Kuwait Times

Published Date: October 10, 2007
By B Izzak, Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The technical committee of the Municipal Council yesterday rejected a request by the government to allow opening a mosque for the Bohra community in Kuwait, secretary of the committee Fadhel Safar said.

Safar said that the committee held its meeting behind closed doors and discussed the issue with regards to religious and technical aspects and then decided to reject it. Based on approval by the cabinet, the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs sent a request to the municipality council asking for a permit to open the mosque on government land in Ardhiya.

The ministry asked the council to approve allotting 1,600 square meters of government land to build the mosque and additional 5,000 square meters for a car parking lot for the mosque. Under Kuwaiti law, any allocation of government land must be sanctioned by the municipal council.

It was not immediately known if the government will revoke the municipality decision or not. The issue has raised a controversy in the country with Islamist MPs and clerics urging the government not to approve the Bohra mosque because all members of the Bohra community in the country are not nationals. Islamist MP Khudair Al-Enezi on Monday called for rejecting the government request because Bohras are not Kuwaitis and residents of Ardhiya were opposed to the idea.