuwait in the Bible?", "Who were the first Christians to arrive in Kuwait?"
An astonishing half a million Christians live in Kuwait and this book chronicles their involvement in the life of a nation which in one generation went from subsistence ecomonmy to one of the world's richest states.
It is available through St Paul's Anglican Church and other outlets will be announced soon. The book costs 10KD.
Friday 8 January 2010
Kuwait Priest
‘Christians enjoy religious freedom’
Church-State ties excellent
Reverend Amanuel Benjamin Ghareeb has been the Pastor and caretaker of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait for a decade. He was ordained on Jan. 8, 1999 in what was considered a unique event in the history of the Evangelical community of Kuwait.
What may be new information to many, Reverend Ghareeb is a Kuwaiti citizen. He was born in Kuwait in 1950 and has been living peacefully among his people, Muslims and Christians, throughout the country’s many ups and downs. This is what made his ordination as a Pastor special in the memories of many Christians as he was the first Gulf Arab to be designated for the Church. According to the Reverend minister, there are currently approximately 200 Christian Kuwaiti citizens residing in the country.
After graduating from the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of Cairo in 1989, Reverend Ghareeb returned to Kuwait where he stayed, along with his family and fellow faithful, even through the Iraqi occupation. He has helped restore the country as well as bring the Christian community back together after its liberation.
In an insightful interview with the Arab Times, Reverend Ghareeb talks about the history of Christianity in Kuwait, the many faithful of various denominations residing in the country, the meaning of Evangelical Christianity as well as the recent relationship and communication developments between the Muslims and Christians who reside here.
Q: What are the origins of Kuwaiti Christians who were naturalized during the establishment of Kuwait?
A: Kuwaiti Christians are originally Christian families who immigrated like any other family to this region. The number of Kuwaiti Christians is now around 150-200 among approximately 450,000 Christians from all over the world.
Most of Kuwait’s local Christians belong to 12 large families. As you know, Kuwait comprises mainly of people who came from three different sources - from Saudi Arabia, from Iraq and from Iran. The first Christian families came from southeast Turkey and Iraq and they have been living in Kuwait for over 90 years and speak the Kuwaiti Arabic dialect. Other families have come from Palestine, such as Al-Shuhaibar family, and a few from Lebanon and Syria.
According to the citizenship law, whoever was in Kuwait before 1920 is considered Kuwaiti and whoever came after the 1940s was naturalized. At least one Christian family was living here before 1920.
Before the discovery of oil, the process of naturalization was not available because Kuwait was a simple country and there were no passports. After the discovery of oil, the number of people increased considerably and the leadership wanted to organize the country so they started to issue passports for identification.
Then, in 1959, the citizenship law was passed. As you know before 1961 Kuwait was a British protectorate according to an agreement between Kuwait and Britain. They cancelled this agreement on June 19, 1961 which we consider the National Day of Kuwait.
Q: What is the history of Christianity in Kuwait?
A: Kuwait is the land of abundance. God has blessed Kuwait and gave her a wise leadership from its onset. The people of Kuwait have welcomed anyone who has come from abroad to make a living and they respect everyone provided they abide by the laws and rules of the country. We have plenty of stories of success by people who came from all over the world.
The history of Christians in Kuwait began in the early 1900’s when Reverend Dr Samuel Zwemer and Reverend Fred Barney who were missionaries from the Reformed Church of America arrived. Permission was granted in 1911 by Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah to begin medical work in Kuwait and former American Mission Hospital was established in 1913.
Elder Yacoub Shammas Ibrahim was the first Arab Evangelist to come to Kuwait in 1919. He came as part of the Arabian Mission of the Reformed Church of America. In 1931, within the mission’s compound, the Evangelical Church was built and is considered the first Church built in Kuwait during modern times.
However, if we go back in history, Failaka Island contains the remnants of a Church dating to perhaps as early as the 5th or 6th century when the Hellenes settled on the island according to the crosses that form part of the structural decoration that were found at Al-Khazna Hill area on the Island.
