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.
Thursday 20 October 2011
Thursday 4 November 2010
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
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
Wednesday 16 June 2010
farewell to chaplain from Arab Times
‘Kuwait is a safe country for Christian Community’
Rev Thompson to embark on new journey
KUWAIT CITY, June 14: Being the Chaplain of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi in Muslim Kuwait has been a very delightful and educational journey according to Reverend Andrew Thompson and the Christian community can testify that he has brought comfort to many lives.
Sadly some journeys must come to an end for new ones to begin and Rev. Thompson’s new adventure will be taking place in Abu Dhabi where he will reside as the Senior Chaplain of The Church of Abu Dhabi. He will be heading off to the Gulf state with his wife and three children at the end of June.
“I am going to be enormously sad about leaving Kuwait. Kuwait is a very interesting country because there is such a diversity of people here. The people who leave their home country to come to work and live here are very motivated and it has been very rewarding meeting people like that,” said Rev. Thompson speaking to the Arab Times.
Awareness
Reflecting on his time in Kuwait, Reverend Thompson, who was also a regular columnist for the Arab Times, recalled first coming to the country and being surprised at how large the Christian community was here.
Like many people around the world, he believed that Kuwait as a Muslim country meant that there were a lot of restrictions on Christians practicing their faith and he was amazed to find out that the opposite was true.
“When I came to Kuwait, it was basically the tail end of the second Gulf War. There were a lot of expatriates here who were wrapping up the business in Iraq. There were a lot of military in the Churches and there was always the awareness that there was a war going on and there was real tension,” he recalled.
Rev Thompson remembered being called by the British Embassy of Kuwait to go visit a British soldier who has been wounded in action at Al-Sabah Hospital. He had lost an arm in a mortar attack. “That was a reminder to me that Kuwait is really in a very hot spot. Then Iraq became more and more invisible.”
“In my four years in Kuwait, never once have I had any negative contact with the Kuwaiti government and I’ve not had any experience of trouble or hostile persecution. Non of that exists here,” assured the Rev. Thompson.
In order to promote the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the state of Kuwait, the Reverend authored a book entitled ‘The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf’ and it was published and launched earlier this year.
“What I have noticed in Kuwait is that there are lots of opportunities to learn about Islam, which is important. It is important that the world learns about Islam from the Muslim perspective, but it is equally important for Muslims to learn and understand about people of other faiths, not only Christianity but Hinduism and other religions as well,” said Rev. Thompson.
He explained that religious freedom also includes education. It is not religious freedom when one group in power says you are not allowed to learn about the rest. Therefore the Reverend was delighted about the creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council which is a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
Appreciate
“Responsible freedom says you need to appreciate the global community and that way you can take away any misperceptions, misunderstandings and fear. I find Kuwait to be a very safe country for the Christian community. The only restriction for the Christian community is the missionary activity of the Christian Church,” the Reverend added.
He was surprised to learn that missionary activity is perceived as an aggressive activity by the government - coercion, manipulating and forcing someone to change their religion - which, according to the Reverend, no Church would ever do, at least not at this day and age. “There probably was coercion in the past but not now,” he commented.
The biggest challenge Reverend Thompson has faced in Kuwait was witnessing the misery of thousands and thousands of domestic laborers with being able to do much about it.
“If you come from a country like the Philippines and India, in their home countries the Church is very essential to their community. So when they are in trouble, the first person they call up is not the police or the hospital, quite often it is the Church,” he said. “That very quickly became apparent to me that part of my ministry to the expatriate community here was being a voice for those who have no voice... and I took the opportunity to write for the Arab Times.”
What particularly disturbs the Reverend about the domestic laborer issue in Kuwait is that these workers have no protection of the law.
Domestics
“There is a labor law but domestic workers are not covered by it. I suppose if the Church was to say anything at all it would be ‘please can you have a law that would cover the rights of all workers here’,” stressed Reverend Thompson. “For me, as a guest in Kuwait, I often wonder what the appropriate response is. Shall I just keep quite and be polite, pretend not to see anything? Or shall I do something? That is what I believe most people feel here.”
He added that although abuse is committed by a Kuwaiti and expatriate minority, the distress of the domestic workers is very real and genuine and you can’t ignore it and the problem is global one, not distinct to Kuwait only.
Currently the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi has yet to decide he leaves. American lady minister, Reverend Renee Perkins, who is already as the Reverend’s assistant, is said to become Chaplain from September to December. “She will be probably the only female minister in Kuwait, which makes here rather special,” commented the Rev. Thompson.
