q8bridge

Farewell

2011-10-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

Reverend Andrew Thompson has now moved to the United Arab Emirates and now serves as Senior Chaplain in Abu Dhabi. In January 2011 he was awarded the MBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for services to Human Rights and Interfaith Dialogue in Kuwait.

Reverend Andrew looks back on his time in Kuwait as formative and sees the lessons learned there as valuable for future ministry in the Islamic world. The church in Kuwait operates in a challenging environment but there is a great richness in the diversity of nationalities who gather weekly for worship. He is thankful to God for the wonderful friendships built with the Kuwaiti people themselves and he admires the hospitality extended to the Church. Kuwait faces many challenges politically and economically and he prays for the government of Kuwait that they may be granted wisdom and compassion in equal measure.

2010-11-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

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

farewell to chaplain from Arab Times

2010-06-16T07:11:00.001-07:00

‘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.

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By: Nihal Sharaf

farewell to chaplain from Arab Times

2010-06-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Arab times article May 8th

2010-05-09T22:02:00.005-07:00

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.

British Embassy Kuwait Article

2010-04-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

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.

Kuwait Times Newspaper 30th April

2010-04-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

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.

Book Launch of The Christian Church in Kuwait

2010-04-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

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.

Where is Rupa?

2010-04-07T10:20:00.001-07:00

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!

No Justice in Kuwait for some

2010-03-16T04:34:00.000-07:00

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.

.

The Christian Church in Kuwait

2010-02-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

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.

Kuwait Priest

2010-01-08T04:41:00.002-08:00

‘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

2010-01-08T04:36:00.001-08:00

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.

Who Does Allah belong to?

2010-01-08T04:33:00.001-08:00

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.

Christmas Baby

2010-01-07T04:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Absconding

2009-12-15T23:03:00.000-08:00

SO, you sign a contract turn up for work only to find that the job was not what you had signed up for. Not only has the job changed, but the agreed salary has been reduced. Naturally you are upset, but you are told firmly that you have no say in the matter and your only choice is to settle in and work out the remainder of your term under the new memorandum of understanding to which you never consented. What would you do?Most people resentfully buckle in under threat and comply. But for those who choose to rightfully complain and ask to be released — they get charged with absconding and end up in jail for months with their passports held by their employers.
Migrante International, a human rights group has recently pleaded with the Filipino Embassy in Kuwait to assist with the release and repatriation of 36 workers who are in jail on the charge of absconding. These men have been in jail for several months and are desperate to return home to be with their families. What is their crime? To protest the terms of a contract that they never agreed to in the first place.Absconding is when an employee breaks the terms of their contract and runs away. Given that Kuwait is a small country it is understandable that there is a desire for some kind of population control. However, how does one protect the abuse of vulnerable workers by unscrupulous employers?
The reality is that the charge of absconding has become the standard ploy whenever an employer decides that they have had enough of their workers. The police are unable to make a distinction between a genuine grievance and an employer who simply marches into a station and hands his employees over for arrest. The police have become unwilling accomplices in solving the problem of unwanted labour. Although Kuwaiti law insists that the employer is liable for repatriating their own workers, in reality, some employers absolve their responsibilities by playing the ‘absconding’ card. The result is overstretched and under-resourced embassies deluged with labour complaints and little means of challenging the process. I can’t help think of the ‘golden rule’ first spoken by Jesus Christ, “Do unto others what you would have them do to you” Is absconding a crime? Sure it is — but who is the criminal?

Magic and Religion

2009-09-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

The talk of British television at the moment is magician Derren Brown. Everyone is trying to guess how he accomplishes his amazing tricks. Some simply say that Derren is the real thing - he does real magic!!!

Both Christianity and Islam subcribe to the world of the supernatural. We believe that there is a God and he can do miracles. These are accomplished through prayer and the grace of God. The inevitable result is always the glorifying of God.

Magicians though, just entertain. They bewilder and amuse in equal turn. Ever wondered how magicians accomplish their stuff. Then check out the following. Everything is explained.

Click Here!

Leave the real magic to God.

Learning Arabic

2009-09-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Learning a language is always a rewarding challenge. Learning Arabic is even more so. Here in Kuwait though it seems hard work to learn and . . . expensive.

The AWARE centre do good classes and I recommend them - but they require getting to Surra and if you live far away itis a pain. The other option is to learn online:

I really recommend the following course for learning Arabic. It is instantly downloadable and you can learn at your own pace from your home. Check it out in order to receive ten books aimed at getting you into the Arabic language without blinding you with science.

Click Here!

Another option is an online course called Rocket Arabic which aims to get you going like a . . . erm . . a rocket!!! Check it out here:

Rocket Arabic Click Here!

The Kuwaitis love it when we expatriates try and learn their language. Give it a go.

BTW! My Arabic is rubbish - but I can read it and get a laugh everytime I open my mouth. T'is fun! And actually I am slowly making myself more understood.

Does North Korea execute Muslims as well?

2009-07-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

North Korea 'executes Christians'
By Andre Vornic BBC News

North Korea views religion as a threat to its state ideology

Human rights groups in South Korea say North Korea has stepped up executions of Christians, some of them in public.

The communist country, the world's most closed society, views religion as a major threat.
Only the founder of the country, Kim Il-sung, and his son, Kim Jong-il, may be worshipped, in mass public displays of fervour.

Despite the persecutions, it is thought up to 30,000 North Koreans may practise Christianity secretly in their homes.

A report by a number of South Korean groups highlights one particular case of a woman allegedly executed in public last month, in a northern town close to the Chinese border.
She was accused of distributing Bibles, spying for South Korea and the United States and helping to organise dissidents.

Her parents, husband, and children were sent to a prison camp.
Such reports are hard to verify, but North Korea is known to be intolerant of religion - it views any form of alternative social organisation as a competitor for its own, religion-like ideology.
The US government says just owning a Bible in North Korea may be a cause for torture and disappearance.

Pyongyang's position appears to have hardened on everything from human rights to defence policy and international relations in the last year or so.

It is thought this may be a way to shore up the government through Mr Kim's illness and the process of anointing his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as North Korea's next leader.

This is Outrageous. When is this stuff ever going to stop?

2009-07-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Manila maid ‘survives’ to tell sadist employer’s torture saga

KUWAIT CITY, July 18: A Filipina household service worker employed by a Kuwaiti family sought refuge at the Philippine Embassy this weekend after allegedly suffering severe maltreatment for almost two years at the hands of her lady employer. Jenny, 41, single and a native of Alabang, Manila was sobbing in pain as she narrated to the Arab Times on Saturday the ‘burning’ torture that her lady employer allegedly did on her. “There was no single day that she did not hurt me. She loved hurting me,” cried Jenny as she showed all the scars and fresh wounds dotting her body. She recounted that her lady employer would usually time her whenever a household task is to be done. “She wants me to finish everything fast, but I’m the only housemaid at home and she has two small kids. We’re staying in a flat with four rooms and with four bathrooms. I do all the household chores, cook, clean, baby-sit and laundry. Sometimes, due to extreme fatigue, I tend to work slowly and she would be very mad at me and the torture begins,” she stated. She narrated that her lady employer had fun torturing her by heating a knife on the stove and once it is scorching hot, she would place the hot knife on any part of the latter’s body leaving burns and blisters.
“I kept on begging her not to do it. I said, enough, enough madam, but she won’t stop until my skin is burnt and blistered. It was horrible. She looked like a devil hitting me with the hot knife. How can a normal person do that?” sobbed Jenny whose wrists, arms, left foot and back were covered with bandage to prevent burnt infection after coming from the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital for treatment. Her ears resembled like a crunchy chicharron after her lady employer burnt them with a knife. “She burned my ears, because there was a time when she called me and I wasn’t able to go to her immediately because I was doing something at the kitchen so she got angry and burned my two ears for not replying to her quickly,” she stated as tears welled in her eyes.
The lady employer also burned her hands and arms with the hot knife for not washing the dishes quickly. “She burned my legs and foot for walking slowly, she burned my nape too and she boxed me on my eye so that I cannot see things clearly,” outlined Jenny. The lady employer also did not spare Jenny’s lips. As she narrated her harrowing experience, she pointed to her blistered, flaking and discoloured burnt lips. “She also hit my back using a water hose and lashed me with the ‘oqal’ of her husband,” she stated, showing her scarred back with newly bandaged burn wounds. The ‘oqal’ is the doubled black cord generally made of tightly woven black goat-hair and sheep’s wool, that is used to secure the ‘Ghutra’ or headdress of Arab men in place.
The lady employer also cut the shoulder-length hair of Jenny leaving her almost bald. “I want to fight back but I was scared because she’s six-months pregnant and I might harm her baby so I endured all the beatings,” she pointed out. After inflicting pain on her, the lady employer would usually give her some cream to treat the burns in various parts of her body. “I really can’t understand why she’s doing that. She would even ask me to wear gloves while washing the dishes to protect my hands and give me hand moisturisers,” she stated.
Last week, the lady employer allegedly threatened to burn Jenny’s eyes and face, prompting the latter to run to the embassy for help. “I finally decided to run to the embassy for help because only God knows, I may not be able to control myself and I might be forced to fight back and I might harm her and the baby in her womb,” she stated. She called first the local manpower agency that recruited her and asked for help but the man from the agency refused to help her. “I told him, please help me, take me out from this hell, but the guy at the agency even scolded me and told me not to go to the agency or he will kick me out of the agency. I called them five times. So I decided to sneak out of the house and go to the embassy” she claimed.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador Ricardo Endaya disclosed that the embassy has already hired a Kuwaiti lawyer for Jenny so appropriate charges will be filed against her lady employer. “I’m still at a loss how a human being can do this to her fellow human being. I hope the Kuwaiti authorities will not close their eyes on this so that justice will be served and the employer should be castigated for committing such inhumane acts,” he stressed. “I want her to be in jail. She should pay for what she has done to me,” cried Jenny as she hopes to go back to the Philippines after getting the justice that she wants.
By Michelle Fe Santiago

Islamic Art - Through the Eyes of Faith

2009-07-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Geometric patterns, in near infinite variations of pattern and scale are combined with floral and vegetal designs for a reason that exceeds any aesthetic directive: they express something about the world itself.[1]

Islamic art in its two dimensional form, falls into the three genres of calligraphy, geometry, and nature. Entire books can be devoted to each of these genres alone, but it is common in Islamic religious art to find all three present at the same time.

The Grand mosque of Kuwait is full of these triadic surprises and contains beautiful examples of Islamic art. The subject of this article is the small mihrab (prayer niche). There are six[2] identical mihrabs built into the South-West wall. Their function is to serve as the jibla’, pointing the faithful to pray in the direction of Mecca. They also serve as a sound chamber and ‘pulpit’ for a teacher speaking to small groups of students.

The art portrayed in the mihrab is bewilderingly complex, integrating abstract geometrical patterns, swirling leaves, and a wonderful motif of the honey comb[3]. The geometrical patterns are divided from the portrayal of nature (the honey and leaves) by verses from the Qurán written in Kufi script. Framing the top of the mihrab chamber is an outcrop of Isfahan style stucco. It conveys images of stalactites found in a cave[4] and indeed standing inside the mihrab is a cave like experience. You are embraced by the chamber and your view of the vast worship area in front of you is framed by the archway of the entrance.

