Ban Iraqi legislator from entering Kuwait: MPs
KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait Municipality is not the sole authority in charge of curbing immoral acts in coffee shops as it requires close coordination among many government authorities, reports Al-Anba daily quoting Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Municipality Affairs Dr Fadhel Safar. Safar made the statement in response to the question of MP Mohammed Hayef on Nov 18, 2009 on the need to stop the unethical practices in some coffee shops, which violate the Sharia teachings and customs of Kuwait. He revealed the suggested restrictions include the closure of shops at 1:00 am at the latest, ban women from entering or working in these shops, prevent the entry of minors - those under 18 years, stop the immoral activities, and prohibit the use of these shops as venues for parties.
In an unrelated development, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee at the Parliament MP Dr Yousef Al-Zalzalah confirmed the government has promised to submit a proposal on increasing the salaries of public sector employees. Al-Zalzalah clarified the government has vowed to increase the salaries with the certificates and years in service as major points in identifying the percentage of the increment in ministries and other government departments. He added the lawmen in ministries and government institutions will also benefit from the proposal.
Meanwhile, Al-Seyassah daily has reported that MPs Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Mohammad Hayef have stressed the need to prevent the entry of Iraqi MP Baha Al-Araji to Kuwait as he uttered statements against Islamic Caliphate Abu Bakar Sadik. This came after many prominent personalities, including Saudi scholar Dr Mohamed Al-Areefi and Egyptian thinker Dr Nassar Hammed Abu Zaid, were banned from entering the country. Responding quickly to this call, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Ayyad Al-Samarai confirmed Al-Araji's statement violates Article 7 of the Iraqi Constitution. He said this is unacceptable as it can trigger sectarian violence, affirming the Iraqi Parliament strongly rejects the statement. He added Al-Araji voiced his own opinion and he does not represent the Iraqi Parliament.
On the other hand, Al-Tabtabaei asserted Al-Araji has insulted the Islamic caliphate and this is tantamount to abusing Islam because Abu Bakar is the Prophet's (PBUH) caliphate. He stressed the people of Kuwait will never tolerate such an insult to one of the important Islamic figures. Hayef has outrightly rejected the statement and called on the Kuwaiti government to prevent the entry of Al-Araji to Kuwait.
Al-Araji had earlier been quoted as saying that the Iraqi Shiites have been mistreated since the era of Abu Bakar until the rule of Ahmed Hassan Al-Bakkar. Moreover, MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan has proposed the inclusion of the Al-Jeffery version of jurisprudence in the Islamic Studies subject as the fundamentalists have been taking advantage of the people's lack of knowledge on this version, making it easy for them to brainwash the public, reports Al-Dar daily. Al-Duwaisan appealed to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to include the Al-Jeffery version in the religion and history subjects to increase public awareness in this regard.
© Arab Times 2010
