Kuwaiti Christians Prevented From Celebrating of Christmas, Insist on Greater Protection
The speakers at the Christianity in Kuwait seminar at American University of Kuwait agreed that the role of the Christian community in Kuwait is no less important than the role of Muslims in building the infrastructure of Kuwait.
They denounced preventing Christians from celebrating their holidays, pointing out that the citizenship law of the country underestimates Kuwaiti Christians, who cannot obtain citizenship unless they are Muslims.
Dr. Farah el-Naqib, director of the Gulf Studies Center, said Christians in Kuwait had a long history of building and the reconstruction of the state and their role is as important as the role played by early Christians in defending the land and building its infrastructure.
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"The objective of organizing this celebration is to help students know more about the Christian role in Kuwait, and the history of this community, which defended and fought for this country," Naqib said before adding that Kuwaiti society has become less accepting of other communities, despite the technological advances it experiences. "This is unfortunate, because Kuwait has become more fragmented than ever," she said.
Naqib said that the biggest proof of how the community does not accept other communities is the statement by MP Hamdan Al-Azemi, who had warned against slackness in preventing Christmas celebration.
"Since the founding of Kuwait we have been a diverse community, and this is not new to this community. We must therefore accept this diversity as it is necessary to keep this society homogeneous, where both Muslims and Christians can come together," she said.
"We have a Christian community that cannot be ignored; that is why we focused on this category to emphasize that their role is as important as the role of Muslims in Kuwait," Naqib went on to say.
"We want to promote greater awareness among our students so that they become more receptive to other minorities, especially with the approach of Christmas celebrations, which some are trying to prevent, and this shows that we do not accept other sects," she added.
