Our Kuwait correspondent Dietrich sends his take on a recent media report about the level of “tolerance” in Kuwait:
Kuwait is a country whose constitution states that no law should contradict the Sharia.
Kuwait is a country where the Parliament passed a law approving the death penalty for insulting the Muslim Prophet and his relatives.
Kuwait is a country where a person faces ten years in jail for tweeting some “insulting remarks” considered to be blasphemy.
Kuwait is a country where drinking water in public during the “holy” Ramadan will land you in jail until the end of the Ramadan and bring you a heavy fine or prison.
Kuwait is a country where Hindus, Sikhs and other “pagans” are explicitly forbidden to have temples and to hold their religious observances.
There are Christian churches that were built in times past, but the construction of new ones is not allowed — although the only Catholic cathedral is clearly not able to accommodate the hundred of thousands of Filipino and Indian Catholics. No crosses are allowed on the buildings. One of the older ones, a Greek Orthodox Church, is situated in a villa not resembling a religious building at all and formally called “The Metropolitan’s House”. Christians suspected of proselytizing are immediately deported.
Kuwait is a country where the Shia, making up about 30% of the population, have some forty mosques and are not permitted to build more, while the Sunni mosques number literally in the tens of thousands.
Kuwait is a country… well, you didn’t guess it this time! The U.S. State Department “classified Kuwait among the rows [sic] of countries to be classified as a ‘tolerant country’ for practicing religious beliefs. Although the report says there are minorities who are experiencing some discrimination on an individual level, it was neither systematic nor widespread.”
No comment…
4 comments:
I see nothing has changed since my departure in 2000. Kuwait has never been and never will be tolerant in any way, shape or form. Life is miserable there for 95% of the population, including Muslims.
I will never forget the face of the Bangladeshi who sweeped the street I lived in every day, whether the temperature hit 50° in the shade (there was none though) or 5° in the winter. I was so ashamed when I got into my car, saw him and handed him a couple of dinars (which constituted half of his salary, if he ever got paid).
Baron,
See the story I emailed you today about the Ethiopians expelled from Saudi Arabia.
Islam really does preach peace, tolerance and religious freedom after all, eh?
The Brotherhood knows since long now, which buttons to press. One of them is "Tolerance".
What happens when a muslim presses this button? The civilized peoples will resign because the muslim is pronouncing an honorable phrase. End of discussion.
Muslim can now go ahead with whatever. Because he said the magic word "Tolerance".
What, Elizabeth Wolff, were you ashamed of that you gave a couple of Dinars to the Bangladeshi sweeper?
The kind of mentality you seem to be
exhibiting is very like the lefty/
liberal obsessives who run town councils and more ,in most Western countries. And whose weak, fearful
attitudes are ruining the West.Don't
be so feeble.
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