Kuwait 'Noble' Unity Foils Evil Sedition Bids: Amirpage 8
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Kuwait fiscal FIFA bans reserves hit Chuck Blazer Emsak: 03:12 record $592 Fajer: 03:22 from soccer Dohr: 11:53 billion for life Asr: 15:28 Maghreb: 18:51 9 46 Eshaa: 20:21 Min 30º Max 46º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 16577- Friday, July 10, 2015 Kuwait ‘noble’ unity foils evil sedition bids: Amir Page 8 Local FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015 Local Spotlight This is why the niqab scares me ! By Muna Al-Fuzai [email protected] e can all recall the time when we were young and our mothers used to advise us Wnot to speak to strangers out of fear they might kidnap us. As we grow older, we mix with lots of strangers in life, but we tend to remember that tip when something goes wrong. My mother, may Allah rest her soul in peace, was not an excep- tion, but she did not tell me anything about black- clad persons - I mean people who cover their faces with the niqab. The school of life taught me that I should be careful. No thanks to terror groups who make us feel scared being close to any person who wears the niqab, regardless of the fact that he or she is a terrorist or not. This is now becoming a general per- ception about the niqab all over the world. Here is why: A Pakistani man was recently arrested dressed like a woman in a black abaya and niqab. The ‘woman’ was talking on a cell phone near a mosque This is now becoming a general perception about the niqab all over the world. in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh when stopped by a police- man. The fact that he was posing as a woman with a niqab is worth questioning. The suspect was referred to relevant authorities for further investi- gation. Why was this man pretending to be a woman and why was he covering his face? Maybe he was on his way to commit a crime and disappear with- out being noticed or seen due to the face cover, and no one would be able to identify him. I can’t think of any other reason. Such acts create confu- sion and concern among the public. As long as I can’t see a face, I can’t communicate with a person. I can’t even identify him/ her. Some may claim that this man loves wearing 1436 - 2015 women’s clothes and as long as nothing was found with him, he should be freed. I disagree. We are in a 23. What is the name of the Prophet to whom culture that doesn’t permit men to put on women’s Injeel was revealed? clothes in public, so when a man dons a niqab, then he has something on his mind and this is no doubt Prophet Isa (Jesus) Alaihis-Salam scary because no one knows what he is hiding underneath. Prophet (Ebraheem) Alaihis-Salam We are passing through a delicate security situa- tion in Kuwait and the Middle East due to the Prophet (Yousuf) Alaihis-Salam spread of terror organizations and their active cells and followers. The truth of the matter is that we do not know if we will be lucky enough to reach home in one piece, safe and sound. If terrorists can reach you in a mosque, this means no one is safe and they can target other places such as churches, malls, schools, etc. So we do need to be careful of the surroundings all the time and in all places. Better safe than sorry. Local FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015 When terror hits home By Batul K Sadliwala Syria, we have been appropriately outraged and particularly as a third-generation expat, it’s hard National Assembly have been much more visible, shocked. We have condemned the perversion of to miss the reticence that colours conversations which is why the dialogue about sectarianism n 26th June 2015, as worshippers bowed our faith innumerable times over. We have sent about sociopolitical inequalities and differences. does need to happen. Politics and society do not to the Almighty in submission of His glory humanitarian aid to those forced to flee their Depending on the invasiveness of the dichotomy operate in isolation of each other. While the lat- Oin the holy month of Ramadan, a young homes. The Kuwaiti government has contributed -Kuwaiti/non-Kuwaiti, Kuwaiti/bedoon, ter may eschew religious polarization, the former man walked into the Al Imam Al Sadeq mosque militarily to stem the tide of terror. Yet, in hind- badu/hadar, or Sunni/Shiite - there’s something has the ability to use it as a power-maximizing in Kuwait City, and in hopes of dining with the sight, we have done all this with a latent air of taboo about acknowledging it candidly without tool, to the detriment of the country as a whole. Prophet (PBUH), took the surest road to hell smug complacency. For if we are honest with our- obscuring the power relationships between The attacker who targeted the Al Sadeq instead. Before violating the most sacred tenet of selves, to most of us, that something like that groups. You see it in the university classroom, on Mosque may not have lived in Kuwait and his bid faith, that of the preservation and cherishment of Friday’s attack could happen in Kuwait seemed social media and in our newspapers, where the to incite sectarian tensions has been an utter fail- all life, he besmirched the call to God that billions highly improbable, if not unimaginable. language of a single identity remains marred by ure, but this does not mean we should be satis- around the world utter daily to thank the gen- the assumption of a distinct “us” and “them”. fied merely with greater security measures. While erosity and kindness of Allah. Chaos, drenched in Radical extremism The reason for this, as I came to appreciate these may be effective in the short run, it is not innocent blood, followed. On an otherwise ordi- But now, we can no longer shove aside the more keenly in a conversation with a few Kuwaiti the police or security services that will shield nary summer Friday afternoon, the residents of reality that our immunity to the sting of radical friends on Friday night, is that Kuwait’s brand of Kuwait from terrorist violence in the long term. Kuwait found themselves staring into an abyss. extremism is not quite as complete as we would multiculturalism, as in other countries, has An excessive emphasis on security can even Speaking for myself, but I suspect that many like. Whether you are Kuwaiti or an expat like me, paused at tolerance. It may sound counterintu- come at the cost of the liberties we seek to pro- of us may share the sensation, the ruthless we know that something must be done. The itive, but tolerance is not a hallmark of societal tect. On the road ahead, open, honest, and per- tragedy of this act of terror has yet to sink in. “A question is, what? Do we give into fear and allow cohesion. Just switching to the verb form haps even harsh dialogue will prove essential, suicide attack, here? Is that possible?” I repeatedly ourselves to be subjected to an uncritical police showed us how unpleasant the concept sounds: not only about sectarianism but also about all asked myself that Friday. It was devastatingly sur- state? Do we raise the banner of national unity “We tolerate them.” Tolerance is merely the the dichotomies that box each of us in our own real. And every day since then, I have left myself only to avoid answering tough questions about acceptance of difference, not the appreciation of little bubbles of privilege and discrimination. little mental reminders that the attack actually our underlying divisions? Nothing could be less diversity. This is illustrated by how Kuwait’s resi- As we mourn the loss this country has suf- took place, that blood was shed and lives were useful. dential areas are segregated along class and fered, as we condole with the grieving families of lost in my beloved Kuwait. I have found myself To be clear, I am not against commonsensical, nationality lines and how intermarriage between those who lost their lives, to see the spirit of soli- straddling sadness and disbeliefand the feeling is heightened security measures that aim to ensure sects still raises controversy. This, of course, is a darity and defiance in the face of terror amongst thoroughly sobering. the safety of the people. Nor do I think that calls bitter truth to swallow. And it’s precisely why my peers gives me hope. Kuwait is home to a Nearly everyday, the news is replete with for unity in this time of national mourning are far- openly talking about societal divisionscan be so vibrant and vocal civil society. And it is up to the reports and analyses of the violence that plagues cical. I have always been critical of life in Kuwait. hard. youth to build on it and champion the cause of the world, particularly the Middle East. Yet, even But if there’s one thing that I genuinely admire, harmonious, not merely tolerant, sociopolitical those of us who reside in the calmer regions of it’s the swiftness with which Kuwaitis and non- Sectarianism in Kuwait integration. Extremists speak the deceitful lan- this neighborhood, albeit but a block away from Kuwaitis alike come together in times of crisis. In the present context, it is reassuring to note guage of fear. Let us respond in clear words of conflict, have become desensitized to the car- That’s something you only see in societies with a that fortunately, unlike some of our neighbors, courage.