History of Christianity and stories of "Discipleship in Action" in the Muslim country of Kuwait.

In a senior-level meeting at my Kuwaiti company, we were discussing the leadership traits we as a company should espouse and hold ourselves and senior executives to. Two of my contributions to the conversation were that a leader “should be above reproach” and that leaders should work together and support one another because “a house divided against itself will fall.”

After the meeting a Kuwaiti colleague approached me and said he really liked what I had to say and was wondering where I based my suggestions on. The debate started warring in my head: should I tell him where I got these quotes? I mean, Kuwait is a Muslim country and would I get in trouble sharing that both of those statements came from the Bible?

“I am a Christian,” I shared, “and both of those ‘leadership traits’ are from the Bible.”

“Oh me too! I am a Christian too,“ he replied. “I don’t read the Bible, but my family is the original Christian family here in Kuwait. We helped build the first church. There are actually 150 Kuwaiti’s registered as Christians.”

So began my introduction to Christianity in Kuwait.

Historical Foundations
The first recorded visit of a non-Muslim religious leader to Kuwait was an American Catholic priest in 1795.

In 1900, Arabian Mission missionaries (from the Reformed Church of America) arrived in Kuwait and started a small medical mission. In 1903 they opened A Bible shop (which still operates today). After purchasing land in 1910, they built the first ever hospital – which elderly Kuwaitis still today warmly refer to as “the American Hospital”. And in 1931 they built the first church with services held in both English and Arabic.

With the discovery of oil in Kuwait in the 1950s, workers from many countries started moving to Kuwait for employment and church services were soon begun in multiple languages and faiths.
It was about 10 years ago that a couple from Boston moved to LA to prepare – together with a handful of other disciples – for mission team plantings in the Middle East. They soon moved to Kuwait with their young family to start the church here. (More on their faith and their heart for this mission field in an upcoming article.)

Present Day
Today, true to its constitution, Kuwait is a country where “freedom of belief is absolute” and that “the State protects the freedom of practicing religion in accordance with established customs, provided that it does not conflict with public policy or morals."

However, Kuwait is also influenced by Islamic religious law (Sharia) so we must adhere to Muslim holidays and certain ways of life and their accompanying requirements. For example, during the Muslim’s holy month of fasting (Ramadan), Muslims do not eat or drink or chew gum or candy in public. In Kuwait, everyone is required to adhere to this – including Christians – or face being thrown in prison.

Sharia is based upon the Qu’ran and sayings of Muhamad and has evolved over centuries of discussions, debates and interpretations. It deals with all aspects of life from social and family issues to politics, education, business, hygiene and education. This is why there can be many ‘variations’ of the Muslim faith (no different than the many Christian denominations and interpretations of Scripture).

Hence as disciples in Kuwait, we must be very wise in how we conduct ourselves. For example, worshipping in public, while technically not illegal per the constitution, is frowned upon – especially as many do not condone public meetings between men and women not related to one another. Traditionally in the Muslim culture, men and women don’t speak with or make eye contact with anyone from the opposite sex in public unless they are a family member so we must be also be wise in whom we speak with.

Proselytizing or sharing our faith with Muslims is illegal, though nothing is said about sharing our faith with non Muslims. One brother quite ingeniously put a notice up at the local bus stop – in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines – inviting people to a Bible Study. It worked. He got some responses and people came along to church!

Day-to-day Discipleship
As a red-headed American woman, it is safe to say that I stand out a bit. (There are only 3 redheads amongst the entire 3 million people that live in Kuwait!). Walking along the waterfront one afternoon with two Filipina sisters and a Filipina friend studying the Bible, a Kuwaiti woman approached me and said, “Oh, you have 3 maids.” I replied, “No, I have 3 friends.” She looked at me in disbelief and said, “No. Filipina. Maids not friends.”

Another day I took 7 of the kids (all Indian and Filipino) to the local playground. People couldn’t figure us out – were their families so rich that they could afford a “white” maid?!

As disciples, we know that our actions speak louder than words. It is our strongest witness. One that we sometimes are oblivious to as it has become so ‘normal’ for us to befriend people from all backgrounds.

On an airplane flight from Kuwait to Dubai to attend a conference with the church in Dubai, there we disciples were – Indians, Filipinos, Americans – all talking with one another, the children calling everyone “auntie”, swapping seats with one another…. The rest of the passengers just stared in amazement. How could those different nationalities be friends? That’s not supposed to happen.

We are awed and humbled that God would put upon us the opportunity to show His love to this part of the world. We all ended up in Kuwait for various reasons and via different paths. And just like disciples in every other country, we can forget how big our God is when our bosses are demanding we work overtime or people look “down” on us because of our race or ethnicity.

However as a church we are focused on remembering why we are truly in Kuwait: to show God’s love, to walk in His light, to glorify His name.

Please keep us in your prayers – that our light may shine brightly.