Kuwait Oil Company was established in 1934 as a partnership between Gulf oil and British Petroleum. It was a foreign company so the majority of the staff were Christians. They built two Churches in Ahmadi in the late 1940s at the beginning of oil exports. One is called Saint Paul’s Church which belongs to the Anglicans and the other belongs to the Catholics and is called “Our Lady of Arabia”.
Up until now, the two Churches are still maintained by the Kuwaiti government through Kuwait Oil Company and people are still worshipping God in these two Churches. In the late 1950s, the Catholic Church in Kuwait City was built and the land on which it was built was a gift bestowed by the previous ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.
In the 1960s, the Coptic Orthodox Christians conducted their prayers in a rented house near the Catholic Church. It was demolished due to renovations recently; however, land was given to them in Hawalli to build their new Church. In the 1960s and 70s the Greek Orthodox came and also rented villas to be remodeled into Churches as well as the Armenian Orthodox.
Q: What are the Christian denominations that are currently available in Kuwait?
A: The number of established Churches in Kuwait is currently seven; however, there are 85 prayer groups of various Evangelical denominations that worship in the Evangelical Compound. The Catholics, including the Maronite Christians, mostly come from Asian countries such as India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan as well as from Arab countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Syria.
Also available in Kuwait is the Anglican Episcopalian Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church as well as the Greek Catholic Church.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between the Christians of Kuwait and the government?
A: We thank God that we as Christians in Kuwait enjoy a large amount of religious freedom. Kuwait’s Constitution states that “freedom of belief is absolute,” and that “the State protects the freedom of practicing religion in accordance with established customs, provided that it does not conflict with public policy or morals.”
In December 1999, the Bible Society in the Gulf Shop was built. So the Church even has an agreement with the Kuwaiti government to import books and gifts that nurture the faith of Christians of different backgrounds and languages.
Abiding by the rules of censorship of the Ministry of Information, books and Bibles written in 50 different languages are now available at the bookstore. The trust between us and the ministry is growing because they know us through our long history of working together.
The creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council (ICRC) was also a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
The Council’s establishment was announced in February 2009 and was an initiative by the National Consensus Movement run by our Shiite brothers. They approached the Church for the purpose of gathering all Muslims, Shiite and Sunni, and all Christians, the Catholics, Protestants and the Orthodox.
The Council comprises of 11 Islamic and Christian scholars and authoritative figures such as Professor Mohammed Baker Al-Mohary who is the Council’s President, myself, Reverend Amanuel Ghareeb, the Vice-Resident; Professor Zuhair Abdul-Hadi Al-Mahmeed, who is the General Secretary and Sheikh Hussain Al-Azhary who is the Research and Consultancy Manager.
All the members agreed on the by-laws of the Council in order to strengthen relations and inter-religious dialogue between all the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait in order to cooperate and defend ourselves against any attacks on the two religions in the country and outside.
Our general targets include centering all actions and discussions from the principle of belief in and worship of One God; rallying rational energies to meet the various intellectual and societal challenges; establishing trust between the two faiths through various seminars and activities as well as providing consultation to decision makers in the Muslim and Christian communities by studying and analyzing intellectual and societal developments.
On Dec 23 last year, the Council members held a meeting to evaluate the visit that was made on Dec 14-16 to the Vatican in which they met with different councils in the Vatican such as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies.
It was a successful visit. We thank God we were able to introduce ourselves to them and build relations of cooperation. We invited them for a conference which will be held on November 2010 regarding Saint Mary and they promised to participate.
This year we are also planning to visit Egypt and meet with Muslim and Christian spiritual authorities such as Al-Azhar’s Sheikh and Mufti as well as Pope Shounuda.
Q: How did Evangelical Protestant Christianity arise and the main differences between this denomination and Catholicism?
A: This goes back to the middle ages or medieval times in the 15th century when corruption was very apparent in the Catholic Church and its teachings, which we, as Protestants, do not believe is according to the Bible. Martin Luther began the religious Protestant reformation in Germany.
He created the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 which debated and criticized the Church and the Pope and challenged their authority by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divine knowledge. His original goal was to reform the Catholic Church from inside-out and he translated the Bible from Latin into the German language in order for it to be more accessible to the people.
