INDEPENDENT ISLAMIC STATES

Kuwait

Official name: State of Kuwait (KW)

Capital : Kuwait

Important Cities: It consists of 4 provinces. These are: Kuwait, Hawalli, al-Ahmadi and al-Jahra.

Area: 17,818 km2

Population         : 5,019,000 (2021 ).[1] The entire population lives in cities.

Number of People Per Km2: 280

Average Human Lifespan: 73

Ethnicity: Arabs make up 84 per cent of the population. Almost half of them are of Kuwaiti origin and the rest are from other Arab countries. The remaining 15 per cent of the population is made up of people from Asian countries, 0.1 per cent Africans, 0.8 per cent Europeans, 0.1 per cent Americans and the rest from other countries. Among Asians, Indians and Iranians are the majority.

Language: The official language is Arabic. The general population also speaks Arabic.

Religion: The official religion is Islam. 98% of the population is Muslim, a small part of the remaining population is Christian and the rest are members of eastern religions. The majority of Muslims are Sunnite and a few are Shiite.

Geographical Situation: Kuwait, which is considered one of the Middle Eastern countries and located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, is surrounded by Iraq from the north, the Persian Gulf from the east and Saudi Arabia from the south. There are 9 islands belonging to Kuwait in the Gulf. 9% of the land outside the settlement area is agricultural area and the rest is desert and beach. The northern part is hilly. The southern region is flat. Kuwait is dominated by a very hot and rainless climate. The temperature rises to 45 degrees in summer and drops to 8 degrees in winter.

Government: The country is headed by an emir with wide powers. However, the constitution, which has been in force since 16 November 1962, emphasises that Kuwait has a democratic form of government, which emphasises the will of the people. Legislative power is vested in the Emir and the 60-member National Assembly, whose members are elected. One must be of Kuwaiti origin to enter the National Assembly. Only men over the age of 21 can vote in the elections held to determine the members of the parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the emir. However, it has become a custom to appoint the heir apparent as prime minister. Sa'du'l- Abdullah al-Sabah, the heir apparent of the current emir, also serves as prime minister. The government is formed by the prime minister. At least 7 members of the government must be from the emir family (al-Sabah family). According to the Constitution, the Islamic Sharia is the main source of legislation. However, it is noteworthy that there are some serious defects in practice.

International Organisations: Kuwait is a member of international organisations such as UN, OIC[2] (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, OPEC, IMF, Islamic Development Bank.

History: The lands of Kuwait were annexed to the lands of the Islamic state in 634 by the Islamic armies under the command of Khalid bin Walid (r.a.). However, at that time, this region was a region where few people lived and was not given much importance.

     Kuwait separated from the Ottoman Empire in 1914 and became a British protectorate. It regained the status of an independent state only on 19 June 1961. The sheikh of Kuwait at this time was Abdullah bin Salim. His rule lasted until 24 November 1965. He was succeeded by his brother Sabah bin Salim. Sabah bin Sa'im left the title of sheikh in 1971 and took the title of 'Emir'. His rule lasted until 31 December 1977 and he was succeeded by Jabir b. Ahmed.

     During the Iraq-Iran war (1980-1988), Kuwait took the Iraqi side and ensured the sale of Iraqi oil to the world through Kuwaiti ports. Since its pro-Iraqi policy led to the reaction of Iranian groups, 27.000 Iranians and other foreigners were expelled from Kuwait (1985-1986). Iraq invaded Kuwait (2 August 1990), claiming that some of the oil revenues had been stolen during the Iranian war, and declared Kuwait as the nineteenth province of Iraq. Kuwaiti rulers and emirs sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Finally, in accordance with the United Nations resolution (no: 678), Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait by the American and British military forces in the Gulf War (28 February 1991). The exiled Kuwaiti government and the emir returned to Kuwait. Kuwait was devastated by the war. The Kuwaiti government adopted the principle of keeping the number of foreigners below 50 per cent. A ten-year defence treaty was signed with the United States for the reconstruction of the country (19 September 1991). A similar treaty was signed with Britain and France (1992)[3].

Internal Problems: Foreign labour force and ethnic diversity cause some social problems in Kuwait as in other Gulf countries. Especially the fact that the Asians are not integrated into the Kuwaiti society and try to keep alive some traditions specific to their own country creates an identity problem. The increasing proportion of Asians worries the natives of Kuwait. Because some of their traditions which are influenced by eastern religions tend to spread in Kuwaiti society. In addition, they do not exclude the possibility that the Asians becoming an important ethnic element in time may cause serious ethnic problems.

     Another internal problem in Kuwait is the increase in drug use among the youth due to the deceit of drug traffickers. The 'movement of corruption', which started with directing the youth towards entertainment and worldly pleasures and continued with getting them used to drugs, has reached dangerous dimensions today. According to statistics, the rate of drug use in Kuwaiti society is 1.3 per cent.

External Problems: The most important external problem of Kuwait is the border dispute with Iraq. The Iraq - Kuwait tension in 1990 and the subsequent invasion were based on this problem.

Islamism in the country: The leading Islamic community in Kuwait is the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in this country. This community carries out its activities mostly through the 'Social Reform Society'. This society has activities covering many different fields. It opens special schools. It organises camps, summer courses, conferences, symposiums, book fairs, etc. It also has some commercial activities. The weekly magazine 'al-Mujtema' published by the organisation is the most widely read weekly Islamic magazine in the Islamic world. The 'Islamic Dawah Council' has been established under the organisation to carry out Islamic dawah activities. This council carries out various charity activities in addition to the da'wah activities. The organisation also has other committees established to carry out charity and aid activities. These committees have important charity activities especially in African countries. The members of the Muslim Brotherhood carry out their political activities through the Islamic Constitutional Movement. The general secretary of this movement is Jâsim Muhalhel al-Yâsin. In the last parliamentary elections held in October 1992, 19 members of the movement were elected to parliament. The parliamentarians of the Movement have been working intensively for the full implementation of Islamic law in the country. To this end, with the support of other members of parliament, they submitted a petition with 39 signatures to Prime Minister Sa'dun Abdullah in March 1994. Another Islamic community active in Kuwait is the Salafis. They participated in the last parliamentary elections under the name of Sunni Alliance. However, although the Salafis are influential in society in terms of thought, they do not have large-scale activities and there are not enough institutions to organise these activities. In Kuwait, there are many Islamic private schools opened by Muslim rich people. There are also a number of independent institutions with scholarly purposes such as the Islamic Fiqh Institute. As in other Gulf countries, there are many Islamic charitable organisations in Kuwait. These are mainly established to provide aid to Muslims outside Kuwait.

Economy: Kuwait's economy is primarily based on oil. In 1992, it produced a total of 312 million barrels of oil. In the agreement between OPEC countries in 1993, it was decided that Kuwait's daily oil production would be 2 million barrels. However, Kuwaiti administration exceeded this limitation and increased its daily production above 2 million barrels throughout the year. Oil reserves in 1993 were estimated at 92 billion 430 million barrels. It is also rich in natural gas. In 1992, it produced 2 billion 650 million m3 of natural gas. Natural gas reserves in 1993 were estimated at 1 trillion 350 billion m3 . The share of oil and natural gas in the gross domestic product is 41 per cent. In recent years, significant developments have been made in the field of agriculture and agriculture has started to be carried out with modern methods. Greenhouses have been established for vegetable production with government support. Similarly, farms have been established for animal breeding. In recent years, an average of 2 thousand tonnes of grain, 1 thousand tonnes of fruit and 40 thousand tonnes of vegetables have been produced annually. In 1992, there were 5 thousand heads of cattle and 298 thousand heads of sheep in the country. The share of income from agriculture and animal husbandry in national income is 1 per cent. Although not very common, fishing is also practised. In 1991, 2 thousand tonnes of fish and seafood were caught. Workers in agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries constitute 1.5 per cent of the entire working population. The drinking and potable water needs of the people are met to a great extent by the water purified from the sea. In addition, in some places, underground waters are extracted and bottled and used as drinking water.

Currency: Kuwaiti Dinar.

National Income per Capita: USD 25,290[4]

Foreign Trade: The main exports are oil, natural gas (91% of exports) and various manufactured goods. The main imports are defence equipment, electrical and electronic equipment, transport equipment and spare parts, machinery, foodstuffs, livestock, chemicals, textiles and various industrial raw materials. Japan ranks first in foreign trade. Taiwan, the USA and various European countries come second. There is no deficit in foreign trade. In 1990, export revenues exceeded import expenditures by 5 billion 175 million dollars.

Industry: The first place in the Kuwaiti industry is taken by oil refining plants and industrial establishments related to products obtained from oil. Kuwait has oil refining plants in three places. The largest of these is at al-Ahmadi, where the most important export and import port is located. It has also established a large number of industrial establishments on by-products derived from petroleum. Liquid ammonia, ammonium sulphate, sulphuric acid, chlorine, urea etc. are produced in these facilities. Apart from the oil-based facilities, many industrial establishments have been established. Factories and industrial facilities producing iron and steel products, metal wire, oil, packaging materials, gas, plastic materials, cement, oxygen, sulphur, paper, nylon, foodstuffs, soft drinks, clothing, furniture, stationery, office supplies, construction materials, metal goods, electrical vehicles and electrical equipment, etc. have been established. The state assists those who wish to establish industrial enterprises by providing long-term credits and land on which to build their facilities. The share of manufacturing industry in gross domestic product is 14 per cent. Approximately 9.5% of the working population is employed in the industrial sector.

Energy: All electricity is obtained from thermal power plants. Annual electricity consumption per capita is 4.362 kw/hour on average.

Transportation: The country's only airport is the airport open to international traffic in the capital Kuwait. Crude oil and petroleum products are exported from Kuwait's four ports, especially from al-Ahmadi port. These ports are also used for imports. Kuwait has 210 ships capable of carrying cargo over 100 gph. 4300 km. has a motorway. In this country, there is one motorised transport vehicle for an average of 3.5 people.

Health: Kuwait has 25 hospitals, 2950 doctors, 390 dentists, 10 thousand nurses. There is one doctor for 492 people. Health services are at a good level. Health institutions are equipped with modern equipment.

Education: Education is free in Kuwait. 8 years of basic education is compulsory. This is followed by four years of optional high school education. There are 205 primary schools, 315 general secondary schools and 35 vocational secondary schools. More than 90 per cent of both primary and secondary school children can benefit from this education. In addition, Islamic education is provided in mosques and private educational institutions opened by Islamic charitable organisations. Kuwait has 1 university, 2 colleges and 5 research institutes. Among the young people of university age, the rate of those enrolled in university is 17 per cent; among those over the age of 25, the rate of those with higher education is 11.2 per cent; and the rate of those who can read and write is 73 per cent.

[1]   www.ticaret.gov.tr(October-2021 Access)

[2]     www.oic-oci.org

[3]   Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV.

[4]   www.ticaret.gov.tr(October-2021 Access)