Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

constitutes a significant minority in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. In 2001, the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

reported that there were 300,000 Shia Kuwaiti citizens and 820,000 Kuwaiti citizens in total thus Shias formed 36.5% of the Kuwaiti citizen population. In 2002, the US Department of State reported that Shia Kuwaitis formed 30-40% of Kuwait's citizen population, noting there were 525,000 Sunni citizens and 855,000 Kuwaiti citizens in total (61% Sunnis, 39% Shias). In 2004, there were 300,000-350,000 Shia Kuwaiti citizens and 913,000 Kuwaiti citizens in total. The '' Strategic Studies Institute'' reported that they constitute 40% of the population in 2008. Contrary to the expectations of the Iraqi government, Shia Kuwaitis founded the local armed resistance movement during

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

's occupation of Kuwait in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. Most Kuwaitis arrested, tortured and executed during the occupation bore Shia names. The Kuwaiti resistance's casualty rate far exceeded that of the coalition military forces and Western hostages. The resistance predominantly consisted of ordinary citizens who lacked any form of training and supervision. The Shia Kuwaiti community has produced a number of well-known individuals, notable in many fields, especially business and

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

, thus contributing significantly to the general economic development of the country. Kuwait's first female minister

Massouma al-Mubarak Massouma al-Mubarak (born 1947) is Kuwait's first female government minister, sworn in on 20 June 2005. She was educated in the United States and is a professor of political science. Biography Massouma went to the US for higher education in 1971 ...

is a Shia. One of the first women elected in the parliament,

Rola Dashti In rail transportation, a rolling highway or rolling road is a form of combined transport involving the conveying of road trucks by rail, referred to as Ro-La trains. The concept is a form of piggyback transportation. The technical challen ...

, is a Kuwaiti Shia. Most Shia Kuwaitis are of Iranian ancestry. Shiites are under-represented in the National Assembly. Shia citizens as a group are integrated into the Kuwaiti state. Kuwaiti government policy, on paper, allegedly does not discriminate citizens on a sectarian basis.

References

{{Demographics of Kuwait Islam in Kuwait

See also

References