Among Luther’s questionings in the Theses were the intercession of and devotion to the saints as well as the mandatory clerical celibacy. However, when he was faced with severe opposition from his Holiness the Pope and other authorities, he was obliged to start a new Church. There were movements prior to his which were quickly stopped. Nevertheless, Luther succeeded in spreading his thoughts of reformation in Germany. The reformation spread to the whole of Europe, England then North America.
From what I understand, there are two explanations to Protestant Christianity. During the trial of Martin Luther they told him that he had to deny his reformation principles. He told them that, unless they provided him with proof from the Bible itself that his thoughts were wrong, he would not retract his statements. “On this I stand,” he said. So, from this statement, they said that “he protested”. So his followers are the people who ‘protested’ the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Pope.
The second explanation is the literal meaning of Latin term ‘Protestarri’. ‘Testarri’ means ‘the text’ in Latin and ‘pro’ in Latin means ‘for’ in English. So the word means ‘For the Text’, meaning the people of that faith follow the Bible only, which is considered infallible, and refuse to accept any other teachings which are only considered traditions.
The reformation also took different forms pertaining to different countries, but the main principles of Luther remained especially the authority and infallibility of the Bible. Therefore the Protestant Church does not have as much control over the interpretation of religion as the Catholics.
Evangelism is for the Protestant denominations only. Evangelism is a term that has two different meanings pertaining to the West and the Arab world. In the Arab world the term Evangelical is derived from the Arabic word ‘Injeeliya’. The term was first used in Egypt to define the Presbyterian Church which taught the ‘Injeel’ only. “Injeel’ is the Arabic word for Bible.
In the West, as far as I understand, the term Evangelical was used to define the group of Churches who concentrate on Evangelism more than other teachings. So they can say “so and so Church is Evangelical and so and so Church is not Evangelical”. According to the Bible, every Church should be Evangelical. The Church has many responsibilities but Evangelism is very important because these are the orders of Jesus Christ (PBUH).
Now there are various Protestant denominations whose followers worship in the NECK Compound.
Q: What main services does the Evangelical Church provide?
A: We have a variety of services that meet the spiritual and psychological needs of all age groups such as Sunday school, teenagers meeting, youth meeting, eagles meeting for recent university graduates as well as Al Salam International Academy, which is joint venture between, the Arabic Language Congregation and the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Kuwait. We also provide Thursday services to teach Church members of all ages, a nursery and a ministers’ training program.
The Church Diwaniya was built in order to communicate with people in the local community. Like every year we held a Christmas Diwaniya in 2009 where many people of Kuwait came to give us their well wishes. The Church also invites many high ranking Muslim and Christian authorities for Ghabqa (get-together) during Ramadan.
biography
Name: Amanuel B. Y. Ghareeb
Date of birth: 9/1/1950
Place of birth: Kuwait
Marital status: Married
Certificate: 1. Bachelor of Science (Geology, Chemistry) from Kuwait University 1971; 2. Bachelor of Theological Sciences from Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo - 1989.
Practical Experience:
n Civilian Experience:
From 1/8/1971 to 1/3/1996: Worked in the Ministry of Oil as geologist, senior geologist, controller of drilling and production and finally acting IT manager.
n Church Experience:
1979-1991: Member of Church’s Council (by election)
1991: Vice president of Church’s Council.
1997-1997: Joint Administrator of The National Evangelical Church in Kuwait.
12/10/1992: Elected and ordained as Church Ruling Elder.
1991-1996: Elected as a member of Executive Committee of The Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches (F.M.E.E.C).
1991 until now: Church representative in The Middle East Council of Churches (M.E.C.C); Member of Regional Advisory Committee of Bible Society in Gulf.
8/1/1999: Ordained and installed as The Church Pastor.
15/2/1999 until now: Selected as a coordinator between Arab Christian clergymen and government.
2005: Participated in founding The Christian Churches Fellowship In Kuwait then elected as Vice-Chairman of The Fellowship.
2009: Participated in founding Islamic Christian Relation Council then elected as Vice-Chairman of the Council.
