A spiritual approach to Kuwait and its national treasure

BY SUSAN R. CHICHESTER

Kuwait is a small country on the Persian Gulf, sandwiched between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Except for the invasion by Iraq in 1990, Kuwait remains free of territorial disputes. It has a democratic style of government with an emir, or prince, as head of state.The citizens are unusually blessed because the government is stable and forward looking. For example, it generously shares oil revenues with its citizens while expanding their democracy; and it has given women the right to vote and run for parliament within the last few years.

Only 37 percent of Kuwait's population is Kuwaiti. The rest of population are expatriates representing over 100 nationalities. This devout Muslim state—unlike some others in the region—permits foreigners to worship in a handful of Christian churches. Although Kuwait is safe, security remains a high priority, and the government is vigilant about it. Schools, oil companies, hotels, and ports are some of the country's major security priorities.

The economy is almost entirely dependent on oil revenues. Kuwait is a flat sandy desert that contains 10 percent of the world's oil reserves, and in 2007 was producing about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day (Journal of Petroleum Technology, November 2007). The oil industry was nationalized in the 1970s, so now all oil-related companies are owned by the state. This has been beneficial to the country, but it has introduced a bit of a problem now that there is interest in increasing production to supply global demand.