Imam suspensions issue escalates in Kuwait

The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (MAIA) has suspended one imam permanently, and three others for periods ranging between three and six months after they addressed the unrest in Syria in recent 'khutba' sermons at their mosques. The suspensions were announced by a senior ministry insider speaking anonymously, who indicated that the three imams suspended temporarily include Nabil Al-Awadhi and Walid Al-Tarrad, whose suspensions were announced previously, triggering angry reactions, especiall y among Islamist MPs. In the wake of the latest reports, members of the parliamentary Development and Reform Bloc (DRB) have further escalated their criticism of Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad Al-Noumas, with MP Dr Faisal Al-Mislem submitting a number of parliamentary questions to the minister concerning the regulations used against the imams accused of violating the ministry's so-called 'mosques charter.' Warning that he is willing to "hold [the minister] accountable" over the issue, Dr. Al-Mislem criticized the "government's weak stance" on what he referred to as questionable activities by the Syrian ambassador to Kuwait. "[The ambassador] records seminars and speeches, then uses them to make official complaints with the foreign ministry, as well as to file lawsuits threatening media outlets," Al-Mislem claimed. Another MP, Jamaan Al-Harbish, warned Al-Noumas against such "hasty decisions," which the lawmaker alleged are "influenced by individuals within the ministry who try to put [the minister] at odds with the parliament". Al-Harbish called upon Al-Noumas to "immediately end the unprecedented steps taken against imams who only spoke out against the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against their people." The MP further described the suspension of some imams as "clear partiality in favor of [Syria's] Baa th regime. On a separate issue, another parliamentarian, Dr. Daifullah Buramia, said that suspending work at the Mubarak Al-Kabeer port would be "an insult to Kuwait and the Kuwaiti people," going as far as to demand that the Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait be expelled, and the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Baghdad recalled. Skepticism has been voiced by a number of Iraqi politicians over the major port project that Kuwait is building on the eastern coast of Boubyan Island, a number of kilometers away from Iraq's sole outlet to the Arabian Gulf where the administration in Baghdad plans to build a major port of its own. Many lawmakers and activists in Iraq have demanded that Kuwait suspend work on the project in order to hold more discussions, while Kuwait insists that not only is the port being built within Kuwaiti borders, but that Baghdad had been consulted and made aware of the benefits that the new facility will bring to Iraq's trade activity. The Kuwaiti government is at a crossroads: either protect the dignity of the Kuwaiti people and the sovereignty of their country, or slow down [on the project] and insult the dignity of the nation and its people," said Buramia on Thursday. The MP's statement follows a recent news report in which a senior government official reportedly claimed that the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense (MoD) has provided troops to guard the area around the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port site. In Baghdad, Ali Al-Musawi, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's media consultant, insisted that his country "seeks to solve all problems through bilateral dialogue", adding that "Baghdad sees cooperation with Kuwait as the only way to solve the [Mubarak Al-Kabeer port] issue.