Arab Times Christmas Day
Peace … Hope
THIS Friday millions of Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The occasion is marked by church services, carol singing, and the exchanging of gifts. The latter being a reminder that the baby born at Christmas time is a gift from God to the world. The Biblical story of the virgin birth has been ridiculed at times in the West, but It is noteworthy that the virgin birth of Jesus is also celebrated in the Holy Qur’an. In the Islamic account, Mary gives birth under a palm tree in the desert and she receives miraculous sustenance from God. Upon returning to her village, she was greeted by the villagers who commented on her having a child out of wedlock. During this encounter, the infant Jesus speaks out and silences the villagers and utters a phrase which resonates especially deeply with the Christian community. He said “Blessed is the day I was born, blessed is the day I die and blessed is the day I rise again” Surat Maryam 19.33. Although there are profound differences between Muslims and Christians in their understanding of the role and identity of Jesus, we are united in our conviction that the birth of Jesus was a God event.
Last weekend several hundred people gathered in the desert to sing carols around a bonfire. During this time, children from our church performed a nativity scene - a re-enacting of the Christmas story which ended with them calling out to the watching crowd “This Christmas - don’t forget the baby!” With the demands and challenges of daily life in Kuwait, it would be very easy during the holidays to forget the ‘reason for the season’.
Here in Kuwait, we join with the global community in thanking God for the birth of a baby boy who went onto shape human history in a profound way. We continue to be thankful to the people of Kuwait for their ongoing hospitality to the Christian community. How can we reciprocate this hospitality? St Paul’s Anglican Church has a motto on the cover of its publicity brochure which reminds us, that as Christians we are called to be salt and light - in other words, to be a blessing to wherever God places us. This should be our gift to Kuwait, for Christmas and beyond.
May God bless you during this special day and may Christ bring hope, peace and healing for the New Year.
THIS Friday millions of Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The occasion is marked by church services, carol singing, and the exchanging of gifts. The latter being a reminder that the baby born at Christmas time is a gift from God to the world. The Biblical story of the virgin birth has been ridiculed at times in the West, but It is noteworthy that the virgin birth of Jesus is also celebrated in the Holy Qur’an. In the Islamic account, Mary gives birth under a palm tree in the desert and she receives miraculous sustenance from God. Upon returning to her village, she was greeted by the villagers who commented on her having a child out of wedlock. During this encounter, the infant Jesus speaks out and silences the villagers and utters a phrase which resonates especially deeply with the Christian community. He said “Blessed is the day I was born, blessed is the day I die and blessed is the day I rise again” Surat Maryam 19.33. Although there are profound differences between Muslims and Christians in their understanding of the role and identity of Jesus, we are united in our conviction that the birth of Jesus was a God event.
Last weekend several hundred people gathered in the desert to sing carols around a bonfire. During this time, children from our church performed a nativity scene - a re-enacting of the Christmas story which ended with them calling out to the watching crowd “This Christmas - don’t forget the baby!” With the demands and challenges of daily life in Kuwait, it would be very easy during the holidays to forget the ‘reason for the season’.
Here in Kuwait, we join with the global community in thanking God for the birth of a baby boy who went onto shape human history in a profound way. We continue to be thankful to the people of Kuwait for their ongoing hospitality to the Christian community. How can we reciprocate this hospitality? St Paul’s Anglican Church has a motto on the cover of its publicity brochure which reminds us, that as Christians we are called to be salt and light - in other words, to be a blessing to wherever God places us. This should be our gift to Kuwait, for Christmas and beyond.
May God bless you during this special day and may Christ bring hope, peace and healing for the New Year.
Who Does Allah belong to?
4 Malaysian churches attacked in 'Allah' dispute
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Four Malaysian churches were attacked with firebombs, causing extensive damage to one, as Muslims pledged Friday to prevent Christians from using the word "Allah," escalating religious tensions in the multiracial country.
Many Malay Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the population, are incensed by a recent High Court decision to overturn a ban on Roman Catholics using "Allah" as a translation for God in the Malay-language edition of their main newspaper, the Herald.
The government says Allah, an Arabic word that predates Islam, is exclusive to the faith and by extension to Malays. It refuses to make an exception, even though the Herald's Malay edition is read only by Christian indigenous tribes in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak.
