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component is intertwined with ethnic, tribal, regional, ethnic, class, age and social in the Middle East. Often some differences perceived as religious or doctrinal disagreements at first glance, are by-products of political repression or lack of equal access to economic resources. In addition, the Middle East represents a conglomeration of communities where the local context is particularly important: the religious dynamics in Bahrain is radically different from the dynamics in Lebanon or Syria.
Studying relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia to date, the author believes that the religious factor is not an innovative component of modern public life to this part of the Middle East region, but continues to be an integral part of it, working in a peculiar way.
The author believes that it is impossible to speak of dogmatic differences as the root cause. Rather, actors conceal some political ambition behind them. Riyadh uses the Sunni-Shiite conflict as a habitual means to shift the attention of the parties between internal and regional problems, in which the kingdom is directly involved, but can not solve.
The author of the abstract - N. Ginesina
V. KIRICHENKO. THE SHIITE COMMUNITY IN THE POLITICAL LIFE OF KUWAIT // The article is written for the bulletin "Russia and the Moslem world".
Keywords: Shiism, the Shiite communities, ethnic religious minorities, Kuwait, the Gulf states, "Arab Spring", terrorism.
V. Kirichenko,
Ph.D. student, junior researcher, Institute of Oriental Studies of the RAS
This is analysis of the situation around the Shiite communities in a number of Arab states. Particular attention is
paid to the situation of Shiites in Kuwait and their impact on the Kuwaiti relations with other countries in the region.
The Shiite communities exist in all the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. They are about 30% of the population of Kuwait. There are descendants of immigrants from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain among them. Some Kuwaiti Shiites come from Arab families who moved to Iran at one time, and then returned. Some Kuwaiti Shiites have Iranian origin, and support business or family ties with their homeland. The Shiite community is represented in the Kuwaiti parliament, and occupies an important position in the political establishment and in the national economy. Shiites are particularly noticeable among large and medium-sized enterprises in commerce 1
Shiites are represented by organizations, of socio - religious nature in the political arena, "National Islamic Alliance" is the leading among them. These Shiite associations are formal structures in the emirate, because the main organizational, social and financial activities (collecting donations) are held in the mosques, and at meetings of Shiite religious authorities; positions on political issues are coordinated there.
In Kuwait, Shiites do not tend to flaunt their own specialness. This is largely due to the fact that only 45% of the population has Kuwaiti nationality. High material status of citizens of Kuwait (including Shiites) and wide campaign to eradicate illiteracy contribute to leveling the differences between Shiites and Sunnis in Kuwait greatly. The illiteracy rate has decreased from 48% in 1970 to 11.5% on the eve of the Iraqi aggression in 1990 2.
Authorities are working to reach a consensus in the Muslim community. The idea of "al-vasatyya" - the concept of "moderation in Islam" has been developed in this context. Naturally, the idea has been supported by the ruling family of the Emir of Kuwait.
Shiites consider themselves as part of the Kuwaiti people. They have shown their loyalty to the country during the Iraqi
occupation of 2 August 1990. The intention of Saddam Hussein to seize the enormous reserves of Kuwaiti oil and take the place of a regional leader in the Persian Gulf was the cause of the attack on Kuwait. Saddam considered Kuwait part of Iraq, torn away during the colonial regime. In addition, both countries develop a single oil field. After unsuccessful diplomatic negotiations to force Iraq give up its intentions, the international coalition under the auspices of the United States was established, and a large-scale military operation code-named "Desert Storm" was held (January 1991) 3.
Division of the U.S. and its allies defeated the Iraqi troops in Kuwait and in the southern border areas of Iraq for a month of fighting. The main military, industrial and infrastructure facilities in Iraq have been destroyed by air force and missiles, of allies. Regime of Saddam Hussein was compelled to cease hostilities and to admit defeat in the end of February.
The Shiites of Kuwait have shown patriotism during the Iraqi occupation. They participated in the resistance movement along with Sunnis. It should be noted that these formations, suffered great losses in manpower, because their members have not received proper training.
The Shiites of Kuwait have a relative religious freedom. Although Shiites meeting on the occasion of Ashura (commemoration day to the memory of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad) are allowed, but the funeral processions are not allowed to organize. At the same time Kuwaiti Shiites feel their inferiority. So, the government does not fund the construction of Shiite mosques in contrast to Sunni. The government does not allow the creation of training centers for the Shiite clergy. Shiites, who would like to become imams, have to be educated abroad (primarily in Iraq and Iran). Shiite madhhab al-Jaafari, is not taught at Kuwait University, in contrast, for example, Al-Azhar, where the departments of all madhhabs are represented. So there is a lack of qualified specialists in Shiite law in the country4. Muslims strictly adhere to
Shariah of Ja'fari sense in family matters. So the absence of Shiite Cadi is a big problem.
During the 1980s, the growth of distrust between the authorities and the Shiites of Kuwait was intensified after the Islamic revolution in Iran. Relations between Shiites and Sunnis have been particularly strained after the attacks of 19831985.
In December 1983 the terrorist groups have carried out bombings at the U.S. Embassy and the French consulate in the capital of Kuwait, which resulted in victims. Kuwaiti security services have arrested 14 people involved in these bombings, most of them were belonged to the Shiite "Da'va" extremist organization. In the spring of 1984 three terrorists were sentenced to death, others were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. In December 1984, Iranian and Lebanese terrorists hijacked a Kuwaiti plane, Flight Dubai - Karachi - Tehran, and demanded the release of terrorists, convicted earlier in Kuwait. The hostages were released, but Tehran has refused to extradite the hijackers to the authorities of Kuwait.
In May 1985 assassination attempt on the life of the Emir of Kuwait, Jaber Al-Sabah was organized. Pro-Iranian organization "Al-Jihad al-Islami" took responsibility for the attempt, having carried out this action in support of demands for the release of militants of the organization operating in Kuwait earlier. In Al Kuwait (the capital) the arrests were made again. In addition, more than one thousand Iranians were deported from Kuwait to Iran in June and July of the same year.
The position of Shiite Muslims in the country has been severely impaired by all these acts. Not all members of the Shiite community were supporters of Khomeini, or approve of Shiite terrorists. However, the Kuwaiti leadership began to refer to Shiites with suspicion, accusing them of supporting Khomeini regime and participating in anti-state activities. It produced mass dismissals of Shiites from senior positions, as
well as spheres of national education, the police, the army and the oil industry.
It should be noted that Kuwait still has a rather complicated relationship with Iran. The official authorities of Kuwait, as well as other member countries of the Cooperation Council of Arab Gulf States (GCC), believe that Iran seeks to destabilize the situation in the Middle East and increase its influence in the region.
In 2011 the court of Kuwait has sentenced to death three people accused of spying for Iran. Two Iranian citizens and a citizen of Kuwait were brought to justice. They were convicted of passing classified information to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). After that, the emirate has recalled its ambassador from Tehran. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait Mohammed Al-Sabah warned that any Iranian diplomat would be expelled, suspected of involvement in espionage activities. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran categorically rejected these allegations. The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing Kuwait of irresponsible behavior.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly since the beginning of the military operation "The Shield", under which the Arab states of the Persian Gulf sent military aid to the King of Bahrain to suppress the Shiite protest actions in the spring of 2011. Hundreds of Kuwaiti Shiites staged a demonstration to protest against the violent repression of the Shiite riots in Bahrain 5.
The events of the Arab Spring have led to demonstrations in Kuwait. The representatives of the lower strata and the working class, persons without citizenship, citizens of the country, protesting against their powerless position, took to the streets. In Kuwait, 70% of the population (as of 2010) was immigrants. The authorities have taken steps to resolve the situation under the pressure of demonstrations: the salaries of civil servants were significantly increased (indexed to 100%;, and salaries for the military, police and firefighters were increased by
approximately 100%); scholarships for students were increased to $ 700-1200, grants were paid to the indigenous inhabitants of the country (1000 dinars) 6.
It should be noted that Kuwait recalled its ambassador from Tehran on January 5, 2016 after Saudi Arabia and some other countries. The reason for the deterioration of relations between Iran and the Arab states was the defeat of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Tehran after the execution of Shiite preacher Nimrah al-Nimrah in Riyadh. Also, there was an attack on the Consulate General of the Kingdom in the city of Mashhad. The authorities of Gulf Arab countries have accused Tehran of inciting riots.
In April 2011, Foreign Ministers of the Cooperation Council of Arab Gulf States accused Iran of interfering in the internal affairs of Kuwait. The special statement was made, in which Foreign Ministers of the GCC condemned the blatant Iranian interference in the internal affairs of Kuwait, carried out by creating spy networks on its territory. The document also stated that the organization would promote the special services of Kuwait to ensure any measures taken by that country for its own security7. The severance of diplomatic relations between Iran and Kuwait was followed after this statement, but the diplomatic relations were restored in May 2011.
The ruling circles of the Arab Gulf countries believe that Iran began actively support Arab Shiite religious and ideological organizations, after the end of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which occupy a prominent position in Arab societies and act legally. It is about Shiite parties, the armed forces and the Alawite regime in Syria, "Hezbollah" in Lebanon and the movement of Huthis in Yemen 8.
Kuwait joined the coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, which launched a military operation against the motion Huthis in Yemen sponsored by Iran, on March 26, 2015. At the same time, the authorities of the country are not sponsors of the Syrian opposition fighters. However, the collection of funds to help the
Syrian rebels is carried by private individuals. Some Kuwaiti officials are concerned that funding of extremist militant groups companies will warm up the violence in Syria and will contribute to sectarian tensions in Kuwait9. However, in August 2016 the chairman of the Kuwaiti parliament gave an interview to the Qatari newspaper "Al-Sharq", focusing on the need to create the necessary conditions for strengthening the relations between Kuwait and other Council member states with Iran (the Cooperation Council of Arab Gulf states - author of the article.)10 Improvement of relations between Iran and the GCC countries would have a positive impact on the situation in the region of the Middle East.
References
1 Melkumyan E. Partiya Hizballa v Kuveyte [Party "Hezbollah" in Kuwait]. http://www.iimes.ru/?p=6944
2 Kuwait Culture, History, Economy and Attractions. http:// www. panasia. ru/main/kuveit/
3 Khamidov Z. Mezhetnicheskaya I mezhkonfessionalnaya borba v Respublike Irak v kontse XX veka. Blizhniy Vostok I sovremennost. [Interethnic and interfaith struggle in the Republic of Iraq in the late 20th century. The Middle East and the present.] Issue 11. Moscow, 2001. P. 304.
4 2015 Kuwait International Religious Freedom Report. http: / / photos.state.gov/libraries/kuwait/63599/PDF/irf2013.pdf
5 Kuwaiti Shiites Protest over Bahrain Crackdown. http:// en.trend. az /world/arab/1847956.html
6 Sotsiologiya «Peschanyh revolyutsy» [Sociology of "Sandy revolutions"]. https://postnauka.ru/longreads/5405
7 Arab Monarchies Have Accused Iran of Plotting in the Region. http://sputnik-georgia.ru/world/20110405/213857143. html
8 Alexeev V. Strany SSAGPZ Protiv Normalizacii Otnosheniy s Iranom [GCC Countries Against the Normalization of Relations with Iran.] Http://www.iran.ru/news/analytics/ Strany_SSAGPZ_protiv_normalizacii_otnosheniy_s_Iranom
9 Kuwait Minister Accused by U.S. of Terrorism Funding Quits. http:// www.voanews.com/a/reu-kuwait-minister-accused-by-us-of-terrorism-funding-quits/1912715. html
10 Kuwait Changes View on Relations with Iran. http:// parstoday. com/ru/news/iran-i39346