If you start from the ground up, the richly coloured hues of blue, yellow and brown Morrocan mosaic patterns portray star and circle shapes. There is a complex repetition requires some concentration to discern, though one is subconsciously aware that there is order. which The mathematics under-girding this art form is formidable. Its origins lie in Pythagorean Theorem which was brilliantly applied to an Islamic context by early Islamic philosopher al-Kindi. The geometrical patterns convey a cosmology which reveals the belief that the universe reflect an intelligent design held together in unity by a creator. The early Islamic philosophers believed that part of their task was to discern the patterns and principles which governed the cosmos and in doing so they would learn more of the divine nature. The geometrical designs reflect the crystalline structures believed to be the building blocks of creation[5]. Yet this philosophy acknowledged that as well as frozen shapes there is a fluidity and variety which reflects the work of the eternal divine principle. Think of the snowflake. There is a basic structure and yet within this order is an endless variety of swirling patterns.

This stunning design is then interrupted at head level by the calligraphic words from the Qurán. Then arching over your head is carved a series of honeycomb motifs[6], the familiar hexagon construct framed by an intricate pattern of leaves and plant tendrils.

The mihrabs in the mosque blend the three elements of order, voice and nature. It conveys a theology to the believer of a created world divided by the spoken Word which separates the created and temporal from the sublime and eternal gardens of paradise. The stucco outcrop framing the mihrab suggests that the believer can encounter the divine within the context of our cave experiences.

[1] Jason Elliot. 2006. Mirrors of the Unseen. (Picador:London)
[2] The number six is significant in Islamic numerology. For an explanation see Keith Critchlow’s, (1999) Islamic Patterns.
[3] According to the Qurán a river of honey flows in paradise.(Surah 47.15)
[4] The prophet of Islam received his first revelation of the Qurán while meditating in a cave.
[5] Modern science vindicates this understanding of nature with the discover of the atom cell, DNA structures and so on.
[6] And your Lord taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees. . . there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men: Verily, in this is a sign for those who give thought. (Surah 16:68-69)

Integration and Identity

2009-06-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Archbishop Gorien of the Armenian Kuwait community (in purple sleeves)

Two enduring images stick in my mind from last week. One was from an event organized by the British Council celebrating its 75th anniversary. In this event Dominic Miller, a renowned guitarist from the West was improvising music opposite the talented Kuwaiti Oud player, Fawzi Al Lingawi. Against a progressive sequence of 6th chords inspired by Chopin played on a classical guitar, the Oud weaved a haunting and magical melody. The unlikely juxtaposition of Western music with Arab music led to a completely unexpected result. It sounded fabulous. Guitar and Oud merged together in an emotional and intense celebration of their different timbres and scales. It worked so well that it bought tears to the eyes of the audience.

Despite the different musical traditions and experiences of the performers, they were able to integrate their styles together while at the same time maintaining their distinctive identities. The second event was a colourful and riotous celebration by Armenian students. Hosted by the Armenian Archbishop, Dr Gorian Babian, the evening unveiled an exuberant program of cultural dancing and music. Over forty students performed dances not only from their own rich and ancient culture but also from the other traditions embracing jazz, rock n roll and ball room dancing. Songs were sung in English, Greek, French, and Armenian. Celebration speeches were in Arabic, English and Armenian. In short, the Armenian community impressively demonstrated their ability to integrate into other cultures while at the same time remaining rooted in their own distinctive culture and faith.

Integration and identity are core skills required for our world today. The failure to integrate results in marginalisation and suspicion . The failure to be rooted in a distinctive identity leads to fear and insecurity. The Armenian community knows this and they have invested deliberately in institutions which maintain and reinforce their identity. Yet at the same time they have integrated into their host country so effectively that at times they seem invisible - so good are they at learning the languages and functioning in a culture not their own. They are confident, secure and successful and everyone benefits. It is troubling therefore to read of election candidates who are threatened by other cultures and faiths and would seek to suppress them. As Kuwait heads into the elections, I pray that God will raise leaders who will continue the rich and long tradition of a country where diverse cultures and faiths not only meet and co-exist but are also celebrated.

An Islamist talks about religion in Kuwait

2009-05-12T04:52:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from an Interview with Dawood Salmon Al Essa.

(Arab Times 11th May 2009)

Q: Religion is fundamentally about beliefs, which differ from person to person. As beliefs are not supposed to be imposed on anyone, don’t you think those who want to live life the way they want to must be given the right to do so? Take for example segregation in universities; those who want to send their children to unisex schools must have an option, and likewise those who want to send their children to coed schools must also be given a choice. Isn’t that a fair deal?

A: We have a clearl scripture sent by God to us. And we have in our midst scholars who can explain that to us. The prophet said that he has taught us everything that takes us close to God, and forbidden us from all that which takes us away from God. It’s easy and simple.

Q: No, what I am asking is that when Islam is clear on issues of Halal and Haram, does it say that these should be enforced on people, irrespective of what they believe?

A: No. Islam does not force people to accept Islam. It just invites people to its fold. If you are not a Muslim you can’t stay in an Islamic country, until you have a contract with the government that you will not spread your beliefs and practices in the society. You can live by your beliefs personally, but it should not be made public. Yes, non-Muslims have rights, but it should not in any way cross the limits set my Islam. For example, if a woman decides to wear minis and walk in the street, then she will be forced to cover herself more modestly. But she can do so in her home.Good and evil have been clearly demarcated in Islam, and evil must be stopped while good has to be encouraged.

Q: But in very orthodox countries, I heard that people of other faiths are not even allowed to practice their religion. Is that justified by Islam?

A: That’s what I said. If you practice your religion, other than Islam, then it’s seen as corrupting the society.

Q: How does it affect the society if a person of a different faith reads his scripture or worships his god?A: From an Islamic point of view, the meanest of all deeds is the worship of a deity other than the one true God. So, when a man practices his faith openly, he could cast a negative influence on Muslims who may not be well versed in Islam, and they in their ignorance might take to this false worship. That can affect them. A Muslim is a Muslim whether he is knowledgeable in religion or not. But when you are not a Muslim and practice a different faith, you can have a negative influence on those Muslims who are not very knowledgeable. If these create problems for non-Muslims, then they are free to go to their country and practice their faith.

Q: But can’t you practice your faith privately?

A: That’s okay. Because then it’s only between you and God. But you can’t come out on the street flourishing a cross and preaching your religion. Such acts are prohibited in Saudi Arabia. Though Kuwaiti law does not prohibit this, it is prohibited in the religion.In Kuwait, they permit people to do whatever they want. This can affect Muslims. But, Muslims here are well grounded in religion and live the correct life. Alhamdulillah.

Q: Coming from a country like India, I enjoy complete religious freedom. India is a secular nation, but more than 80 percent of its population of a billion are Hindus. Yet, I have the right to practice and preach my religion there. So is the case with most modern nations. Don’t you think in an increasingly interdependent world we have to be more tolerant of each other’s faith, at least to be fair to those people who give us freedom to practice our faith in their countries?

A: We have to be allowed to follow our religion wherever we are because Islam is the true religion of God. There is no room for formalities and niceties here. Our prophet (PBUH) is the last prophet and everyone has to believe in him. It’s more a question of right and wrong, and not about diplomacy. Would you allow foreigners to indulge in corruption in your country, just because their countries have treated you well? It’s similar to that. If a country doesn’t allow you to practice Islam then a Muslim shouldn’t go to that country.It’s on this basis, that some scholars say that Sharia does not allow a Muslim to go to non-Muslim lands.

Q: But as a person who has traveled a lot, you have enjoyed religious freedom in countries like the US. Now when a person from America comes here, don’t you think it’s a basic courtesy that we give our guests at least the same treatment that they offered us, if not better?

A: No. As I said, this is not about courtesy. The situation is more serious. It’s about truth and about salvation in the hereafter.

Q: I heard a Hadith that the Prophet (PBUH) once received a non-Muslim delegation and permitted them to conduct their prayers in the mosque. Is that correct?

A: I didn’t hear anything like that. I don’t think this is authentic Hadith.

Actually this man is very consistent in his beliefs and views and I truly respect him for that. However I cannot help wonder what this would mean for the many residents of Kuwait who do practice another religion. There is for example a native Kuwaiti Christian community - how would sharia' law affect them? What do you think?

faith and young people

2009-05-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

Jesus once summarised the divine law into two commandments. “Love God and love your neighbour” was his pithy sound-bite.

As the sectarian violence within and between faith communities continue to rage in Iraq and beyond I often speculate as to how we can apply Jesus’ teachings into this arena.

It seems to me that the most effective way is through an educational encounter between young members of different faiths. One project I was involved with in Birmingham was called Young People and Faith. It was designed by an inner city schools worker called Andrew Smith. He drew up an educational program which he felt would help to encounter the ignorance and prejudice which was a daily feature in the life of inner city school students.To see this project in action was a wonderful experience. Two groups of students representing different faiths (on this day it was Christian and Muslim) were to spend the day together. The morning started with ‘icebreaker’ type questions such as “What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?” “What are your favourite movies?” “What do you do at the weekend?” And so on.

They did talk about their religion and described their religious communal life and how they felt and experienced their respective faith. There was no proselytizing but rather a sharing of what God meant to them. There was also a basic introduction to both faiths given by a representative of that faith.

What really united the young people however was their shared sense of injustice and their common concerns about drug abuse, bullying and prejudice.As the day progressed, it was so encouraging to see the atmosphere transform from mutual wariness to a warm and light acceptance. Laughter broke out, jokes were shared. The end of the day was marked by going out to a bowling alley where the two groups mixing freely now, swapped phone numbers and e-mail addresses with promises of keeping in touch. For those young people, barriers of ignorance and hostility had been breached with trust and laughter. It is difficult to be prejudiced against someone who is your friend.

All this was achieved in the space of one day. Clearly it will take a lot longer for the damaged young people in places like Iraq and Palestine. It is not impossible though. For example, summer camps bringing together Palestinian youth and Jewish youth have done much to neutralise the hatred fostering in their young hearts towards one another. It is but just a small step in seeking to “Love God and love our neighbour.”

When the boats come home.

2009-04-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

“Never surrender your passport to someone to keep!” is advice which is often given to expatriates on arriving in the Gulf. In practice this is harder than it sounds. I know one British employee who was told that if he did not hand his passport over his job contract would be terminated there and then. He reluctantly handed it over and then had the frustrating fight to get it back when he went on his holidays.

Talking through this issue with a Kuwaiti friend, he shrugged and said that it is to be expected that employers keep passports. Even though they know it is against the law! This is a fact. It is against the law for employers to confiscate and keep passports. Passports in truth belong to the governments who issue them and so anyone who needs their passports back should advise their embassy.

It is a puzzle though where this practice comes from. Why is it normative for employers to break the law in this matter so consistently? As a phenomenon it is not unique to Kuwait, it occurs all over the Gulf. One whisper of an answer was suggested to me though the reading of Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book ‘Outliers’. He points to how attitudes and behaviours are preserved in specific cultures and passed on from generation to generation. In his provocative book he explores how this works using the institute of slavery as one example.

So what historical institution emerged in the Gulf which allowed the widespread practice of withholding passports against the employees’ will?

Authors Paul Dresch and James Piscatori in their book “Monarchies and Nations” point to the pearling industry. Pearling has a shared history in all the Gulf states and we can see in this historical institution the patterns and attitudes which shape today’s employers in the Gulf. Dresch and Piscatori wrote that the pearling industry was “built on debt bondage and indentured labour, where historically a diver in debt needed his captain’s release to work for another or face arrest for absconding. The labour market was regulated by freezing the labourer in his relationship to one employer. . . This system of private policing most probably deterred criminal behaviour among expatriates, but it also facilitated criminality among sponsors.” They then go on to explain how sponsors continue this tradition by holding passports.