The Church of Abu Dhabi was established in 1960. It is right in the heart of Abu Dhabi Island and has served the expatriate community for 50 years. There, Reverend Thompson will be overseeing a compound of about 80 different congregations and will be the liaison between the government and the Church.
“Abu Dhabi has been very generous to the Christian community. They have plans to expand the Church’s location and this has been initiated by the government itself. However, I think Kuwait is quite different from the other countries because there is much more communication with the local community,” concluded Reverend Thompson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Nihal Sharaf
Rev Thompson to embark on new journey
KUWAIT CITY, June 14: Being the Chaplain of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi in Muslim Kuwait has been a very delightful and educational journey according to Reverend Andrew Thompson and the Christian community can testify that he has brought comfort to many lives.
Sadly some journeys must come to an end for new ones to begin and Rev. Thompson’s new adventure will be taking place in Abu Dhabi where he will reside as the Senior Chaplain of The Church of Abu Dhabi. He will be heading off to the Gulf state with his wife and three children at the end of June.
“I am going to be enormously sad about leaving Kuwait. Kuwait is a very interesting country because there is such a diversity of people here. The people who leave their home country to come to work and live here are very motivated and it has been very rewarding meeting people like that,” said Rev. Thompson speaking to the Arab Times.
Awareness
Reflecting on his time in Kuwait, Reverend Thompson, who was also a regular columnist for the Arab Times, recalled first coming to the country and being surprised at how large the Christian community was here.
Like many people around the world, he believed that Kuwait as a Muslim country meant that there were a lot of restrictions on Christians practicing their faith and he was amazed to find out that the opposite was true.
“When I came to Kuwait, it was basically the tail end of the second Gulf War. There were a lot of expatriates here who were wrapping up the business in Iraq. There were a lot of military in the Churches and there was always the awareness that there was a war going on and there was real tension,” he recalled.
Rev Thompson remembered being called by the British Embassy of Kuwait to go visit a British soldier who has been wounded in action at Al-Sabah Hospital. He had lost an arm in a mortar attack. “That was a reminder to me that Kuwait is really in a very hot spot. Then Iraq became more and more invisible.”
“In my four years in Kuwait, never once have I had any negative contact with the Kuwaiti government and I’ve not had any experience of trouble or hostile persecution. Non of that exists here,” assured the Rev. Thompson.
In order to promote the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the state of Kuwait, the Reverend authored a book entitled ‘The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf’ and it was published and launched earlier this year.
“What I have noticed in Kuwait is that there are lots of opportunities to learn about Islam, which is important. It is important that the world learns about Islam from the Muslim perspective, but it is equally important for Muslims to learn and understand about people of other faiths, not only Christianity but Hinduism and other religions as well,” said Rev. Thompson.
He explained that religious freedom also includes education. It is not religious freedom when one group in power says you are not allowed to learn about the rest. Therefore the Reverend was delighted about the creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council which is a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
Appreciate
“Responsible freedom says you need to appreciate the global community and that way you can take away any misperceptions, misunderstandings and fear. I find Kuwait to be a very safe country for the Christian community. The only restriction for the Christian community is the missionary activity of the Christian Church,” the Reverend added.
He was surprised to learn that missionary activity is perceived as an aggressive activity by the government - coercion, manipulating and forcing someone to change their religion - which, according to the Reverend, no Church would ever do, at least not at this day and age. “There probably was coercion in the past but not now,” he commented.
The biggest challenge Reverend Thompson has faced in Kuwait was witnessing the misery of thousands and thousands of domestic laborers with being able to do much about it.
“If you come from a country like the Philippines and India, in their home countries the Church is very essential to their community. So when they are in trouble, the first person they call up is not the police or the hospital, quite often it is the Church,” he said. “That very quickly became apparent to me that part of my ministry to the expatriate community here was being a voice for those who have no voice... and I took the opportunity to write for the Arab Times.”
What particularly disturbs the Reverend about the domestic laborer issue in Kuwait is that these workers have no protection of the law.
Domestics
“There is a labor law but domestic workers are not covered by it. I suppose if the Church was to say anything at all it would be ‘please can you have a law that would cover the rights of all workers here’,” stressed Reverend Thompson. “For me, as a guest in Kuwait, I often wonder what the appropriate response is. Shall I just keep quite and be polite, pretend not to see anything? Or shall I do something? That is what I believe most people feel here.”
