‘Weak morals destroy nations’

‘Rejoicing at others’ loss uncalled for’

“AS I WAS going through newspapers and social networking sites I paid close attention to two events like many people of the region. The first is related to a draft law submitted by the Israeli government to the Knesset to ban the use of loudspeakers in mosques in the occupied city of Jerusalem, between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am,” columnist Sheikha Hessa Hamoud Al-Sabah wrote for Al-Anba daily

“The second event is the fires in the Israeli forests and the ‘happiness’ shown by the Arab and Muslim masses. As usual, strange explanations are given when disasters strike Israel which are interpreted as divine revenge for the decision issued by the Knesset to ban call to pray, which the Israeli parliament has yet to adopt.

“The truth must be told. I think that the draft law is not a matter of political or religious restrictions, but there are some people who abuse the use of modern technology, including loudspeakers in mosques, during the comfort time of others, which is a guaranteed right of all people, including patients, students and the elderly of all faiths in the same society.

“What really saddened me is the reaction of the Arab masses, specifically toward the forest fires which proved to us the case of despair, political and societal failure we are experiencing.

“This is simply proved by show of happiness and rejoicing at the misfortune of others. Such inappropriate reactions reveal the low level of thought and consciousness and morality to the world, which reminds me of the eminent Egyptian poet Ahmad Shawqi who said in one of his poems: ‘Nations are strong with their morals, if these morals are gone they are gone’.

“I wonder how and why we behave like this, while we have the ideal model and teacher of humanity, our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), when he stood up in full respect during the funeral procession of a Jew, and responded to a question when asked by his companions the reason for respect: ‘Isn’t he a human being?

“The Prophet (PBUH) also set an example in a refined manner when he visited a Jewish boy who was serving the Prophet (PBUH) when the latter was sick. The Prophet (PBUH) requested the boy to convert to Islam and he did.

“‘O Messenger of Allah, how great You are’. Tolerance and kindness and not showing feelings of hatred or grudge, you showed major extolled deeds in your life (Sunna) that must be followed when dealing with others.

“I would like to remind these people that the greatest natural disaster in the last century was the ‘Hurricane Paula’ which hit the east coast of Pakistan (now Bangladesh), which claimed the lives of nearly half a million Muslims, add to this the tsunami, and I will not give more examples from our ancient and contemporary history to refute this nonsensical interpretation of the heavenly punishment which has made the minds of the people corrupt.

“It is very odd that these people insist on selectivity and deliberately mix between what is political, religious, human and social and finally attribute all these to heavenly punishment.

“Unfortunately, we are between the jaws of pliers, between those who are incapable of understanding, with superficial mentality and others who have feelings of despair and misery and control the peoples of the region, not to mention the exploitation of religion to fuel religious, political and sectarian conflicts.

“This increases the responsibility on wise people, who are unfortunately a few. Peace of God on the wise people in every time and place.”

Also:

Sheikha

“The Kuwaiti street has expressed a desire for change through broad participation in the recent elections which reached 70 percent and the change reached 60 percent, and turned their backs on the old faces which always reached the Parliament. The change has pumped new blood and this confirms the popular discontent with the performance of the Assembly of 2013,” columnist Dr Faisal Al-Sharifi wrote for AlJarida daily.

“The outcomes of these elections did not stop at the high rate of popular participation and change, but were balanced and took into account the social and political structure, which enhances the chances of having parliamentary blocs within the Assembly and guide the oversight and legislative action.

“The voter in these elections was keen to send a set of messages, at the forefront is the rejection of primaries (sub-elections) because of their defective and negative impact, since they are considered abuse to the Kuwaiti democracy and against the non-affiliate efficient candidates.

“The second message was through the votes cast on sectarian grounds, after the fall of most of those candidates as a result of the awareness of the Kuwaiti voter and his interest in the economic and national issues, and who is also aware of the unstable region, and also the need for MPs who have reason and wisdom rather than the voices of aggravation, which are not only useless but also dismantle the society.

“The third was a two-purpose message and addressed to the government and the ministers that is to say to express the dissatisfaction of the citizens and resentment of the performance of the executive authority which has failed to convince the citizens during the last period, especially after raising the prices of fuel, as a means to support the budget deficit without finding other alternatives and solutions.

“The talk about government formation must be viewed from a number of considerations, primarily the reading of His Highness the Prime Minister to the output of the voters, I mean the result of the elections which came in line with the desire for change and the hopes and aspirations of the Kuwaitis in the next stage.

“It is the desire for change and doing away with the quota system and favoritism, and repetition of names. It is a change to have a competent government to draw a road map and be able to deal with the economic issues and the needs of citizen for education, health and housing.

“Not holding the government accountable for so long is transgression of the Constitution, and perhaps the previous National Assembly went too far and infringed under the pretext of stability and cooperation and to allow ministers to work without pressure, but this experience has proven its failure and contributed to mismanagement.

“For that, and for the sake of the national interest, I call on the MPs to give up this idea, the idea that somebody is above accountability, the idea which was one of the reasons that most of the former lawmakers of 2013 Assembly lost in the 2016 elections. The voters have chosen their representatives to defend the interests of citizens, devotion to God and country and

to the Amir.”