History is a powerful shaper.. Today the pearling industry has virtually disappeared due to the Japanese innovation of cultured pearls. Yet the old attitudes prevail. The problem is that these attitudes now contravene the modern laws of Kuwait and international law. The boats have come home to a new world where the rules have changed. A law passed in 2007 says that passports can not be held by employers against the employees will. This law needs to be more widely known and enforced.

The scriptures advise “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. . . .For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.” (Romans 13.1-3.)

Maid Abuse (Again!)

2009-04-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

“CAN we help?” is a question a lot of people ask when they hear news of another unfortunate soul who has slipped between the cracks of society. Here is a story of what happened when some friends of mine did try to help. They reached out to a Nepali lady who was injured after jumping out of a third floor window in order to escape her abusive employers. This maid had surgery on her pelvis and spine, was five months pregnant and to add insult to injury was serving a sentence in deportation jail on an absconding charge. (Why don’t they arrest the abusive employers?)
The authorities finally agreed to let my friends buy an airline ticket to allow her to go home. But when it came to processing the paperwork, the officials claimed to have lost the Nepali girl’s passport (it was found in the same drawer where it was originally deposited). Finally on the day that the ticket would have expired, out of desperation, the friends turned up the jail ready to take her themselves to the airport. The deportation staff reluctantly escorted the Nepali maid to the airport, and made sure that their annoyance was expressed by denying the poor girl use of a wheel chair and insisted that she walked the whole way through the airport and immigration in order to punish her. The abuse of this girl continued right up to the moment she boarded the plane.
She was the lucky one! She got out. Others receiving help are still stuck at the deportation centre. Tickets have been bought to allow them to go home, but they have expired because someone, somewhere will not process their paperwork. Hundreds of dinars from those who wish to help have been wasted. Prisoners are losing their minds because they have been stranded in the deportation centre for months. The tragedy is that often their tickets have been bought and paid for by people who have shown acts of charity – but bureaucratic apathy has reduced these efforts of kindness to nought. The tickets expire and dreams of going home are reduced to despair.
Please note, we are not talking about convicted criminals here. We are talking about people who chose to leave their employers under dire circumstances and who want to go home. Can you help? Of course you can. But you need to be committed and determined to see it through. Helping people in Kuwait is not for the faint hearted, but there will be reward and God sees what we do. “The King will reply ‘Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me”. (Matthew 25:40)

Will Shari'a law make Kuwait a better place?

2008-11-23T06:11:00.001-08:00

The trouble with religion is that it acts like a magnifying glass. When people are in harmony with God and with one another ,religion becomes a beautiful gift. God is glorified and and all is magnificient. This is rare though. So rare that it is hard to think of a time in history when a people who applied the laws of God to themselves as a nation were upheld as a model to aspire to. Even the Old Testament epic of a people who followed God through the desert and established themselves in the Promised land failed to impress. There was corruption, there was consistent and deliberate rebellion - in short religious laws did nothing to make people into a better nation.

The pattern conintues throughout the Middle Ages. under the power of the Christian church we had the Inquisition, the fanatical Crusades and thousands of people were tortured to death in the name of Christ - all sanctioned by the laws of state which applied the rule of God. never again should we let the church be the ruling power of any nation.

Then there is the Islamic sharia' law. Admittedly there has been periods of history where Islamic law held vast empires together and culture and education flourished. What happened? There is a recent call for Sharia law to be applied in Kuwait. I asked a Kuwaiti friend recently what he thought. He admitted that there is no contemporary society in the world today who offer a positive model of Islamic law. Instead we think of Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan under the Taleban and Pakistan. None of them inspire us as fair and free societies. What on earth makes Kuwait thinks she can do any better? History would suggest otherwise.

As a Christian I think we are called to be good citizens by being salt and light. This means being engaged in our society and seeking to serve all humanity. Our religious beliefs and convictions should impact the public domain in a positive way. The minute though we have a group of people who starts to impose God's will in the form of codified laws we are in trouble. Of course the law should reflect the compassion and justice of God - but this is best achieved through God working through the lives of individuals and transforming them into his likeness through loving relationship. This is when religion comes at its best. Unsolicited grace and mercy manifested though a desire to do the right thing rather than because we are legally obliged to do so. May God write his laws on our hearts.

What do you think? Will Sharia Law make Kuwait a better place?

Fundamentalism in Kuwait

2008-10-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

The Australian Embassy security warning to the GCC states of a serious and credible terrorist threat is raising the spectra of religion gone badly wrong . . . again!

Fundamentalism is getting a bad name! The term fundamentalism was originally used as a label to describe Christians in the American Bible Belt who reacted to the perceived threat of liberalism in the Church by producing a series of tracts calling for a return to the fundamentals of the Christian faith. The fundamentals for this group was an unswerving faith in the Bible as the Word of God and the historical veracity of a crucified and risen Christ. In this sense then, I am happy to describe myself as a fundamentalist Christian. People are not comfortable with that label though. Fundamentalism has become a term which is used to describe religious fanatics. Instead of fundamentalist I would prefer the use of the word extremist to describe someone whose religious views has polarized the world into ‘them and us’. The rise of religious extremism is an alarming and unexpected feature of our contemporary world and it affects every faith community. It is expressed through the bombing of abortion clinics in the USA, the recent persecution of Christians in India by Hindus and terrorism in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and beyond.

So what are the features of religious extremism and when does someone cross the line from being a fundamentalist to something more ominous? The following is a simple and helpful guide. Scholars identify the following trends. Extremism often starts as a reaction to a perceived threat within their own faith community. Often the worse form of hostility is manifest between different sects who bear almost identical convictions. Church history for example, is peppered with brutal confrontation between Catholics and Protestants.
Secondly, extremism justifies the use of violence as a means to an end. The end is usually the desire to forcibly impose their version of truth upon others.
Finally extremism emphasizes a dogmatic and exclusivist theology which polarizes and dehumanizes others of different convictions.

The wide scale suffering caused by religious extremism is causing some to see all religion as the problem. The atheists argue that religion simply has to go (we won’t mention Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and Hitler who have massacred millions out of their atheist convictions).

Instead I believe a solution is a return to the fundamentals. Essentially a fundamentalist is someone who believes in the fundamentals of their faith. The scriptures insist on a compassionate theology. You cannot have ‘Love your neighbour’ and ‘burn heretic burn’ as compatible convictions. Fundamentalism should in fact provoke us to take a firm stand on such issues as poverty and exploitation and heighten our commitment to campaign for a better world.

(Islam is not unique to being portrayed as a religion with a sword. The picture at the top comes from a church window in Kuwait. It is a picture of St Paul wielding one mighty big sword!)

St Paul's Church says Eid Mubarak!

2008-09-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

Eid al Fitr is the feast of the breaking of fast. After a tough month of Ramadan where devout Muslims endure hot weather without any food or drink in the daytime there is ample cause for celebration

The discipline required to succeed in this fast is formidable and I admire those who can meet the rigours of Ramadan, especially in this kind of heat. An earlier post received by one of my readers lamented the wide scale hypocrisy by those who say they are observing the fast when in fact they are not. Surely though God sees and knows the intents of our hearts and there is no deceiving Him with our actions.

This raises for me the challenge of prescribing a religious practice and imposing it on all society. Kuwait is in fact one of the few countries in the world where ramadan has such an overwhelming impact on public life. Expatriates and visitors are quite startled by the realisation that literally all the restuarants and hotels are closed in the daytime. The result is a split society. The obvious split is between those who have to eat and drink in secret because they are not of the Islamic faith and those who are fasting out of conviction. Yet, there are those Muslims who are not fasting simply because they do not want to - and they resent having to be hypocritical, ie; pretending to fast in order to keep face with family and society.

Is there a law in Kuwait that punishes non-fasting Muslims? Surely God would prefer a straight forward honest "I am not fasting this year" posture rather than a deceitful pretence. Is hypocrisy rewarded? No religion is exempt from hypocrisy and the Church has its fair share too.

Jesus said that when you fast you should not let anyone see and that those who show off that they are fasting will get their reward in full! In other words they will get the admiration and respect from their fellow humans but God is not fooled.

Whatever you think and whoever you are, I send you greetings in the name of God almighty, the merciful and compassionate and I pray that Eid will be a time of blessing.

Does God love the homosexual?

2008-09-21T01:02:00.000-07:00

The Arab Times reported lately that Shaikha Fariha was launching a campaign to help clean up the rampant homosexual scene in Kuwait. This was news to me! Is there really rampant homosexuality among Kuwaiti youths? What is the Islamic view of homosexuality and how do they suggest it be 'cleaned up?'

There has been a lot controversy lately in the Anglican church over the issue of gay people and their role in the church. The overall consensus in the world-wide church seems to be that gay marriage is not allowed under divine law and that a homosexual in an active sexual relationship (implying that a celibate homosexual can be in leadership) should not be in a leadership role. That being said the church also affirms that God loves all his creation and that Christ came and revealed God's love to all human kind by dying on the cross.

So it is clear to me that Christ died for all sinners including gays and lesbians and that they have access to God's love through the works of Christ. Then what?

Those who are called to leadership are expected to live up to high standards of character in terms of what they say and what they do. It is unacceptable for a heterosexual Christian leader to be having sexual relations outside the context of marriage (which is defined in the Bible as life-long loving union between one man and one woman.)

Clearly this definition of marriage excludes gays. The only option for a Christian gay (a leader or not) is to be celibate. This latter view is being challenged though on a number of grounds. The debate rages on in the church. Unfortunately this debate has been sidelined by hysteria and simply nasty homophobic attitudes which is deplorable and not Christ-like at all.

Whateve the outcome of this debate, it needs to be said that all Christians (whether gay or straight) are called to live a life of holiness and seek to emulate Christ. However as all of us are flawed in one way or the other we recognise that this is a life long process and that we all need to continually depend on God's grace and mercy.

A God Shaped Hole

2008-09-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

I always feel more spiritually alive when I come to Kuwait. During the month of Ramadan I am especially reminded of how important God is to so many people. It is quite a contrast to the UK where there is such a glut of materialism and secularism it dulls the spiritual senses. On this visit to the UK I was struck by the high profile of atheism in the media. Spearheaded by popular scientist Richard Dawkins through his books and television appearances, atheism seems to be making an appeal to those who have lost sight of God in the West. I took time out to read Dawkins latest book The God Delusion.

This book promised scientific evidence that there was no God. Dawkins takes the controversial stand that all theists are indoctrinated in their religion from childhood and as a result need to be freed from their irrational and unscientific beliefs. Atheism is offered as the liberating truth available to all those who are willing to climb to the higher levels of intellectual achievement. He implies that those who profess belief in God are irrational and stupid and those who are atheists are enlightened and intellectually superior.

Dawkins in his admirably accessible and eminently readable book walks us through a variety of arguments against the existence of God. He surveys briefly some of the philosophical history, dabbles in some theological conundrums and then finally gets to the chapter which he promises will demolish the God delusion once and for all. With bated breath I turned the pages.

What I found was not science or even a deep philosophical conundrum. He raises the question that every six year old asks at one time or another. In a nutshell the irrefutable scientific proof he offers is this “If God created the world – then who created God?” The existence of a supernatural intelligence who predates material matter must have come from somewhere and is therefore problematic for science.

