Kuwait
Kuwait
World Watch List Rank | 49 |
World Watch List Score | 63.57/100 |
Last year’s rank | 48 |
Persecution Type | Islamic oppression (Strong), Clan oppression (Strong), Dictatorial paranoia (Medium) |
Leader | Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah |
Population | 4,361,000 |
Christians | 520,000 (11.9%) Data source: Johnson T M and Zurlo G A, eds, World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, accessed April 2021) |
Main Religion | Islam |
Government | Constitutional Monarchy (emirate) |
Region | Middle East North Africa |
Persecution Level | Very High Persecution |
In Kuwait, conversion from Islam to another faith is not officially recognized and is likely to lead to legal problems in personal status and property matters. Converts to Christianity from Islam face discrimination and harassment from their family and community, intimidation from Islamist groups, and even police monitoring.
Expatriate Muslims who convert to Christianity experience the same levels of pressure as they would face in their home countries, as they often live within their own national or ethnic communities.
Because of the potentially severe consequences, it is almost impossible for converts to reveal their new faith, which is why there are hardly any reports of Christians being killed or harmed for their faith.
Although expatriate Christians are relatively free to worship, finding a place to meet is often difficult. Christians must be very careful when sharing their faith since proselytizing is illegal and they could be expelled from the country.
What changed this year?
Little has changed for Christians in Kuwait, despite the country dropping a place on the World Watch List. While expatriate believers remain relatively free to practice their faith, converts from Islam continue to face severe opposition from both their families and communities—and, if anything, this hostility has only increased over the past year.
How we help
Open Doors supports the body of Christ on the Arabian Peninsula by organizing prayer, distributing Scripture resources, and training believers and pastors.
PRAY FOR KUWAIT
Pray that the sexual abuse of migrant workers will stop and that the Lord would heal those who have experienced this.
Pray for wisdom and boldness as Christians seek to tell others about Jesus.
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