US Department of State — International Religious Freedom Report for 2015: Kuwait

Legal framework: 'The constitution declares Islam to be the religion of the state, while saying the freedom of belief is "absolute."' It protects religious practice 'provided such practice accords with established customs, and does not conflict with public policy or morals'. The law prohibits defamation of Islam, material the government deems offensive to religious groups, and practices it deems inconsistent with Islamic law.

Events of 2015: 'Da'esh … claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in June, killing 26 people and injuring more than 200 others. The government put 29 individuals on trial in connection with the bombing, ultimately sentencing seven of them to death.' The government then ordered the Shia community to commemorate Ashura and other holidays indoors and took other security measures affecting all non-Sunni groups. It arrested and convicted several individuals for insulting Shia doctrine and interrogated imams over statements it considered harmful to national unity.

Minorities: groups could generally worship without interference 'provided they did not disturb their neighbors'; the government arrested 11 Hindus for conducting religious services following neighbourhood complaints. Minority groups reported a lack of worship facilities and difficulties obtaining permission to build. Shia reported discrimination in the training of clergy and in public-sector employment; non-Sunni religious training institutions are not permitted. Non-Muslims may not proselytise. The report also notes continuing societal pressure against conversion from Islam.

USE IN A REPORT: the annual official account of the 2015 mosque bombing's consequences for Shia and other minorities, and of the legal limits on worship, proselytising and conversion.

For practitioners in religion-based claims: this report documents both state protection and state restriction — prosecution of those who attacked or insulted the Shia community alongside security measures confining Shia observance indoors and a continuing bar on Shia clerical training. It supports a nuanced rather than categorical assessment of risk to Shia in Kuwait. For converts and non-Muslims, the relevant points are the ban on proselytising, societal pressure against conversion and the fact that services can be curtailed on neighbours' complaint, as the arrest of 11 Hindus shows. Read with the 2016 report, also on this Dossier, for the civil consequences of apostasy.