The God Delusion left me puzzled. Why does Dawkins insist that religion and science are incompatible? How does he cope with scientists who come to faith in God in their adulthood as a result of their scientific enquiries? Does everything in the universe that exists have to be material? How can science answer questions of a spiritual nature? Why do the discoveries of the DNA Genetic code, the unique anthropocentric nature of our world, the irreducible complexities of so many biological organisms not persuade Dawkins that this may be indicative of intelligent design?

The answer is simple. Dawkins has chosen to interpret the world around him through the filter of his atheist paradigm. He is doing the very thing that scientists are not supposed to do. The evidence is supposed to lead to a conclusion, rather than a conclusion interpreting the evidence.

One reason why I believe in God (though not scientific it is an observable phenomenon) is through witnessing the yearning across humanity to connect with the numinous. The early church bishop, Augustine also observed this spiritual dynamic in people and he suggested that all humans seem to have a God shaped hole in them which makes them restless until it is filled with presence of God. I see evidence of this yearning for God especially during Ramadan.

One of the most awesome sights I have ever witnessed in Kuwait is being a guest at the Grand Mosque during the Night of Power towards the end of Ramadan. Thousands and thousands of people turn up to prayer in an atmosphere which can only be described as electric. There is a raw expectation that on this night they were going to have an encounter with God. There is a palpable ache in the crowds to commune with their God and it left an indelible impression upon me.

Where does this spiritual hunger come from? It points me to the creator of the world who left his imprint in us. Our deep desire to experience a spiritual reality is nothing less than a natural human instinct to reconnect to our origin and source of life – God.

To my Muslim friends in Kuwait, I pray that this Ramadan will be a time of blessing and a time when that God-shaped hole will be filled by the presence of the Spirit of God.

The scriptures say “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:12,13.

Muslim-Christian co-belligerence in Kuwait

2008-07-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

I really cannot stand the use of the term 'tolerance' to describe good relations between faith communities. For me to be tolerant requires that I do absolutely nothing and simply let the other be. Which is all well if you feel that all God wants you to do.

Equally I do not like the phrase 'co-existence' as that seems awfully like tolerance. Sharing the same space should be a given and faith communities have been co-exsiting in the Middle East for centuries. So what's new?

The reason I do not like these descriptions is because I am an activist. I believe that all Christians are called to be activists and my understanding of Islam is that equally all Muslims are also called to be activist as a result of their faith.

The problem is that activism can be subverted into negative and destructive activity. Rather than acting as a source of cohesion and security - religion can be hijacked by those with wrong thinking and activism to tear society apart. This is a tragedy.

As a Christian I am called to be salt and light in society. I believe all Christians are called to be ambassadors for God and Christ and transform society by opposing evil and championing justice, and by proclaiming Good News. I have been inspired by Muslim activists who seek a fairer and more compassionate society.

Now a new term has entered the world of interfaith relations - co-belligerence.

Belligerence means a stance of aggression and 'co' means to do it together.

This is more like it. Aggressive activism but towards doing what?

I think there are a lot of things in society that Christians and Muslims can campaign aggressively together for.

We can campaign to eradicate poverty and abuse of women. We can work together to end child slavery and human trafficking. We can feed the hungry, minister to the sick and campaign for those who are wrongly imprisoned.

There are some interesting examples from around the world where Christians and Muslims are working together against a common enemy that threatens all humanity. In Indonesia and the Phillipines where there has been suffering caused by natural disasters, Christian and Muslims have shared resources for relief and emergency work.

This does not minimise our differences in theology (eg; the Trinity, salavation by faith in the death and resurrection Christ and so on) but instead it highlights our shared humanity. God is love and all acts of love flows from him as our creator. This is definitely worth exploring and celebrating.

Wonder what we can do in Kuwait together?

Do Kuwaitis sing?

2008-05-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

It struck me the other day in church when we were singing some hymns of worship to God that as far as I know there is no singing in a mosque meeting. Is this true? Is singing forbidden in Islam or is it simply not part of the worship?

Is there any hadith that talks about music and singing and what do they say?

I would love to know.

From a music lover.

Trinity Sunday in Kuwait

2008-05-21T03:05:00.000-07:00

Our visiting speaker was Catriona Laing who spoke on the Trinity and also commented briefly on her interfaith work with the Cambridge Interfaith Unit. One of the newer "techniques" in interfaith dialogue she described, was Scripture Reasoning, (see a previous post describing this) and this reminds us of the centrality of the scriptures to our faith and world view.

The Gospel reading was the end of Matthew when Jesus gives the great commission to his followers to "go make and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the father, Son and Holy Spirit."

Catriona talks about the tension these kind of passages cause in an interfaith context. The great commission is a clear command to evangelise the nations, there is a reference to the Trinitarian nature of God and a high Christology which refers to Jesus as the Son of God. The temptation for Christian participants in interfaith encounters is to gloss over or ignore the missionary aspects of the Christian faith altogether. Clearly these latter responses are unsatisfactory and those of other faiths are surprised at how willing Christians are in seeking to appease others by compromising on their own faith.

Miss Laing suggests that the church be faithful in applying faith, reason and tradition in the interfaith arena so that we may be faithful to the Gospel, but also be humble in our interactions.

A Muslim-Christian Conversation

2008-05-21T02:40:00.000-07:00

Muslim Blogger

Today’s Bible makes no mention of the father, son and holy spirit as forming a “Trinity”; a term (and idea) coined by the Council of Nicea. Where it not for them, the Christians of today would have gone on believing in them as three seperate beings/entities.

Furthermore, you being a mother, husband and daughter all at the same time is not the same as God forming a trinity, for in the latter case they are considered to be three but of one same essence; three forms of one origin.

You, however, are of one form, with three *roles*. Your analogy does not work. At the same time, you are also someone’s friend, and if you were a woman with loose morals, you could be another man’s mistress. So far, you are: mother, daughter, wife, friend, mistress. That’s five, and why stop there?

Do you see my point? Yet you are still of one form. If we were to simply go with your earlier example, you being only mother, daughter, and wife, you would have to somehow split into three forms to form a “holy trinity” as envisioned by the Council of Nicea.

Further still, is the most crushing proof against this trinity idea: in today’s Bible, Jesus is mentioned as having prayed to the father (I believe before he was taken to be crucified). For the trinity idea to stick, there would have been no need for the “son” to pray *to* the “father” had they have truly been of one origin.

Can you imagine yourself praying to yourself? Or better yet, asking yourself permission to do something?

I invite you to Islaam, where Allaah, the God of all that exists; the God of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Joseph and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them all, and the God of every other Prophet and Messenger that was sent to mankind, asks us not to believe blindly, but to contemplate His signs–those mentioned in His Book–and to reflect on them, understand and believe in them.

Islaam is a religion devoid of confusion and one where you are not asked to believe in one God that is at the same time of a trinity, despite you not understanding, simply because it is a “mystery.” I invite you to the natural religion, the final one revealed by Allaah to all of the creation, so that you may attain the ultimate success.

RevQ8
Thank you for your input. You are quite right in identifying that the word Trinity is not found in the Bible and that the analogy of one form and three roles is limited. In fact any analogy to describe God will be flawed. The task of trying to precisely describe the nature of God in truth eludes us all.

Islam is very attractive in its simplicity and I look with envy at times at the straightforwardness of the shahada, (especially on a Trinity Sunday when I am supposed to enlighten my congregation with knowledge on this difficult and abstract concept.) First of all I want to affirm that Christians believe that God is one. We are not polytheists or tri-theists. There is only one God who has created the hevens and the earth and all that is within. I can say wihout any hesitation the opening Sura of the Qur’an - there is but one God and He is Lord.

The doctrine of Tawhid or unity in Islam is something else which I think we can agree on. God is omnipresent (he is everywhere), omnipotent (all powerful)and omniscient(all knowing). In short God is God - he can do anything and he is beyond our understanding. I have absolutely no doubt that God is able to reveal himself through revelation - whether through the giving of the law, through the sending of prophets and through the giving of His Word.

Islam itself has an interesting debate about the unity of God when it discusses the question is the Quran eternal or created? Clearly if it is eternal then the Quran shares the attributes of God and therefore implies that God in his Unity can speak words and still be of the same essence. Orthodox Islam determined along time ago that this is indeed the case and those who argued that the Quran was created (The Mutazilite school) were consequently rejected as heretics.
So clearly a Word from God cannot be divided from God himself. In the Islamic faith, the Word is given in the form of a book. The Christian faith however believes that God reveals through the scriptures that the Word came as a person - in flesh. We believe that Jesus Christ is the message of God enshrined in human form. A Word who cannot be distinct from its origins. The Qur’an calls Jesus a word from God. Clearly it allows that Jesus spoke the eternal message of God and somehow enshrined in his person the Word. Tawhid suggests to me therefore that God is a unity which is different from saying God is a being of One who cannot be divided. I am one person and yet my oneness consists of a unity of different parts (head, arms, feet etc).

So the doctrine of Trinity is simply saying that God is a unity who reveals himself in substantially real ways. The whole scripture shouts this from Genesis to the end. For example in Genesis 1 God created the world and his Spirit hovered over the waters and he declares in Genesis 2. Let us make mankind in our image.(implying a plurality in his unity) Then we have the OT prophets who see visions of God which hint that He is a complex unity (see Isaiah or Ezekiels descriptions). I could go on but I won’t bore you.

All I want to say that there is sufficient evidence to point to a Trinitarian God. That evidence is found in the Bible and led to the church councils to try and explain the unexplainable!!

Islam calls us to submit to God and I agree that is our only response to God. I have chosen to submit to God and acknowledge that he has revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is a mystery and I am content to let God be God.

Muslim Blogger
Allaah is certainly omnipotent and omniscient, but to say that He is omnipresent is something we Muslims dare not utter. To those who say He is everywhere, we ask: is He in the sewer, the mud or any other undesirable and filthy place? If by “omnipresent” you intend something general in meaning, then this becomes nothing more than playing with words, for it can only explicitly mean what it says it means–that He is literally everywhere.

Rather, we say: He is above the Heavens; high above the creation. He is the Creator, and as such, He cannot be encompassed or held by or within His creation. However, what is “everywhere” is His knowledge, His sight and His hearing: He knows all, sees all, hears all. What He reveals is His will and His word.

To say that He reveals His Self is to fall short of the Truth, and even while He has ascended His Mighty Throne, there is before Him a veil of light. Even the greatest of the Prophets, Muhammad (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) was not able to see him.

As for the Qur’aan, it is inaccurate to say the “Word is given in the form of a book.” The Qur’aan is the uncreated speech of Allaah, revealed to the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) through the Angel Jibreel. It was not revealed in a book; it was revealed in stages over a period of 23-years. The Qur’aan does not call Jesus “a word from God.” It is understandable that Christians normally misinterpret the verses that speak of this matter when reading the Qur’aan.
Consider this Verse:

{O people of the Scripture! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of Allâh aught but the truth. The Messiah ‘Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), was (no more than) a Messenger of Allâh and His Word, (”Be!” - and he was) which He bestowed on Maryam (Mary) and a spirit (Rûh) created by Him; so believe in Allâh and His Messengers.} (An-Nisa 4:171)
As you can see, His “Word” is none other than “Be”, or “Kun” in Arabic. This is from the might of Allaah, that He simply says “Be” and it is. So Jesus (’alayhi as-salaam) was brought into existence by His Word (”Be” and is thus a product of His Word. It is therefore also correct to say that he (Jesus) is His Word. Allaah bestowed this Word upon Maryam by speaking it and intending by it the cause to existence of Jesus (’alayhi as-salaam).