“Education remains at the bottom of the priority lists of the concerned authorities, while the curriculum continues to prove day by day that it is the reason behind the country’s backwardness as opposed to various advanced countries,” columnist Zayed Al-Zaid wrote for Al-Nahar daily.

“Unfortunately, even the advanced studies and educational organization indexes provide evidence that there is no desire at all to upgrade the educational system. Perhaps, the report issued by renowned international education firm, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), is just a new series of educational ‘retardation’ in the country.

“The TIMSS report showed that Kuwait came last among 49 countries in grade four exams, while it ranked 33rd out of 39 countries in grade eight exams. We do not know the ‘destiny’ of such reports despite the millions spent on them, whereas some of such reports were part of the supposed development plan of the State.”

“We cheered when the results of the recently-concluded parliamentary elections were declared due to the win of many promising young lawmakers. The parliamentary equation has been transformed like never before. Of course, the kind of lawmakers this time are neither identical nor are they of the same kind of nature. There are partisans of religious groups, families and tribes. In addition, it has witnessed the return of the opposition to the parliament after a four-year absence,” Mubarak Mohammad Al-Hajri wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“Ponder over these words, my dear readers. The youths are the hope and future of the nation. It is imperative to direct them to serve Kuwait so that they are not turned into tools for implementing illegal ambitions and agendas that only serve the heads of some parties.

“Unfortunately, the youths are the ones who suffer when they follow illegal instructions without thinking. They end up facing an ambiguous future because they have surrendered themselves to being used as tools in the hands of manipulators whose interests have not been affected.

“It is imperative for the new MPs, particularly the youths, to be cautious because they carry great responsibility. They are the ones to issue legislations for the present and the future of this country. The responsibility to restore Kuwait back to its former glory lies on their shoulders.”

“Many people have been evaluating results of the recent National Assembly elections positively. They have described the popular choice of citizens, reflected in the elections, as opting for reform,” Abdullatif AlDuaij wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“If getting rid of former lawmakers means reform, it is necessary to specify what they actually destroyed. In a clear term, what exactly do citizens want the lawmakers to reform? What is the reason for removing former lawmakers and replacing them with the current ones?

“Answers to those questions are simple. Lawmakers of the 2013 National Assembly were removed, according to statements from the spokespersons of the electorates or Kuwaiti citizens in general. They were removed because they approved the hike in fuel prices. This simply means they were not elected because they destroyed democratic practice, abused parliamentary activities and misappropriated public funds.”

“Following the announcement of the parliamentary election results, we celebrated the success of the young candidates such as Riyadh Al-Adsani, Abdulkareem Al-Kandari, Abdulwahab Al-Babtain, Omar Al-Tabtabaie, Yousef Al-Fadhala, Ahmad Al-Fadhel, Nasser Al-Dousari and Mubarak Al-Hajraf,” Hassan Al-Hadad Al-Shammari wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“Those products have provided a dose of hope towards a better future, especially after hearing the aspirations and desires of these youths during their electioneering campaigns. They have thus become our source of pride in general. Their success in the elections has doubled their responsibilities in front of the Kuwaiti citizens, especially their fellow youths.

“Everybody is hoping for their success in performing their duties, because we all rely on their presence for a better change in the situations by translating those aspirations into tangible reality. Therefore, they should realize that they are now faced with a herculean task. The test confronting them requires well-studied steps to be taken.”

“I did not expect much from the 2016 elections or the elections before that due to my conviction that elections in Kuwait have turned into social occasions where tribal groups clash and the elites gather to grab hold of all the strings of the game and direct its dimensions and conditions based on their interests. This is all done at the expense of national goals that are aimed at reform and social justice,” Abdulmohsen Jumaa wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“Surprisingly, when the performances of those in authority are not in line with the interests of these influential groups, they are shown the “red card”. The political stalemate in Kuwait due to lack of improvement of the 1962 Constitution makes the parliamentary game favor one team and its allies or whoever supports it, regardless of the results of the elections. The authority is the one that decides who becomes the National Assembly speaker. It forms the government and it is the one that blows the whistle any time they want to restart the game from the beginning. People rush to the ballot box all over again in an absurd scene preceded by all kinds of electoral frauds.

“Some will celebrate the fact that the recent elections witnessed the won of a number of youths. Yes, but this is not new. A number of youths did win before in the elections since 2003; but they all surrendered after their efforts ended up in vain and they eventually understood the reality of the Kuwaiti political game with its determinants from the influential circles, the rich, powerful and religious fanatics. Some of them embarked on enriching themselves to achieve their personal interests.

“The reality is we are still held-up in a box. There is no change! If there is no ideology based on civil movement that neutralizes the political choosing on the basis of religion and tribe, and if we do not work on eliminating the influence of financial authority on our lawmakers and call for comprehensive reform that extends beyond the National Assembly, we will remain stuck in that box for many more years. All our efforts will be consumed in one election after another!”

— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli