Religion in Kuwait

85% of Kuwait's population is Muslim (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), and 15% is another religion (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi). [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ku.html CIA - The World Factbook - Kuwait ] ] There are small numbers of Kuwaiti Christians and Jews. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51603.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2005 (US State Department)] ] Most foreigners are Muslim, Hindus or Buddhists.

Islam

85% of Kuwait's population is Muslim, of which 70% is Sunni and 30% is Shi'a. Some other minor Muslim sects do exist in Kuwait's society, but in very small or rare numbers.

The majority of Kuwaiti nationals are Sunnis Muslims; the minority are Shia. Shia are a diverse group. Some are Arab, many the descendants of immigrants from Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province) in Saudi Arabia or from Bahrain. Others come from Arab families who moved from the Arabian side of the gulf to Iran, stayed awhile, and then returned. Others are of Iranian origin, who often speak Persian as well as Arabic at home and sometimes maintain business or family ties with Iranians across the gulf. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88, this Shia community experienced a renewed sense of sectarian identification. The identification resulted from sympathy with their revolutionary coreligionists in Iran and from increasing government and social discrimination. During the 1980s, the tension between Sunnis and Shia, which had erupted occasionally in the past, became somewhat sharper. [ [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/kwtoc.html Kuwait : Country Studies - Federal Research Division, Library of Congress ] ]

Christianity

Christianity is a minority religion in Kuwait. There are 140,000 Catholics in Kuwait (about 6 % of the population). There are now about 50,000 Protestants in Kuwait (2.14% of the population). The Anglican Church has about 115 members. The National Evangelical Church has about 15000 members. The Greek Orthodox Church has about 3500 members, the Armenian Orthodox Church has about 4000 members. The Coptic Orthodox Church has about 60,000 members. The vast majority of Christians in Kuwait are foreigners. The Seventh-day Adventists are among the unrecognized Christian groups. Christians are not allowed to naturalize although around 1000 Kuwaiti citizens are officially recognised as Christians.

Judaism

The history of the Jews in Kuwait is connected to the history of the Jews in Iraq.

References