The continuation of this beautiful Verse is:
{Say not: “Three (trinity)!” Cease! (it is) better for you. For Allâh is (the only) One Ilâh (God), Glory be to Him (Far Exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allâh is All-Sufficient as a Disposer of affairs.}
You bring up Tawhid. You said: “I am one person and yet my oneness consists of a unity of different parts (head, arms, feet etc). As I mentioned to the owner of this blog, this is not the same as saying God is one and His oneness consists of a father, son and holy spirit. If you were to lose all of your limbs this instant, your oneness would still be preserved, for it is not dependent on the existence of your limbs, but on your self.

If God, as He is understood by the Christians of today, were to make it so that the son and the holy spirit were non-existant, then His trinity would cease to exist, for it is necesarily dependent on those other two beings–unlike your self and your body’s limbs. It is because of this that it is inaccurate to say that God is a “unity”, for this implies that there exists other things with which He is united. What is He a unity of? His creation? Far be He from any and all imperfections.
This is not Tawhid. Allow me to explain it more clearly. Tawhid, as it is known from the Qur’aan and the Sunnah, is“to single out Allaah alone in creating and managing the affairs, to have sincerity of worship towards Him and to abandon worship of others besides him; as well as to affirm His perfect Names and lofty Attributes and to purify Him from any deficiencies or shortcomings.”–Taken from an article written by Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan.

In order to understand it better, we can effectively categorize Tawhid into three parts:
1)Tawhid ar-Ruboobiyyah, 2) Tawhid al-Uloohiyyah, and 3) Tawhid al-Asmaa’ was-Sifaat.
The first can be defined as thus: It is to single out Allaah alone in His actions, with the belief that He is the only Creator of all the creation.
The second: It is what is contained in the Shahaadah: “Laa ilaaha illa Allaah” or “None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah.” Tawhid al-Uloohiyyah is to single out Allaah (alone) in worship by the actions of the slaves (us) which they do in the manner legislated by the Qur’aan and the Sunnah in order to seek nearness to Him, such as supplication, vowing, sacrifice, hope, fear, trust, awe, dread and turning in repentance.
This type of Tawhid was the essence of the call of all the Messengers and Prophets (’alayhumaa as-salaat was-salaam).

Then there is the third type: It is simply to affirm and believe in (as they are) the perfect Names and lofty Attributes of Allaah.
So this is Tawhid.

You later say that there is sufficient evidence in the Bible to make one understand God as being of a trinity. Do you know for certain that you would have believed in this, or even thought of God in this manner, had it not been for the Council’s proclamation of His trinity? I believe it says in the Bible, and I’m paraphrasing, that the father, son and holy spirit are one.
One what?

You might hear one say to a racist: “We [human beings] are all one.” Here he is implying that we are all one (and the same); that there is no *real* difference between us other than the color of our skin. This person is not saying we are all one being, as the trinity suggests about God.
Why do you simply not understand that verse to mean that the father, son and holy spirit are one in terms of the Truth? That what Jesus came with was True, for it was one with what God is–the Truth. The idea of the trinity is essentially the result of first coming up with an idea (the trinity) and then going back to the Bible to find verses that might lead one to thinking it is true.

A pure case of intellectual dishonesty.
I believe I have replied to the bulf of your argument. I will leave you with the words Jesus (’alayhi as-salaam) will utter on the Day of Judgment:

From Soora al-Maa’idah:
117. “Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allaah) did command me to say: ‘Worship Allaah, my Lord and your Lord.’ And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them; and You are a witness to all things.
118. “If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily, You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”

RevQ8
I am enjoying our conversation very much indeed. You are clearly someone who thinks through the Word and your faith deeply and I admire that.

I was interested to see that Muslims do not believe that God is omnipresent (all present) but they do believe He is omnipotent (all powerful). You raise the question “Would you find God in the sewers?” I think if God is all powerful then surely this is not beyond his ability. (Whether He would want to or not is another question!)But by saying He would not, are you not then undermining the belief of His omnipotence? Perhaps you are confusing omnipresnece with Pantheism (the belief that God is in everything - ie; a rock or a tree can be worshipped as God) This clearly would be a heresy.

One of my favourite Psalms (Zabiil) is Psalms 139. In this Psalms David cries out “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens you are there; if I make my bed in the depths you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settgle on the far side of the sea, even there your right hand will guide me . . .” That to me is omnipresence. We can worship God anywhere and God can meet with us - even in the darkest places of the earth. I read plenty of testimonies for example of prisoners discovering the grace and love of God in the depths of prison. God is not shut out of any place in earth. Even in the sewers! I think of the Chinese earthquake, and think of people trapped under the rubble, the gutters and the sewers and I ask myself “If they cried out to God would they find Him?” I think the Scriptural answer is a resounding “Yes!”. For the good book says “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be saved”. (Acts 2.21)
This is the real meaning when we say God is omnipresent.

I was also interested to read your comment that the Qur’an does not call Jesus a Word from God. I checked in my English versions and they all translate Sura 3.45 as Jesus being a Word. You mentioned that in Arabic that this word is “Kun” the command that God gives to create (which it is in the verse you quote). But the word in Arabic (3.45) for Jesus being a word is kalimah, which double checking my dictionary unequivocally means word spoken or written.
It is worth noting that the Trinity which the Qur’an refutes is also refuted by Christians. Jesus is asked in the Qur’an if he has taught people to worship him and Mary as separate Gods and the answer is obviously no. The Quranic portrayal of Trinity is God as Father, Mary as Mother and Jesus as the carnal offspring. Along with the Muslims I agree that this is blasphemy and is not part of the teaching of the church.

I defer to your superior knowledge of the Islamic doctrine of Tawhid recognising that my study is not indepth enough to comment.

I can say though that the evidence of Father, Son and Spirit is clear throughout the Bible. Let me quote a very small sample of many similar verses.
Matthew 3.16-17. As soon as Jesus went out of the water, the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended like a dove. And a voice from heaven said . This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 28.9. “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In Mark 1 John the Baptist proclaims Jesus as one who will baptise his followers with the Holy Spirit.He also refers to the voice from heaven calling Jesus His Son.
In John 16 Jesus tell His disciples that he is returning to the Father and that he will send his Holy Spirit. (verse 10 and 13)
2 Corinthians 13.14 “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Clearly in the New Testament there is abundant evidence referring to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So to say that there is no reference to them in the Bible is a fallacy. You can check these verses in English, Greek, Arabic and whichever version you choose - they all say the same. It leaves me wondering which version of the Bible you are reading. I know that the New World translation which is the Jehovah Witness’s Bible (a non Christian cult) has tried hard to alter the Bible for their own purposes. Perhaps this is the one you have which may explain the puzzle of why you cannot see the many references to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I am troubled by your charge of intellectual dishonesty. The church has been teaching this stuff for a long time - surely someone would have blown the whistle by now if there was a discrepancy between what the scriptures teach and what the church teaches. However I promise you I will examine scriptures carefully to make sure that I am not misleading people through teaching error.

The Old Testament also has some references pointing to a tri-unity of God but this posting is getting rather long so I can post them later on if you like.

I close with a beautiful prayer of Jesus (John 17)
“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might giove eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have bought you glory opn earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
Blessings

Muslim Blogger
Thank you for your kind words. But it seems there were some parts of my post that were misunderstood by you. No matter–I will do my best to write more clearly, InshaAllaah.
Concerning Allaah being everywhere, you wrote: “But by saying He would not [be found in the sewers], are you not then undermining the belief of His omnipotence?” Perhaps you meant to say “could not” instead of “would not”? In any case, that is not what I am doing. I am also aware of the difference between the belief in pantheism, which we reject completely, and omnipresence.

The matter is a very specific one, and it concerns Allaah’s location: “fawq as-samaa’” as we would say in Arabic, meaning “above the heavens/skies”, as was confirmed by the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa-sallam), which, in conjunction with other texts, indicates that He has ascended His Throne above the heavens and above His creation.

However, this does not at all limit or hinder His power, rendering Him in any way less than omnipotent; for omnipotent He is. I think you may be confusing His Power, Sight, Knowledge and Hearing with His location. The first three Attributes I mentioned are indeed everywhere; that is, while He is above the heavens, He–due to His power–is still able to see all, hear all and know all.

So if I were trapped under the rubble caused by the earthquakes in China, Allaah would certainly be able to see me in my helpless state, hear my cries for help, and know the fear that is in my heart. With His Power, He would definitely be able to help me, all the while being above the heavens, and not down there with me. The same applies if I were in some undesirable filthy place.

It is beneath His Majesty that He would inhabit such a place alongside me–even for an instant. Similarly, I am able to worship Allaah wherever I am, for all of His earth has been made as a place of worship for us, yet this does not mean He is anywhere but above the heavens.
I said that it is incorrect to say that Jesus (’alayhi as-salaam) is called a word *from* God. However, I myself may be incorrect concerning this. Jesus ‘alayhi as-salaam is Allaah’s Word: His Kalimah. “Kalimah” means “word” in Arabic, and is not “Be” a word? So Jesus (’alayhi as-salaam) is Allaah’s Word “Be” (and it is!), and as I mentioned previously, Jesus ‘alayhi as-salaam came into existence upon Allaah’s speaking of the word “Be”.

Because this is a word that is from Allaah’s Mighty Power, and because it is a word that was spoken to create a great, great man, Allaah refers to Jesus (’alayhi as-salaam) as “His Word”, indicating the high level He affords to His Prophet. At the same time, Allaah says His Spirit was blown into him. Does this mean Allaah’s own personal spirit (and I am not saying He has one) was blown into him? No. It is the same as His Word: this is a spirit *from* Allaah for a great and honorable being–Jesus (’alayhi as-salaam). Therefore, it is only fitting that Allaah refers to it in the possessive form.

Allaah sometimes makes mention of the trinity as it was understood by some of the Christians at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa-sallam), that it is the formation of Allaah, Jesus and his mother, Maryam. The Verse that speaks of this is a specific one targetting a specific group of people from amongst the Christians in that time period and in that place. Yet at other times, Allaah mentions the trinity in general, without mentioning Maryam, the mother of Jesus, ‘alayhumaa as-salaam, and these Verses are general in their application; they target all Christians who profess belief in the trinity.

Remember, the Qur’aan was revealed over a period of 23 years verse by verse in response to the various questions, situations, conflicts, opinions (and so on) that were proposed to and faced by the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa-sallam). A group of Jews once came to him and decided to throw him off, so they asked him about the soul. Immediately, Allaah revealed a Verse that starts off with: “Wa yas’aloonaka ‘an il-rooh” meaning: “And they ask you about the soul” and then Allaah goes on to talk about it, saying that it is from the hidden matters of Allaah that we have not been given knowledge of.

I never said that the father, son and holy spirit were not mentioned; I said that they were never mentioned as being of one single divine origin, thus forming one, single, divine being (in three forms/persons). So just because they are mentioned, it cannot be taken to mean that they are all one and the same. This is what I meant by intellectual dishonesty: the Council of Nicea came up with this concept, that they are all of the same essence, meaning the three of them are in actuality one single God, while at the same time being three. After coming up with this idea, they went back to the text and applied it to the verses.

