New Social Freedoms, Eased Restraints in Kuwait Anger Islamic Fundamentalists

The tall black-haired woman in tight jeans and low-cut top drew stares from men in the restaurant.

“By God, what is this? Is this the new freedom in free Kuwait?” a visibly upset man asked his wife.

Men and women now mix freely in Kuwait. They wear the latest Western fashions and even hold hands in public.

The presence of U.S. troops in the emirate because of the Persian Gulf War and the American role in freeing their country has encouraged people to flout social conventions.

Many women still cover their bodies and faces with traditional black robes, but more are seen unveiled and dressed in Italian and French designer clothes.

Iraq’s occupation of the emirate triggered changes in the conservative social system, and many Kuwaitis say they are not going back to the old ways.

“There is no going back, no matter what. The barrier has been broken,” said a young civil servant.

The changes have angered radical Muslims trying to pull the country back to Islamic traditions and its desert heritage.

A group calling itself “Commanding Good Deeds and Forbidding Evil” has launched a campaign to teach Kuwaitis traditional values.

Its leader, Abdul Rahman al-Shuaiyeb, said in a recent newspaper interview that he was trying to recruit 1,000 people to patrol the streets to catch people who violate Islamic law.

He said his plans depend on the government’s granting his group legal status and on the cooperation of the Interior Ministry.

Ministry officials said nobody has the right to physically or verbally assault any citizen and asked people to report any such incidents to police.

The group’s plan drew angry reactions from other Kuwaitis. Newspapers have been publishing editorials warning against possible political motives behind the group’s calls for Islamic purity.

“The Kuwaiti people don’t need anybody to teach them Islam,” said one editorial.

Other newspapers said the group’s plans might be a front to spread fundamentalism and to try to impose strict Islamic laws similar to neighboring Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“This is not a simple matter. It could start with religious teachings but then develop into organized militant groups. . . . The government should try to control this from the start,” a Western diplomat said.

Muslim fundamentalist leaders--apparently trying to satisfy Kuwait’s Western allies--say they have no plans to copy Iran’s Islamic revolution.

“We want to advise Kuwaitis to hold on to Islamic values and norms and, with cooperation with the authorities, to eliminate the new social norms infiltrating our Arab and Muslim society,” Shuaiyeb said.

“We should not be compared to similar bodies in other Islamic countries. Soft persuasion and leniency will be the basis for our work.”

Three of the seven groups in Kuwait’s opposition movement are fundamentalist--two Sunni and one Shiite. Before Parliament was dissolved in 1986, fundamentalists controlled more than a quarter of the 50 elected deputies.

Diplomats say liberals fear the fundamentalists might gain more influence in parliamentary elections expected in October, 1992.

“If they become a majority in Parliament, then all they are calling for could become a reality, and this is what worries many Kuwaitis who want to lead a life free of strict Islamic norms,” one diplomat said.

Change is apparent in the streets. In the Salmiyeh district, young boys and girls stroll every night--sometimes holding hands--in jeans and T-shirts.

Although Kuwait’s state religion is Islam and its laws include bans on alcohol and premarital sex, its oil wealth has brought a host of Western influences, from bikinis to hamburgers.