49

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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