At Friday prayers at two main mosques in downtown Kuala Lumpur, young worshippers carried banners and gave fiery speeches, vowing to defend Islam.
"We will not allow the word Allah to be inscribed in your churches," one speaker shouted into a loudspeaker at the Kampung Bahru mosque. About 50 other people carried posters reading "Heresy arises from words wrongly used" and "Allah is only for us."
"Islam is above all. Every citizen must respect that," said Ahmad Johari, who attended prayers at the National Mosque. "I hope the court will understand the feeling of the majority Muslims of Malaysia. We can fight to the death over this issue."
The demonstrations were held inside the mosque compounds to follow a police order against protests on the streets. Participants dispersed peacefully afterward.
Malaysia is often held up as a model for other Islamic countries because of its economic development, progressive society and generally peaceful coexistence between the Malay majority and the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities who are mostly Christians, Buddhists and Hindus.
The Allah controversy, however, has the potential to shatter that carefully nurtured harmony, drive a deep racial wedge and scare away sorely needed foreign investment as the country struggles to emerge from the global financial crisis.
Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the attacks on the churches by unidentified assailants, who struck before dawn in different suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. He said the government would "take whatever steps it can to prevent such acts."
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the country's leaders were very concerned about the situation.
"We don't want this to spread out into something else. ... I am not only assuring the minorities, I am assuring all Malaysians -- anybody who is in Malaysia -- that they are safe," he told reporters.
In the first attack, the ground-level office of the three-story Metro Tabernacle Church was destroyed in a blaze set off by a firebomb thrown by attackers on motorcycles soon after midnight, police said. The worship areas on the upper two floors were undamaged and there were no injuries.
Three other churches were attacked hours later, with one sustaining minor damage while the others were not damaged. No arrests have been made.
The tribespeople of Sabah and Sarawak, who speak only Malay, have always referred to God as "Allah," an Arabic word used not only by Muslims but also by Christians in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Syria and Indonesia.
Many Malaysian Muslims say its use by others would mislead people, tempting them to convert to Christianity.
Since the verdict, hateful comments and threats against Christians have been posted widely on the Internet, but this was the first time the controversy turned destructive.
Kuala Lumpur police Chief Mohamad Sabtu Osman told The Associated Press that a witness saw four people on two motorcycles breaking the glass front of the Metro Tabernacle church and throwing an incendiary object inside before fleeing.
He said police found a wrench, an empty gasoline can and two scorched motorcycle helmets at the scene.
The backlash against the court verdict has reinforced complaints by minorities that they face institutional discrimination. They say it is almost impossible to get permission to build new churches and temples. Some Hindu temples have been demolished in the past. Court verdicts in religious disputes usually favor Muslims.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Four Malaysian churches were attacked with firebombs, causing extensive damage to one, as Muslims pledged Friday to prevent Christians from using the word "Allah," escalating religious tensions in the multiracial country.
Many Malay Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the population, are incensed by a recent High Court decision to overturn a ban on Roman Catholics using "Allah" as a translation for God in the Malay-language edition of their main newspaper, the Herald.
The government says Allah, an Arabic word that predates Islam, is exclusive to the faith and by extension to Malays. It refuses to make an exception, even though the Herald's Malay edition is read only by Christian indigenous tribes in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak.
At Friday prayers at two main mosques in downtown Kuala Lumpur, young worshippers carried banners and gave fiery speeches, vowing to defend Islam.
"We will not allow the word Allah to be inscribed in your churches," one speaker shouted into a loudspeaker at the Kampung Bahru mosque. About 50 other people carried posters reading "Heresy arises from words wrongly used" and "Allah is only for us."
"Islam is above all. Every citizen must respect that," said Ahmad Johari, who attended prayers at the National Mosque. "I hope the court will understand the feeling of the majority Muslims of Malaysia. We can fight to the death over this issue."
The demonstrations were held inside the mosque compounds to follow a police order against protests on the streets. Participants dispersed peacefully afterward.
Malaysia is often held up as a model for other Islamic countries because of its economic development, progressive society and generally peaceful coexistence between the Malay majority and the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities who are mostly Christians, Buddhists and Hindus.