He added that although abuse is committed by a Kuwaiti and expatriate minority, the distress of the domestic workers is very real and genuine and you can’t ignore it and the problem is global one, not distinct to Kuwait only.
Currently the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi has yet to decide he leaves. American lady minister, Reverend Renee Perkins, who is already as the Reverend’s assistant, is said to become Chaplain from September to December. “She will be probably the only female minister in Kuwait, which makes here rather special,” commented the Rev. Thompson.
The Church of Abu Dhabi was established in 1960. It is right in the heart of Abu Dhabi Island and has served the expatriate community for 50 years. There, Reverend Thompson will be overseeing a compound of about 80 different congregations and will be the liaison between the government and the Church.
“Abu Dhabi has been very generous to the Christian community. They have plans to expand the Church’s location and this has been initiated by the government itself. However, I think Kuwait is quite different from the other countries because there is much more communication with the local community,” concluded Reverend Thompson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Nihal Sharaf
farewell to chaplain from Arab Times
‘Kuwait is a safe country for Christian Community’
Rev Thompson to embark on new journey
KUWAIT CITY, June 14: Being the Chaplain of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi in Muslim Kuwait has been a very delightful and educational journey according to Reverend Andrew Thompson and the Christian community can testify that he has brought comfort to many lives.
Sadly some journeys must come to an end for new ones to begin and Rev. Thompson’s new adventure will be taking place in Abu Dhabi where he will reside as the Senior Chaplain of The Church of Abu Dhabi. He will be heading off to the Gulf state with his wife and three children at the end of June.
“I am going to be enormously sad about leaving Kuwait. Kuwait is a very interesting country because there is such a diversity of people here. The people who leave their home country to come to work and live here are very motivated and it has been very rewarding meeting people like that,” said Rev. Thompson speaking to the Arab Times.
Awareness
Reflecting on his time in Kuwait, Reverend Thompson, who was also a regular columnist for the Arab Times, recalled first coming to the country and being surprised at how large the Christian community was here.
Like many people around the world, he believed that Kuwait as a Muslim country meant that there were a lot of restrictions on Christians practicing their faith and he was amazed to find out that the opposite was true.
“When I came to Kuwait, it was basically the tail end of the second Gulf War. There were a lot of expatriates here who were wrapping up the business in Iraq. There were a lot of military in the Churches and there was always the awareness that there was a war going on and there was real tension,” he recalled.
Rev Thompson remembered being called by the British Embassy of Kuwait to go visit a British soldier who has been wounded in action at Al-Sabah Hospital. He had lost an arm in a mortar attack. “That was a reminder to me that Kuwait is really in a very hot spot. Then Iraq became more and more invisible.”
“In my four years in Kuwait, never once have I had any negative contact with the Kuwaiti government and I’ve not had any experience of trouble or hostile persecution. Non of that exists here,” assured the Rev. Thompson.
In order to promote the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the state of Kuwait, the Reverend authored a book entitled ‘The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf’ and it was published and launched earlier this year.
“What I have noticed in Kuwait is that there are lots of opportunities to learn about Islam, which is important. It is important that the world learns about Islam from the Muslim perspective, but it is equally important for Muslims to learn and understand about people of other faiths, not only Christianity but Hinduism and other religions as well,” said Rev. Thompson.
He explained that religious freedom also includes education. It is not religious freedom when one group in power says you are not allowed to learn about the rest. Therefore the Reverend was delighted about the creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council which is a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
Appreciate
“Responsible freedom says you need to appreciate the global community and that way you can take away any misperceptions, misunderstandings and fear. I find Kuwait to be a very safe country for the Christian community. The only restriction for the Christian community is the missionary activity of the Christian Church,” the Reverend added.
He was surprised to learn that missionary activity is perceived as an aggressive activity by the government - coercion, manipulating and forcing someone to change their religion - which, according to the Reverend, no Church would ever do, at least not at this day and age. “There probably was coercion in the past but not now,” he commented.
The biggest challenge Reverend Thompson has faced in Kuwait was witnessing the misery of thousands and thousands of domestic laborers with being able to do much about it.
“If you come from a country like the Philippines and India, in their home countries the Church is very essential to their community. So when they are in trouble, the first person they call up is not the police or the hospital, quite often it is the Church,” he said. “That very quickly became apparent to me that part of my ministry to the expatriate community here was being a voice for those who have no voice... and I took the opportunity to write for the Arab Times.”
What particularly disturbs the Reverend about the domestic laborer issue in Kuwait is that these workers have no protection of the law.
Domestics
“There is a labor law but domestic workers are not covered by it. I suppose if the Church was to say anything at all it would be ‘please can you have a law that would cover the rights of all workers here’,” stressed Reverend Thompson. “For me, as a guest in Kuwait, I often wonder what the appropriate response is. Shall I just keep quite and be polite, pretend not to see anything? Or shall I do something? That is what I believe most people feel here.”
He added that although abuse is committed by a Kuwaiti and expatriate minority, the distress of the domestic workers is very real and genuine and you can’t ignore it and the problem is global one, not distinct to Kuwait only.
Currently the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi has yet to decide he leaves. American lady minister, Reverend Renee Perkins, who is already as the Reverend’s assistant, is said to become Chaplain from September to December. “She will be probably the only female minister in Kuwait, which makes here rather special,” commented the Rev. Thompson.
The Church of Abu Dhabi was established in 1960. It is right in the heart of Abu Dhabi Island and has served the expatriate community for 50 years. There, Reverend Thompson will be overseeing a compound of about 80 different congregations and will be the liaison between the government and the Church.
“Abu Dhabi has been very generous to the Christian community. They have plans to expand the Church’s location and this has been initiated by the government itself. However, I think Kuwait is quite different from the other countries because there is much more communication with the local community,” concluded Reverend Thompson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Nihal Sharaf
Rev Thompson to embark on new journey
KUWAIT CITY, June 14: Being the Chaplain of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi in Muslim Kuwait has been a very delightful and educational journey according to Reverend Andrew Thompson and the Christian community can testify that he has brought comfort to many lives.
Sadly some journeys must come to an end for new ones to begin and Rev. Thompson’s new adventure will be taking place in Abu Dhabi where he will reside as the Senior Chaplain of The Church of Abu Dhabi. He will be heading off to the Gulf state with his wife and three children at the end of June.
“I am going to be enormously sad about leaving Kuwait. Kuwait is a very interesting country because there is such a diversity of people here. The people who leave their home country to come to work and live here are very motivated and it has been very rewarding meeting people like that,” said Rev. Thompson speaking to the Arab Times.
Awareness
Reflecting on his time in Kuwait, Reverend Thompson, who was also a regular columnist for the Arab Times, recalled first coming to the country and being surprised at how large the Christian community was here.
Like many people around the world, he believed that Kuwait as a Muslim country meant that there were a lot of restrictions on Christians practicing their faith and he was amazed to find out that the opposite was true.
“When I came to Kuwait, it was basically the tail end of the second Gulf War. There were a lot of expatriates here who were wrapping up the business in Iraq. There were a lot of military in the Churches and there was always the awareness that there was a war going on and there was real tension,” he recalled.
Rev Thompson remembered being called by the British Embassy of Kuwait to go visit a British soldier who has been wounded in action at Al-Sabah Hospital. He had lost an arm in a mortar attack. “That was a reminder to me that Kuwait is really in a very hot spot. Then Iraq became more and more invisible.”
“In my four years in Kuwait, never once have I had any negative contact with the Kuwaiti government and I’ve not had any experience of trouble or hostile persecution. Non of that exists here,” assured the Rev. Thompson.
In order to promote the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the state of Kuwait, the Reverend authored a book entitled ‘The Christian Church in Kuwait - Religious Freedom in the Gulf’ and it was published and launched earlier this year.
“What I have noticed in Kuwait is that there are lots of opportunities to learn about Islam, which is important. It is important that the world learns about Islam from the Muslim perspective, but it is equally important for Muslims to learn and understand about people of other faiths, not only Christianity but Hinduism and other religions as well,” said Rev. Thompson.
He explained that religious freedom also includes education. It is not religious freedom when one group in power says you are not allowed to learn about the rest. Therefore the Reverend was delighted about the creation of the Islamic Christian Relations Council which is a huge step towards strengthening ties between the Muslims and Christians of Kuwait.
Appreciate
“Responsible freedom says you need to appreciate the global community and that way you can take away any misperceptions, misunderstandings and fear. I find Kuwait to be a very safe country for the Christian community. The only restriction for the Christian community is the missionary activity of the Christian Church,” the Reverend added.
He was surprised to learn that missionary activity is perceived as an aggressive activity by the government - coercion, manipulating and forcing someone to change their religion - which, according to the Reverend, no Church would ever do, at least not at this day and age. “There probably was coercion in the past but not now,” he commented.
The biggest challenge Reverend Thompson has faced in Kuwait was witnessing the misery of thousands and thousands of domestic laborers with being able to do much about it.
“If you come from a country like the Philippines and India, in their home countries the Church is very essential to their community. So when they are in trouble, the first person they call up is not the police or the hospital, quite often it is the Church,” he said. “That very quickly became apparent to me that part of my ministry to the expatriate community here was being a voice for those who have no voice... and I took the opportunity to write for the Arab Times.”
What particularly disturbs the Reverend about the domestic laborer issue in Kuwait is that these workers have no protection of the law.
Domestics
“There is a labor law but domestic workers are not covered by it. I suppose if the Church was to say anything at all it would be ‘please can you have a law that would cover the rights of all workers here’,” stressed Reverend Thompson. “For me, as a guest in Kuwait, I often wonder what the appropriate response is. Shall I just keep quite and be polite, pretend not to see anything? Or shall I do something? That is what I believe most people feel here.”
He added that although abuse is committed by a Kuwaiti and expatriate minority, the distress of the domestic workers is very real and genuine and you can’t ignore it and the problem is global one, not distinct to Kuwait only.
Currently the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ahmadi has yet to decide he leaves. American lady minister, Reverend Renee Perkins, who is already as the Reverend’s assistant, is said to become Chaplain from September to December. “She will be probably the only female minister in Kuwait, which makes here rather special,” commented the Rev. Thompson.
The Church of Abu Dhabi was established in 1960. It is right in the heart of Abu Dhabi Island and has served the expatriate community for 50 years. There, Reverend Thompson will be overseeing a compound of about 80 different congregations and will be the liaison between the government and the Church.
“Abu Dhabi has been very generous to the Christian community. They have plans to expand the Church’s location and this has been initiated by the government itself. However, I think Kuwait is quite different from the other countries because there is much more communication with the local community,” concluded Reverend Thompson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Nihal Sharaf
Sunday 9 May 2010
Arab times article May 8th
A discordant note
THE band would have sounded great but for the fact that there was one trumpet badly out of tune with the other instruments. As the music played on, I could not help wince as the rogue trumpet continued to distract me with its harsh jarring presence. It became for me a metaphor of life in Kuwait. Consider the following events.
Ten thousand Sri Lankans forced to abandon their carefully planned National Day celebrations.
Delayed again. A British citizen waiting to hear a verdict in a court case more than three years old, has had his hearing delayed again for the umpteenth time after the relevant papers were not available. Unable to leave Kuwait, he has been separated from his family for all this time.
There are citizens of Ghana languishing in jails for months because they have no diplomatic representation. They cannot afford lawyers. They are stuck in limbo.
Those who are financially destitute and in debt are sent to jail - how does that help amend the situation?
Members of the Filipino community are appealing for justice after a Filipina maid was sentenced to death in a murder case in which critical evidence suggests that she is innocent.
Someone in authority told me of his frustration that prisoners waiting to be deported, have to wait months because someone, somewhere can’t be bothered to process the relatively straight forward paperwork. He was disturbed by the lack of justice he witnessed at work.
A decent, hardworking Kuwaiti man was fired from a national financial institution because he refused to collude with dubious banking practices.
A Western doctor who labours diligently for 60+ hours a week has not been paid again.
She looks exhausted. No wonder ! This Ethiopian maid has not had a day off in two years of working long hours for a local family. With no rights and no recourse to labour law, she suffers in silence. This week at least five maids committed suicide or were fatally injured in trying to escape from their sponsors.
These are real stories. Their broken lives point to an apparent lack of justice. Kuwait is a country which I have come to appreciate and I meet so many wonderful, kind and compassionate people. Yet the lack of justice strikes a discordant note which jars the soul.
Justice is an important theme in both Islam and Christianity. Scripture is full of reminders that God is righteous and just. In other words God always does the right thing — all the time. He is always merciful and compassionate. The divine law was given in order to establish a society who would love God and love their neighbour. It is significant to me that in human history, the Middle East is the region where laws of justice and fairness were hammered out. The Arabian Peninsula witnessed the formation of the ancient Hammurabi’s legal codex (Iraq), the Mosaic ten commandments and Islamic Sharia’ law. If any region in the world should be known for justice, we need look no further than the Middle East. So where has it gone wrong?