The Bible only mentions that the father exists, and that he has a son, and that there also exists a holy spirit. In fact, objectively speaking, the verses that mention them can only honestly be understood to mean this: that there are three beings at play–father, son, holy spirit. Nowhere does it say in today’s Bible that they are one and the same; that the three of them are in fact one single god. I would indeed be surprised if you were able to find a verse that speaks of this in such explicit terms.

RevQ8

Re-reading our conversation above, it struck me how important the transcendance of God is to you and that comes across very clearly. God is holy and awesome and like no other.

By contrast, I realise that my emphasis was on the immanence of God. The conviction God is with us and dwelling in us through His Holy Spirit enabling us to live lives that reflect his love for people and for our creator.

Both our scriptures seem to point to a God who is both transcendant and immanent at the same time. One of my favourite Qur’anic verses is where the believer is reminded that God is closer to them than their jugular vein.
Blessings

The Big Elephant in the Room.

2008-05-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

One major difference between Islam and Christianity is the doctrine of Trinity. Interfaith dialogue often skirts around the differences and seeks to emphasize the common ground. However Trinity is the big elephant in the room that everyone knows is there but usually are too polite to acknowledge its existence.

Kuwait resident Intlxpatr has a blog in which she raises this issue. There has been a good discussion going on. Check out http://intlxpatr.wordpress.com/ See below for her opening comments.

Trinity Sunday
This was Trinity Sunday, and I hesitate to even bring it up, because it always causes so much misunderstanding between us. No, we don’t believe in three Gods. We believe in one God, who is at the same time Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I am not a theologian, so what I am about to tell you is just my interpretation of a mystery which has been debated by minds much greater than my own. I tell my Muslim friends that it is like this:
I have a relationship with my husband, as his wife. We communicate in a certain way, we understand one another in a certain way, to my husband, I am his wife.
I am mother to my son, we communicate differently, and he thinks of me as mother.
I am daughter to my mother, and we communicate differently, and she thinks of me as her daughter.
My husband doesn’t think of me as daughter, and neither does my son. I am all three, and yet I am one person.
That is grossly simplified, and God is much more complicated than I can understand. I just wanted you to know, we believe, as Muslims do, that there is one God.
We do not believe God had sex with Mary. We believe Mary conceived by the wish of God, she conceived immaculately, without having had sex. The Angel Gabriel came to her and told her she had been selected, but she could say yes or no, and she said “yes.” Because she said yes, Jesus was born of Mary.

Condolences

2008-05-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

On the sad occasion of the death of the former Emir, Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Salem Al Sabah we send our deepest condolences.

During the Iraqi invasion, he was a leader who inspired the Kuwaiti nation to never lose hope in her future. We as a church will remember the people of Kuwait in prayer.

Interfaith Speaker in Kuwait

2008-05-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

May 8:Lecture- A special model for Muslim women in a modern society

"A special model for Muslim women in a modern society"at 7p by Ms. Zainab Al-Suwaij,

Executive Director of the American International Congress.

An outspoken advocate for womens equality and interfaith understanding, Zainab has published editorials in the three largest American newspapers: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. She has appeared on NPR, BBC, Al-Jazeera, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox. Over the past several years, Zainab has directed AICs womens empowerment programs in southern Iraq, leading a grassroots team that operates without international security. She has testified to Congress, lectured at Harvard, and participated in interfaith events around the world. Named an "Ambassador of Peace" by the Interreligious and International Peace Council, Zainab has received Dialogue on Diversitys Liberty Award and was recognized as "2006 International Person of the Year" by the National Liberty Museum. Her lecture will be conducted in English. All are welcome to attend.

Time: 7pm
Speaker: Ms. Zainab Al-Suwaij

The Love Languages of God

2008-04-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was at the AWARE centre to listen to the Love Languages of God. The speaker was an American called Kevin Stodos and he was sooooooooo good. I was very impressed with his powerpoint presentation and he was a first class example of Christian Muslim Relations at work.

Firstly he has been going regularly to the Diwaniya at the AWARE centre and they have gotten to know him and trust him. Secondly he was willing to offer his skills as a teacher to talk on this subject.

His presentation was essentially based on the work by an Amerian Christian author -Gary Chapman , who outlines 5 love languages. These are 1) Words of Affirmation 2) Quality time 3) Gifts 4) Acts of Service 5) Physical Touch.

He went on to give Biblical examples of how God has revealed His love to us in these different love languages. Although I am familiar with the concept of Love Languages this was the first time I have seen it applied to the religious context.

Kevin got the Muslims there to apply this model to the five pillars of Islam and it made for a stimulating evening.

Great job Kevin! I was inspired by your example. Your presentation deserves to have a bigger audience. Kevin also writes a thought provoking blog with essays online with his views on life in Kuwait and Christian Muslim issues. It is worth a visit. Check out http://alone.gnn.tv/users/blogs.php

Kevin worships at the Internatonal Church of Christ in Kuwait city. Thanks too to the AWARE centre for their creative diwaniyas and excellent hospitality. I was blessed.

Scripture Reasoning

2008-04-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well, they are doing it in USA, UK, Europe and in some countries in the Middle East. Scripture Reasoning is rapidly becoming the way to do inter faith dialogue. So what is it?

Scriptural Reasoning is a text study between Christians and Muslims and Jews. It is a practice where members of these faiths in small groups, study together, their own and each other's religious texts. The act of engaging openly and honestly with each scripture and allowing the texts to speak for themselves has proved to be a winning strategy.

Selected scriptures from each text are laid side by side and each member of the group is invited to read the text and feed back to their group what they think the text is saying. This is done after someone presents what their own scripture means to them coming from their faith tradition.

The beauty of this approach is that it allows the scriptures to speak for themselves. At the heart of each monotheisitc faith are the scriptures which all belive conveys God's message to the world. Scripture Reasoning allows God to speak to each person through the sacred books without compromising one's own faith.

I wonder if this could ever work in Kuwait? Obviously the number of Jews here would be minimal, so I guess it would have to be just Christians and Muslims.

If I can find six Christians and six Muslims willing to have a go at this then I would love to make it happen. Any takers?

For more information on Scripture Reasoning check out the related websites on the blog list.

Blessings

Spot the Difference

2008-03-30T00:44:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite blogs on kuwait is http://intlxpatr.wordpress.com/

There is so much here about life in Kuwait in general, and every now and then there are issues raised to do with religion in Kuwait.

One of the latest entries titled "Minarets", shows photographs of minarets in Kuwait and asks if you can identify them as belonging to a mosque used by Sunni or Shi'a.

It is possible - click on the link above to find out how you can recognise the difference.

Enjoy

2008-03-27T03:53:00.000-07:00

A popular guiding principle for Christians is WWJD or What Would Jesus Do? It was interesting to see an Islamic equivalent presented as What Would Prophet Muhammad Do? See Article below.

What Would Muhammad Do?
From Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR

Muslim Response to Cartoon Controversy

"You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

That description of Islam's Prophet Muhammad is a summary of how he reacted to personal attacks and abuse.

Islamic traditions include a number of instances of the prophet having the opportunity to strike back at those who attacked him, but refraining from doing so.

These traditions are particularly important as we witness outrage in the Islamic world over cartoons, initially published in a Danish newspaper, that were viewed as intentional attacks on the prophet.

Peaceful and not-so-peaceful protests have occurred from Gaza to Indonesia. Boycotts have targeted companies based in Denmark and in other nations that reprinted the offensive caricatures.

As Muslims, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves, "What would the Prophet Muhammad do?"

Muslims are taught the tradition of the woman who would regularly throw trash on the prophet as he walked down a particular path. The prophet never responded in kind to the woman's abuse. Instead, when she one day failed to attack him, he went to her home to inquire about her condition.

In another tradition, the prophet was offered the opportunity to have God punish the people of a town near Mecca who refused the message of Islam and attacked him with stones. Again, the prophet did not choose to respond in kind to the abuse.

When he returned to Mecca after years of exile and personal attacks, he did not take revenge on the people of the city, but instead offered a general amnesty.

The Quran also says: "Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance." (16:125)

Another verse tells the prophet to "show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant." (7:199)

These are the examples that Muslims should follow as they express justifiable concern at the publication of the cartoons.

Conversions

2008-03-24T02:02:00.000-07:00

The high profile event of the Pope baptising a Muslim convert to Catholicism has drawn some strong reactions.

The local Italian Muslim leadership voiced their protests and asked why not just have a low profile local parish baptism. They feel that such a media saturated event is a deliberate provocation.

The convert himself, an outspoken critic of Islam argues that while one can convert from Christianity to Islam without fear of negative consequences from the Christian community the same does not seem to be true for those who convert from Islam to Christianity. He felt that the Catholic church should be moAll the schools of Islamic law treat apostasy (ie; leaving Islam) as a serious crime which requires the death penalty to be applied.

As an outsider to Islam I find the apostasy law rather extreme. Is there someone out there who can explain to me why this is so important? I am just trying to understand, that's all.

Blessings

Are we talking about the same God?

2008-03-18T03:12:00.000-07:00

Are we talking about the same God? For Muslims and Christians to begin talking with one another about religion, there is a requirement that we share some common assumptions. The first most basic assumption is that we agree that we are talking about the same God. This is not as basic as it seems, for there are those Christians and Muslims who will vehemently assert that the Muslim and Christian God are completely different entities.

Colin Chapman presents a helpful analogy.

Suppose there is a country somwhere in the world where the sun is never clearly visible. People are aware of the sun, because they can see the shape of the sun behind the clouds, and know that the sun is the source of heat. But they can never see the sun in a cloudless sky. Contrast this with people who live in the Mediterranean. They see the sun very clearly, and feel its heat. Is it the same sun for both people in both places? It must of course be the same sun, although each group of people have very different images and experience of it.

If we cannot accept this analogy, we have to think in terms of two completely different astronomical bodies, such as the sun and the moon and assume that Muslims and Christians are talking about two completely diffferent beings. That assumption is likely to make communication between Christians and Muslims extremely difficult, if not impossible.

What do you think?

Are we talking about the same God?

2008-03-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

For Muslims and Christians to begin talking with one another about religion, there is a requirement that we share some common assumptions. The first most basic assumption is that we agree that we are talking about the same God. This is not as basic as it seems, for there are those Christians and Muslims who will vehemently assert that the Muslim and Christian God are completely different entities.

Colin Chapman presents a helpful analogy.

What do you think?

It's good to talk

2008-03-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

I find it hard to find groups of people in Kuwait who are willing to engage in inter faith discussion. Admittedly I think there is a real fear that it will all boil down to having an argument or having our own beliefs minimalised by the other.

But if the real intention is to make genuine friendships (which takes time for sure) then we should not be threatened by exploring our similarities and differences. The more we understand about each other the better we can relate.

As Kuwait has the highest number of bloggers in the world per capita, a blog seems the best place. The Kuwait blogging community is diverse and fascinating and there is plenty going on.

It's good to talk

revq8

Abraham had many sons

2008-03-10T03:33:00.000-07:00

EID AL-ADHA commemorates the sacrifice that was required of Abraham . In both the Biblical and the Quranic scriptures Abraham is an esteemed man of the Almighty God who displayed his obedience to God by being willing to ritually slaughter his own son. At the last moment, God intervenes and offers a ram as a substitute for Abraham’s son. The Bible says the son was Isaac and the Muslims say it was Ismael . The point of the story, however, is two-fold. One is that God calls us to obey, Abraham certainly took that obedience to its extreme. Secondly, that we thank God for his provision. Since the beginning of Islam, a ram or a sheep has been ritually sacrificed in remembrance of that event in the life of Abraham.