The Allah controversy, however, has the potential to shatter that carefully nurtured harmony, drive a deep racial wedge and scare away sorely needed foreign investment as the country struggles to emerge from the global financial crisis.
Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the attacks on the churches by unidentified assailants, who struck before dawn in different suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. He said the government would "take whatever steps it can to prevent such acts."
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the country's leaders were very concerned about the situation.
"We don't want this to spread out into something else. ... I am not only assuring the minorities, I am assuring all Malaysians -- anybody who is in Malaysia -- that they are safe," he told reporters.
In the first attack, the ground-level office of the three-story Metro Tabernacle Church was destroyed in a blaze set off by a firebomb thrown by attackers on motorcycles soon after midnight, police said. The worship areas on the upper two floors were undamaged and there were no injuries.
Three other churches were attacked hours later, with one sustaining minor damage while the others were not damaged. No arrests have been made.
The tribespeople of Sabah and Sarawak, who speak only Malay, have always referred to God as "Allah," an Arabic word used not only by Muslims but also by Christians in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Syria and Indonesia.
Many Malaysian Muslims say its use by others would mislead people, tempting them to convert to Christianity.
Since the verdict, hateful comments and threats against Christians have been posted widely on the Internet, but this was the first time the controversy turned destructive.
Kuala Lumpur police Chief Mohamad Sabtu Osman told The Associated Press that a witness saw four people on two motorcycles breaking the glass front of the Metro Tabernacle church and throwing an incendiary object inside before fleeing.
He said police found a wrench, an empty gasoline can and two scorched motorcycle helmets at the scene.
The backlash against the court verdict has reinforced complaints by minorities that they face institutional discrimination. They say it is almost impossible to get permission to build new churches and temples. Some Hindu temples have been demolished in the past. Court verdicts in religious disputes usually favor Muslims.
Thursday 7 January 2010
Christmas Baby
I held a new born baby, last week. At two weeks old, the little chap was well wrapped up and bundled in a warm blanket. What was unusual about this baby was his surroundings. We were in a cell in a police station. His mother, a rape victim was in jail for absconding. Her case highlighted for me some of the challenges that face workers in Kuwait. She does not want to go through the lengthy process of a court case to fight for justice – she simply wants to go home – with the baby.
Giving birth to children outside of wedlock is a crime in Kuwait. Even rape victims are treated as criminals unless proved otherwise. To register a birth in Kuwait requires the father’s identity and a marriage certificate. No father and no marriage certificate means no birth certificate can be issued easily. This means that mother and child can spend months in jail. Embassies can help, but they can only respond if the police inform them. In the case above, this little fellow is sharing a small cell with a dozen other women with one toilet between them. Supplies are minimal and his diet is unpredictable. We discovered that he was regularly fed mineral water. The police, though sympathetic were unable to do much. We offered sanctuary, but was told the baby is a ward of state for the time being. Upon contacting the embassy of the rape victim I was told that they had no knowledge of the mother or the baby. They would come they assured me, if the police will call them.
Giving birth to a baby is hard at the best of times, but if you know that your baby is illegal and that a jail sentence is inevitable, I wonder what you would do? For a maid, with little money and opportunity, they often feel that they have no choice but to get rid of the baby as soon as possible without being caught. The result is that babies are born in secret and then abandoned to die. Precise statistics are obviously hard to get.
If a baby is found before it dies, the child is placed in a ward at hospital and efforts are made to locate the parents. If after thirty days no parents are found, then the baby is placed in an orphanage and given Kuwaiti citizenship. Sometimes they are taken in by local families, but expatriates are not allowed to adopt orphans. Several expatriates have tried to adopt orphan children but have been
told outright that this is impossible. While the orphanage is well supplied, no institution can ever be a substitute for a loving family.
Babies are a gift from God. Society is entrusted with their care, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Illegitimacy and poverty is no barrier to the potential opportunities and achievements of a child. We are forcefully reminded of this by the baby born at Christmas time. Born in a crude stable of questionable parentage, Jesus reminds us of how God identifies with the poor and the
weak in our society. His life and work provokes us to once again look at the most vulnerable in our society with care and respect.
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