Perhaps we have simply stopped caring. People can’t be bothered anymore.
It was the prophet Isaiah who said “Learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow”. In other words, don’t stop caring, be bothered. I pray that one day this discordant note will fade away as people start to care and make beautiful music in the land of Kuwait.
THE band would have sounded great but for the fact that there was one trumpet badly out of tune with the other instruments. As the music played on, I could not help wince as the rogue trumpet continued to distract me with its harsh jarring presence. It became for me a metaphor of life in Kuwait. Consider the following events.
Ten thousand Sri Lankans forced to abandon their carefully planned National Day celebrations.
Delayed again. A British citizen waiting to hear a verdict in a court case more than three years old, has had his hearing delayed again for the umpteenth time after the relevant papers were not available. Unable to leave Kuwait, he has been separated from his family for all this time.
There are citizens of Ghana languishing in jails for months because they have no diplomatic representation. They cannot afford lawyers. They are stuck in limbo.
Those who are financially destitute and in debt are sent to jail - how does that help amend the situation?
Members of the Filipino community are appealing for justice after a Filipina maid was sentenced to death in a murder case in which critical evidence suggests that she is innocent.
Someone in authority told me of his frustration that prisoners waiting to be deported, have to wait months because someone, somewhere can’t be bothered to process the relatively straight forward paperwork. He was disturbed by the lack of justice he witnessed at work.
A decent, hardworking Kuwaiti man was fired from a national financial institution because he refused to collude with dubious banking practices.
A Western doctor who labours diligently for 60+ hours a week has not been paid again.
She looks exhausted. No wonder ! This Ethiopian maid has not had a day off in two years of working long hours for a local family. With no rights and no recourse to labour law, she suffers in silence. This week at least five maids committed suicide or were fatally injured in trying to escape from their sponsors.
These are real stories. Their broken lives point to an apparent lack of justice. Kuwait is a country which I have come to appreciate and I meet so many wonderful, kind and compassionate people. Yet the lack of justice strikes a discordant note which jars the soul.
Justice is an important theme in both Islam and Christianity. Scripture is full of reminders that God is righteous and just. In other words God always does the right thing — all the time. He is always merciful and compassionate. The divine law was given in order to establish a society who would love God and love their neighbour. It is significant to me that in human history, the Middle East is the region where laws of justice and fairness were hammered out. The Arabian Peninsula witnessed the formation of the ancient Hammurabi’s legal codex (Iraq), the Mosaic ten commandments and Islamic Sharia’ law. If any region in the world should be known for justice, we need look no further than the Middle East. So where has it gone wrong?
Perhaps we have simply stopped caring. People can’t be bothered anymore.
It was the prophet Isaiah who said “Learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow”. In other words, don’t stop caring, be bothered. I pray that one day this discordant note will fade away as people start to care and make beautiful music in the land of Kuwait.
Friday 30 April 2010
British Embassy Kuwait Article
Interfaith Reception
29 Apr 2010
HMA Frank Baker hosts an 'Interfaith Reception' to mark the launch of Andrew Thompson's book.
Her Majesty's Ambassador to Kuwait HE Mr Frank Baker hosted an Interfaith Reception at his Residence on Wednesday 28 April 2010 to mark the launch of Vicar of St Paul's Anglican Church, Reverend Andrew Thompson's book - 'The Christian Church in Kuwait, Religious Freedom in the Gulf.'
The book promotes the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the State of Kuwait.
The reception was attended by prominent figures in Kuwait, including the Pastor and caretaker of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait, Reverend Amanuel Benjamin Ghareeb.
29 Apr 2010
HMA Frank Baker hosts an 'Interfaith Reception' to mark the launch of Andrew Thompson's book.
Her Majesty's Ambassador to Kuwait HE Mr Frank Baker hosted an Interfaith Reception at his Residence on Wednesday 28 April 2010 to mark the launch of Vicar of St Paul's Anglican Church, Reverend Andrew Thompson's book - 'The Christian Church in Kuwait, Religious Freedom in the Gulf.'
The book promotes the tolerance and religious freedom provided by the State of Kuwait.
The reception was attended by prominent figures in Kuwait, including the Pastor and caretaker of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait, Reverend Amanuel Benjamin Ghareeb.