Abraham is often touted as a unifying motif when it comes to interfaith relations. All three of the world’s monotheistic faiths honour Abraham as a faithful servant of God. Both Arabs and Jews trace their ancestry back to him, and the story of his family is regularly told in synagogues, churches and mosques. His faith in God was unswerving. But more than anything else the story of Abraham focuses on the character of God. God is shown to be true and faithful to his promises to Abraham.

One of the promises that God made to Abraham was to produce many descendants. This seemed unattainable because Abraham was elderly and his wife was past her child bearing years. Yet, many centuries later we do indeed see the physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham numbering more than the grains of sand. As I greet my Muslim friends with Eid Mubarak, I am reminded of our common ancestry and the startling thought that we are related. How on earth do we reconcile centuries of division? I suspect the solution could be found in a sacrificial lamb.

Young People and Faith

2008-03-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

Jesus once summarised the divine law into two commandments. “Love God and love your neighbour” was his pithy sound-bite. As the sectarian violence within and between faith communities continue to rage in Iraq and beyond I often speculate as to how we can apply Jesus’ teachings into this arena.

It seems to me that the most effective way is through an educational encounter between young members of different faiths. One project I was involved with in Birmingham was called Young People and Faith. It was designed by an inner city schools worker called Andrew Smith. He drew up an educational program which he felt would help to encounter the ignorance and prejudice which was a daily feature in the life of inner city school students.To see this project in action was a wonderful experience. Two groups of students representing different faiths (on this day it was Christian and Muslim) were to spend the day together.

The morning started with ‘icebreaker’ type questions such as “What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?” “What are your favourite movies?” “What do you do at the weekend?” And so on. They did talk about their religion and described their religious communal life and how they felt and experienced their respective faith. There was no proselytizing but rather a sharing of what God meant to them.

There was also a basic introduction to both faiths given by a representative of that faith. What really united the young people however was their shared sense of injustice and their common concerns about drug abuse, bullying and prejudice.As the day progressed, it was so encouraging to see the atmosphere transform from mutual wariness to a warm and light acceptance. Laughter broke out, jokes were shared.

The end of the day was marked by going out to a bowling alley where the two groups mixing freely now, swapped phone numbers and e-mail addresses with promises of keeping in touch.

For those young people, barriers of ignorance and hostility had been breached with trust and laughter. It is difficult to be prejudiced against someone who is your friend. All this was achieved in the space of one day.

Clearly it will take a lot longer for the damaged young people in places like Iraq and Palestine. It is not impossible though. For example, summer camps bringing together Palestinian youth and Jewish youth have done much to neutralise the hatred fostering in their young hearts towards one another. It is but just a small step in seeking to “Love God and love our neighbour.”

Do you think we will ever see something like this take place in Kuwait?

Any Kuwaiti women going to this?

2008-03-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

Can women find unique ways out of war?

New Delhi - Sakena Yacoobi well knows the hardships of Afghan women, caught between a war and the hopelessness of poverty and illiteracy.

Yet on International Women's Day Saturday, the Afghan educator will not ask the world to help Afghan women. Instead, she will ask Afghan women to help the world.

In a time of growing conflict around the world, she believes the wisdom and compassion of women can offer a way out. "Women bring tolerance and patience," she says. "Women can bring solutions – we cannot accomplish that with weapons."
She is one of several hundred prominent female leaders from 45 countries who have come to India this week to seek ways to raise women's voices worldwide, hoping that their ideas – so often ignored – begin to move the world away from war.

It is a unique approach to International Women's Day – and intentionally so, says Dena Merriam, who has organized "Making Way for the Feminine," a five-day conference that began Thursday in Jaipur.

"This is not about empowering women," says Ms. Merriam, who also co-chaired the United Nations' Millennium World Peace Summit in 2000. "It is about how women can transform society to help us find new ways of addressing conflict."

There are men here, too. The goal, participants say, is not to antagonize men. Yet each believes that women bring to the issue of conflict resolution a different perspective. Many liken it to that of a mother, stern but caring, and more open to finding alternatives to violence.

That perspective is sorely needed, they say, as the path of power and aggression has led only to more fighting and division. "The feminine gifts of compassion, empathy, and caring prepare women for the urgent role as leaders and reconcilers," said the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, chairwoman of the Global Peace Initiative for Women, at the opening press conference.
"This is about whether women, with men as their partners, can chart a new course," continues Ms. Campbell, who has worked with leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and Bill Clinton.

The outlines of that new course can be seen in the lives of those attending, both men and women.
It is evident in the compassion of Ali Abu Awwad, a Palestinian who has been imprisoned for his family's political activities and whose brother was killed in the second intifada, yet started a foundation for Israelis and Palestinians who have lost relatives in the conflict.

"The idea is to show people that if you are in the peaceful way, you are not alone," he says. "You do not need to be afraid."

These are the voices that this conference hopes to amplify and inspire. Organizer Merriam acknowledges that the conference has an enormous task. The intent is to begin to change how the world thinks about power – spreading the notion that nonviolent solutions are practical and not the fruit of weakness.

Her tools, she says, are the participants themselves. With few women voices in the corridors of power, the hope is to kindle greater awareness and confidence among women so they become more active participants in demanding a solution.

In recognition of the fact that many of the world's conflicts come from a clash of faiths, the conference has an overtly religious theme. It is bringing together female spiritual leaders from all faiths – such as an Islamic scholar, Buddhist nun, Hindu guru, and members of the Christian clergy.

To this end, Merriam hopes the conference will bring a World Council of Women Spiritual Leaders, which would be a mechanism to guide and advance more inclusive solutions to global problems.

Yet many of the attendees say the gathering in itself, regardless of its outcome, enables them to carry out their work.

Yacoobi needs such spiritual refreshment, she says frankly. "Coming here allows me to collect myself from all the things going on in Afghanistan," she says. "This war is destroying our country, our religion, and our faith, but coming here and seeing these people gives me a lot of energy to believe."

A psychologist in the West Bank, Laila Atshan, too, sees the worst of war – wives who have lost husbands and sons in the conflict with Israel. "I will go back stronger to give them strength," she says. For years, she has considered opening an interfaith community center. "I am hoping this will give me the guts to go do it."

New Bishop Visit Kuwait

2008-03-04T04:12:00.000-08:00

Bishop Michael Lewis completed his first trip to Kuwait this week. He met with various religious and political leaders and enjoyed the diversity of Kuwait's cultural landscape.

A former Bishop of Middleton in Manchester he particiapted in and led a number of inter-faith events and projects.

One incident which occurred during his visit to Kuwait was completely impromptu and unexpected. While getting out the car in a public carpark we were approached by two women. One of them knew the chaplain and introduced her friend. She was a Kuwaiti Muslim lady who on meeting the Bishop requested him to pray for her. So we stood in the car park and prayed. Two English Christians, an Indian Hindu and a Kuwaiti Muslim. We parted company with warm smiles and farewells.

The best inter-faith events seem to be the spontaneous and unscripted ones. There in a carpark we saw the spirit of God unite us in prayer. How good is that!

Blessings

Is Allah the God of Muslims and Christians?

2008-02-25T11:46:00.000-08:00

In Kuwait I hear frequent mention of Allah. I see the name of Allah inscribed on houses and mosques. Allah is mentioned in the many daily salutations. The name of God is overwhelmingly present in the market place and the home. For a Westerner coming from a secularised society where God is mentioned with embarrassed undertones - I find Islamic society wonderfully liberating.

A frequent question that arises surrounds the use of the term Allah. There was case recently where Malaysian Muslims prevented Christians from using the name Allah in their written Christian books. Muslims objected that Christians were taking a name which was exclusively for the use of Islamic believers.

Allah is an Arabic word which literally means "The God". Linguuists see a similarity to the Syriac term "elah" used in the ancient liturgies which in turn has a family resemblance to the Hebrew form for God in which we see used in the Bible in its plural form as "elohim". Although some scholars claim that Allah is the name for some pre-Islamic moon Goddess, other evidence shows that Allah was widely understood in pagan pre-Ismaic Arabia as the chief God who was creator of all and was supreme over every God. The shout Allahu akbar (literally God is greater) relates the supremacy of Allah in relation to other gods.

Christians have used the term Allah as the word for God ever since the Bible was translated into Arabic. For Christian Arabs there is no question of Allah is referring anything but to the God who created the heavens and the earth, and the God who sent the prophets to bring his message to the peoples of the earth.

The real question is - "Do we share the same understanding of Allah's character and work?" Our answer to this will reveal many similarities as well as difference. We both believe Allah is the creator, He is good, He is powerful, He is the Judge, He is Compassionate and Merciful, He is Lord and so on.

The differences begin to emerge when we look at issues of transcendance and imminence. Orthodox islam stresses the unknowability and "otherness" of God while Christianity talks of Allah in shockingly personal terms - for example Jesus taught his disciples to address Allah as "abba" an intimate term which literally translates as "daddy!"

Misunderstanding also arises when we talk about the Tawhid or the unity of God. The doctrine of Trinity can mislead Muslims into believing that Allah has been divided up into three persons. this would then make Christianity a polytheistic faith. Clearly Christianity is not. Along wih Judaism and Islam it declares its monotheism in the words of the Creed "We believe in one God . . ."

That Allah is one in his unity is a conviction shared by us all. The question of how that unity is manifest in the world is when we begin to enter into the realms of Trinitatrian doctrine. For Muslims, God chooses to interact with His creation through the medium of the oral word - given through prophets or angels (messengers). These are then written into text form. That, however would be the extent to which we can know God. His thoughts and messages given to us is through spoken and written word. This however does not violate the unity of God. For Christians, the Word becomes flesh takes this principle further. As the spoken and written word does not violate the essential unity of God, neither does God coming in human form. Perhaps there is a hint of this in the Qur'anic description of Jesus as a "Spirit from God".

What do you think?

2008-02-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

A Church in Qatar?

The debate in Qatar over new church buildings has made me appreciate once again the religious freedom we do have here in Kuwait. Although other Gulf countries do allow church buildings, Kuwait led the way with a constitution that enshrined freedom for other faith groups right from day one. Saudi Arabia by contrast has a constitution which expressly forbids the expression of any form of religion except for Islam (and then only certain forms of Islam).

All the Gulf states play host to a large expatriate community who represent different faiths. Following the time honoured tradition of hospitality which is a much vaunted feature of Arabian society, Christians and other groups have been welcomed and accommodated in most of the Gulf countries. The success of the Gulf economies is very much a tribute to the combined team efforts of both local and expatriate workers working together in harmony.

What happens when there is no freedom of religion?

For the Christian, nothing much. They will continue to work hard and seek to be good neighbours and be a blessing to their hosts. While the word “church”” for most people denotes a building used for Christian worship, the Bible refers to “church” as a people. Literally translated the Greek word for church ‘ex-clesia’ means ‘to call out’. We should therefore not be tied down to a special building in order to pray.

Having said that, Christianity, like all religions, is a communal faith, and in the absence of a special building, Christians will gather together wherever they can. Sometimes they meet in schools or villas or even in restaurants. But there is absolutely no need to erect a huge building and plant a big cross on the top. They do appreciate it though when it is possible to have a building set aside just to meet as a group.

What seem to lie behind the protest in Qatar, is the fear that a church will become a centre for proselytizing Muslims. Proselytizing is defined as an activity where one engages in trying to persuade through propaganda, manipulation or coercion one person to adopt a religion. Although Christianity is a missionary faith, proselytizing as defined above finds no place in the teaching of scripture.