Kuwait Times Newspaper 30th April
Catholics hope Amir's visit with Pope will secure their home
Published Date: April 29, 2010
KUWAIT: The inclusion of the Vatican in a state trip by His Highness the Amir to Europe that began this week has left Kuwait's Catholics praying for an announcement that will secure the future of their church and relieve overcrowding that they say is putting their congregations at risk. The Amir was in Germany earlier this week and will also visit Italy and the Vatican during his tour.
The possibility of a meeting with the pope has raised hopes among Kuwait's 350,000 Catholics that Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Sabah will use the opportunity to renew a 50-year lease for church land, which was given to the church by former Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah and is due to expire in 2016.
Bishop Camillo Ballin, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's Catholics, who has worked in the Middle East for 41 years, including five in Kuwait, said: "I'm trying to see what might happen after six years.
Bishop Ballin said the Vatican never invites other states to visit so the Kuwaiti delegation must have asked to meet the Pope. He said he is not involved in discussions about what the two leaders will discuss, but "we hope that the contract will be renewed for 50 more years".
A diplomatic source close to the issue believes the Amir might use the visit to announce something related to the Kuwaiti churches. He said this "could be the moment of truth" for the Catholic community in Kuwait.
Bishop Ballin said: "I hope to keep this land and besides that to have other land, especially in the boundaries in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, because there are many thousands of Catholics and they need a place otherwise they are lost.
We don't ask for privileges, we don't ask to have special laws, special agreements, we just ask to be able to pray." The church has not asked for the lease to be renewed yet, "because this procedure should start one year before the expiry", Bishop Ballin said. He believes the church's location is coveted by owners of hotels and restaurants.
Two of Kuwait's churches - Evangelical and Catholic - are built on prime sites near the capital's coast. Another Catholic and an Anglican church are built far from the city centre in Ahmadi on land that is owned by Kuwait Oil Company. The government recently relocated the Coptic Orthodox from the city centre to the suburbs because of construction and compensated it with a grant of land 10 times the size of the previous plot. The Armenian and Greek Orthodox denominations also worship in rented villas in the
city.
Representatives of the Evangelical Church were unavailable for comment about their lease. Archbishop Petar Rajic is the apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and the UAE and apostolic delegate in the Arabian Peninsula, making him in effect the Vatican's ambassador to the region. The Archbishop declined to answer questions related to the leases because "I do not feel competent to do so", but did say that the Amir's visit would be "beneficial for both sides".
Another major concern for all of Kuwait's 460,000 Christians is that they are vying for space in existing places of worship. At the Catholic Church on Sunday, several hundred crammed inside for the service while hundreds more gathered on the grounds, ready to file in as soon as the previous congregation left.
Bishop Ballin said his church hosts 28 services on Saturday and Sunday and a total of 46 every week. He said the church is built on 5,000 square meters of land, but it needs at least 40,000. Two years ago, he requested more land from the Amir, but did not receive a reply, he said.
If panic is caused in the church, we will have hundreds of people die. So we are just asking the country for a place to pray: to pray for the country, to pray for the Amir ... We don't want anything else," he said.
Any move to give the country's Christians more land will not be received well by some of Kuwait's Islamists, who believe that no non-Muslim places of worship should be built in Kuwait.
Many other denominations use the grounds of the city centre's two churches. Father Jose Mathew, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's 10,000-strong Indian Orthodox community, which mostly comes from Kerala, hosts two services a week in the Evangelical Church. He said 83 other congregations share the church's two main halls and several smaller rooms.
At a flat in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh under two large pictures of the long, white-bearded supreme head of his church, Baselios Marthoma Didymus I, Father Mathew said a lack of space in his services forces most of his congregation to stand outside the church, and they cannot hold many of their traditional celebrations and feasts because their allotted time is not enough.
Most of the people are hesitating to come. They are coming with their families and they are not getting space inside the church, so they feel that they should stay and pray in their homes. They have the basic right to worship," he said.
Some of the country's largest Christian communities, including Catholics, Copts, Protestants, Armenian and Greek Orthodox, voice their concerns through the Christian Council Forum, which is also attended by a Kuwaiti Christian, Rev Amanuel Ghareb.
Father Mathew said the group met in December and voiced concerns over a lack of space, and Rev Ghareb promised to bring the issue up when he met the Amir, but he has not yet heard a reply. The reverend declined to comment on anything related to the leases or new land. "We hope and pray" the Amir will announce something on his visit to the Vatican, Father Mathew said.
Published Date: April 29, 2010
KUWAIT: The inclusion of the Vatican in a state trip by His Highness the Amir to Europe that began this week has left Kuwait's Catholics praying for an announcement that will secure the future of their church and relieve overcrowding that they say is putting their congregations at risk. The Amir was in Germany earlier this week and will also visit Italy and the Vatican during his tour.
The possibility of a meeting with the pope has raised hopes among Kuwait's 350,000 Catholics that Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Sabah will use the opportunity to renew a 50-year lease for church land, which was given to the church by former Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah and is due to expire in 2016.
Bishop Camillo Ballin, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's Catholics, who has worked in the Middle East for 41 years, including five in Kuwait, said: "I'm trying to see what might happen after six years.
Bishop Ballin said the Vatican never invites other states to visit so the Kuwaiti delegation must have asked to meet the Pope. He said he is not involved in discussions about what the two leaders will discuss, but "we hope that the contract will be renewed for 50 more years".
A diplomatic source close to the issue believes the Amir might use the visit to announce something related to the Kuwaiti churches. He said this "could be the moment of truth" for the Catholic community in Kuwait.
Bishop Ballin said: "I hope to keep this land and besides that to have other land, especially in the boundaries in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, because there are many thousands of Catholics and they need a place otherwise they are lost.
We don't ask for privileges, we don't ask to have special laws, special agreements, we just ask to be able to pray." The church has not asked for the lease to be renewed yet, "because this procedure should start one year before the expiry", Bishop Ballin said. He believes the church's location is coveted by owners of hotels and restaurants.
Two of Kuwait's churches - Evangelical and Catholic - are built on prime sites near the capital's coast. Another Catholic and an Anglican church are built far from the city centre in Ahmadi on land that is owned by Kuwait Oil Company. The government recently relocated the Coptic Orthodox from the city centre to the suburbs because of construction and compensated it with a grant of land 10 times the size of the previous plot. The Armenian and Greek Orthodox denominations also worship in rented villas in the
city.
Representatives of the Evangelical Church were unavailable for comment about their lease. Archbishop Petar Rajic is the apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and the UAE and apostolic delegate in the Arabian Peninsula, making him in effect the Vatican's ambassador to the region. The Archbishop declined to answer questions related to the leases because "I do not feel competent to do so", but did say that the Amir's visit would be "beneficial for both sides".
Another major concern for all of Kuwait's 460,000 Christians is that they are vying for space in existing places of worship. At the Catholic Church on Sunday, several hundred crammed inside for the service while hundreds more gathered on the grounds, ready to file in as soon as the previous congregation left.
Bishop Ballin said his church hosts 28 services on Saturday and Sunday and a total of 46 every week. He said the church is built on 5,000 square meters of land, but it needs at least 40,000. Two years ago, he requested more land from the Amir, but did not receive a reply, he said.
If panic is caused in the church, we will have hundreds of people die. So we are just asking the country for a place to pray: to pray for the country, to pray for the Amir ... We don't want anything else," he said.
Any move to give the country's Christians more land will not be received well by some of Kuwait's Islamists, who believe that no non-Muslim places of worship should be built in Kuwait.
Many other denominations use the grounds of the city centre's two churches. Father Jose Mathew, the spiritual leader of Kuwait's 10,000-strong Indian Orthodox community, which mostly comes from Kerala, hosts two services a week in the Evangelical Church. He said 83 other congregations share the church's two main halls and several smaller rooms.
At a flat in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh under two large pictures of the long, white-bearded supreme head of his church, Baselios Marthoma Didymus I, Father Mathew said a lack of space in his services forces most of his congregation to stand outside the church, and they cannot hold many of their traditional celebrations and feasts because their allotted time is not enough.
Most of the people are hesitating to come. They are coming with their families and they are not getting space inside the church, so they feel that they should stay and pray in their homes. They have the basic right to worship," he said.
Some of the country's largest Christian communities, including Catholics, Copts, Protestants, Armenian and Greek Orthodox, voice their concerns through the Christian Council Forum, which is also attended by a Kuwaiti Christian, Rev Amanuel Ghareb.
Father Mathew said the group met in December and voiced concerns over a lack of space, and Rev Ghareb promised to bring the issue up when he met the Amir, but he has not yet heard a reply. The reverend declined to comment on anything related to the leases or new land. "We hope and pray" the Amir will announce something on his visit to the Vatican, Father Mathew said.
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