Should Qatar, allow the building of a church? That is entirely up to her. As Christians we are taught explicitly in scripture to obey the law of the land. One thing is certain, whatever happens Christians will continue to worship together, be it discretely in a villa or in a purpose built worship centre.

Is the veil Muslim or Christian in origin?

2008-02-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Sign of rebellion against Ataturk
Halit Refig, one of Turkey’s leading intellectuals, is a filmmaker/ screenwriter whose films include “Four Women in the Harem” and “Island of the Dogs.” He is also on the board of NPQ-Turkey. — EditorBy Halit Refig
ISTANBUL: The headscarf controversy is taking the place of PKK terrorism and Kurdish separatism as the most contentious issue in Turkish political life. Civil disobedience is replacing bloody terrorism, which seems to have lost its initiative since the aerial bombings of PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) camps in northern Iraq. The new militants against the state order are not armed men, but girls with covered heads who refuse to obey the rules of university education because of their religious faith. But the target is the same: Turkish central state power established under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. These rebellious girls do not cover their heads with the traditional Turkish headscarf. For this reason, it is given the distinctive name “turban.” It is a kind of uniform. Turkey didn’t have such a turban problem until the 1980s. Indeed, there was no headscarf problem in Turkey until the Khomeini revolution in Iran, when black-covered women crowded public squares of Tehran. Some bright minds in Turkey decided to apply the same tactics, using women and female students against the state under the pretext of democracy and individual rights. In 1982, for the first time, Istanbul University authorities declared that female students covering their heads and wearing the so-called turban would not be accepted in classes. Since then, the headscarf-turban has been a continuing issue of controversy.
A milestone case was the 1999 elections. A turbaned candidate named Merve Kavakci, who was living in the U.S., won parliamentary elections. But a majority of parliamentarians refused to allow her to stay in the parliament if she insisted on wearing a turban. Kavakci went back to America, where she is still trying to behave like a Moslem Joan of Arc. Because of her, many people in Turkey believe that the turban is somehow an American conspiracy aimed at undermining Turkish power. The problem is much more complicated and deeper than it appears. Until the ‘80s, Turkey was an agricultural country with most of its population living in rural areas. Steady industrialization, however, stimulated migration from rural areas to urban centers. Now Turkey is an industrial country with 70 percent of its population living in cities — even though many were born in the countryside. Democracy has given these people the chance of being the dominant social group. Wearing the turban is one way of expressing their new power. It has became a kind of solidarity uniform of young countryside people, defying established “urban” rules instead of adapting to the metropolitan way of life.
Although defenders of the turban claim that it is an expression of Islamic faith, non-political Islamic scholars and theologians insist there is not such strict rule of head covering in Islam. In fact, it is part of Christian theology. Here are some references from Saint Paul’s First Letter to Corinthians in the Holy Bible: * “But I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of woman is the man; in turn the head of Christ is God.” (11:3) * “For if a woman does not cover herself, let her also be shorn; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered.” (11:6) * “For a man ought not to have his head covered; as he is God’s image and glory; but the woman is man’s glory.” (11:7).* “For man is not out of woman, but woman out of man.” (11:8) * “And, what is more, man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of man.” (11:9) * “That is why the woman ought to have a sign of authority upon her head because of angels.” (11:10) There is no such stricture to a woman covering her head in Islam’s holy book, the Holy Quran. The Quran says that believing women should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms. (24:30, 31). Unlike Christianity, there is no Church in Islam, no clergy class, no nuns. To be a Muslim, it is enough to accept that there is only one God and that Mohammed (PBUH) is His Messenger. The rest is between the believer and God. There is no authority that will decide who is a good Muslim and who is not. Since God has given intelligence to human beings, Muslims are responsible directly to God, with no one in between. That is, in general, the Turkish way of being Muslim. So covering a woman’s head with nun-like headscarves is not going back to Islamic fundamentals, but rootless imitation of Christian nuns!
Nobody should have anything to say about the way one chooses to live his or her private life. It is the same for a woman’s choice of what she wears. But when that choice becomes a political act against laws and rules, it also becomes a betrayal of the essence of Islam. In that case, it is not a matter of Islamic faith but a cover for the political aims of destroying the state structure in Turkey. The present-day political power of the AKP (Justice and Development Party) is based on the new urban social group. Putting turbans on their women’s heads is a strategy of establishing political dominance. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul are the chief representatives, with their covered wives, of the rebellion against Ataturk’s state authority republic. This is the result of democracy. What is next? It is not easy to guess. The armed forces have always been central to maintaining the order of the Kemalist state. Until now, they haven’t shown any noticeable reaction. But how far can they be pushed? Can we say a final goodbye to Ataturk and his nation/state, or will there be an inescapable breaking point at which time they come out of the barracks?

Should Churches be allowed in Islamic Gulf States?

2008-02-16T02:29:00.000-08:00

Qatar's first church sparks bitter debate

DOHA, Feb 16, 2008 (AFP) - A bitter debate has broken out in the tiny, oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar over construction of the Muslim country's first Christian church, set to open next month in time for Easter.
Critics have branded the concept as 'repulsive' while supporters said building places of worship for other religions is a right guaranteed by Islam.
One former minister insisted there should have been a public referendum.
'The cross should not be raised in the sky of Qatar, nor should bells toll in Doha,' wrote columnist Lahdan bin Issa al-Muhanadi in the Doha daily Al-Arab -- adding an apology in case the concept upset any readers in this country of 900,000, of whom only 200,000 are native Qataris.
But the former dean of the sharia (Islamic law) school at Qatar University, Abdul Hamid al-Ansari, disagreed, saying having 'places of worship for various religions is a fundamental human right guaranteed by Islam.'
Ansari has written several newspaper articles welcoming the Roman Catholic church in Doha, which is called St. Mary's and will be inaugurated on March 15 by Vatican envoy Cardinal Ivan Dias.
Four other Christian denominations are also planning to build churches in Qatar, whose ruling family and most of its small native population adhere to a strict rigorous doctrine of Islam known as Wahhabism.
Once St. Mary's opens, neighbour Saudi Arabia, which also practises Wahhabism, will be the only Arab nation in the Gulf that bans churches.
Gas-wealthy Qatar has opened up since current ruler and staunch US ally Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani seized control and ousted his father in a 1995 palace coup.
Qatar's leaders have even hosted Jewish rabbis and Christian clerics alongside Muslim religious scholars at annual inter-faith forums.
But Ansari sees the old influence in the current opposition. He attributes it to 'a fanatic culture resulting from religious teaching (stipulating) hatred for the other and from social norms that denied non-Muslims their rights on the basis of old political and security considerations that have become obsolete.'
St. Mary's parish priest, Father Tomasito Veneracion, a Filipino, stressed in comments to the daily Al-Raya that the church would be 'merely a place for collective prayer.' It would not have crosses outside the building or serve as a platform for proselytising.
It would finally provide a place of worship for those who up to now were forced to practise religious rituals at home, he added. And it would be open in time for the solemn Easter holyday, which this year falls on March 23.
For other Christians, construction of an Anglican church will begin in May, according to Qatar's Anglican priest Canon William Schwarz. Building has already begun on a Greek Orthodox church and another for Copts.
The Vatican website estimates about 100,000 Qatar residents are Christian. Most are Indians, Filipinos, Lebanese and Western nationals who, despite praying in private, have celebrated Christmas publicly for about a decade.
The debate meanwhile has spilled into the letters pages of Doha's dailies.
Engineer Rashed al-Subaie, in a letter to Al-Watan, agreed Christians should be allowed to practise their faith but should do so 'in line with public morals without being given licences to set up places of worship.'
Christians should 'worship their God in their homes,' not publicly, he wrote.
Lawyer and former justice minister Najib al-Nuaimi also objected to building churches in Qatar on 'legal and social' grounds.
'Qatar is a Muslim -- not secular -- state, as per its constitution. There should have been a referendum on the building of these churches in order to ensure they are socially accepted,' he told AFP.
But Ansari hit back at those citing Islamic texts to justify their rejection, notably Muhanadi who has quoted the Prophet Mohammed saying 'no two religions will come together in the Arabian peninsula.'
'This does not mean that churches should be banned in Qatar because (Islamic) religious scholars believe it applies to Hijaz -- specifically Mecca and Medina,' Islam's two holiest cities in Saudi Arabia, Ansari said.
'Let's all welcome the presence of churches in Qatar... as a demonstration of Islamic tolerance and human brotherhood,' he said.

A Muslim response to the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent comments

2008-02-16T02:05:00.000-08:00

Canterbury … How nice of you
By Ali Ahmad Al-BaghliFormer Oil Minister
THE Archbishop of Canterbury and head of Church of England, Rowan Williams, is as revered by members of his church as is the Vatican Pope by followers of the Catholic church. This brave bishop says, “no one can escape some of the Islamic teachings and people should be more open-minded towards Islam because a productive compromise can be reached if other religions deal with Islam with an open mind.” The bishop said this on BBC when he was talking about Islam and its links with the British law. His statement on Islamic teachings created a big uproar and the English newspapers and government are still talking about it. This is a normal reaction in an open-minded, democratic and free society like the British society. What we care about here is the peace campaign which the bishop undertook by asking for inclusion of a number of Islamic teachings in the British law, especially since the number of Muslims in the British society is increasing steadily.
Our religious leaders and their so-called followers, whose number is also increasing with each passing day, lack the kind of peaceful approach adopted by the bishop. Some religious men are praying to God day and night against people of other religions. They also prevent us from wishing them on their festivals. Our religious men are also against granting citizenship to people of other religions and some of them have even prevented us from doing good things like exchanging red roses or chocolates on Valentine’s Day. We hope these religious men go back to living in tents and riding camels in deserts instead of bothering about people of other religions. Yes, we need tens of such bishops to live among us. We need men like Abdullrahman Al-Kawakibi, Mohammad Abduh, Jamal Al-Deen Al-Afghani and Mahmoud Al-Aqqad to light the world for us.
albaghlilaw@hotmail.com

Now is the Time

2008-02-14T02:46:00.000-08:00

With the Danish cartoon row erupting, Islamophobic reactions erupting in the media in the UK to the Archbishop of Canterbury's comments about shari'a law and ongoing confrontation between Christian and Muslim communities, there is a great need for members of both these latter communities to reach out and build a bridge.

Here in Kuwait we are blessed to be living in a community which celebrates constitutional religious freedom. The police take seriously any perceived crimes of religious intolerance. Yet there is still a gap between Christians and Muslims. There are too few initiatives to build bridges.

There is of course the sterling work of AWARE and the Perceptions Centre which seeks to interpret and explain Islam and Islamic culture to Westerners. There is also a Gulf Council for promoting tolerance between the different religious communities.

St Paul's Anglican Church in Kuwait is keen to explore our part is helping to bridge the gap.

The intention of this forum is to invite both Muslim and Christian readers to interact with one another on line in order to facilitate questions of the day which concern us both.

The purpose of this site is not for proselytization (for this is illegal in Kuwait), but is rather a means of Muslims meeting Christians and vice versa for honest dialogue. There are some strict guidelines and these are
1) That the dialogue is respectful. We do not welcome insults or disparaging remarks about one another's faith. We can of course choose to disagree and this is essential for honest dialogue.
2) That we can explore issues by posting questions and inviting reposnses to those questions.

As this is the first posting , we will keep it short.

Blessings