By Abayomi Adesida
Rev. Amanuel Ghareeb is the pastor of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait, the umbrella Christian congregation that coordinates the activities of the 150 Kuwaiti Christians among their fellow compatriots of the Islamic faith in the about one million population of Kuwaiti citizens.

Rev. Amanuel Ghareeb

He spoke as much as the Kuwaiti laws could permit him during an interaction he had with a team of Nigerian journalists who were in Kuwait for two weeks as part of activities that formed a build-up to the Kuwaiti 20th Liberation and 50th National Day. Ghareeb also gave an insight into how religious riots that continue to take innocent lives could be avoided if everybody played his part.

How did you become a pastor in a society where the majority of the people are Muslims?  When were you converted, if you were once a Muslim, and how has it been around here?

I was never a Muslim, I was born a Christian, we have many Christian families here in Kuwait as against the belief that we are not tolerated here at all. Most of the Kuwaiti Christian population here are Christians who came here in Kuwait and have become Kuwaitis themselves, we have a 150 families like that here in Kuwait; and, to be honest with you, we have very good relationships with the Muslim community here in Kuwait.

This relationship has been officially recognised by government through the establishment of the Islamic Christian Council. We formed this Council a year ago to dialogue with our Muslim brothers, to have a good relationship with them and it has helped to further cement the relationships between Christians and Muslims here in Kuwait. There are about 450,000 Christians living in Kuwait from different nationalities, among whom are many Arabs, Indians and others. Most of the Christians here are Catholics with a population of 300,000 from different countries and…

But, how many Kuwaitis are Christians?

About 150…

When you discuss at this level, the Council level, what are the issues you discuss?

We discuss how we can further operate together; you know in a society where you have religious differences, there is always need to come together to avoid any form of misunderstanding. Last year, we organised a visit to the Pope to show that in Kuwait, there is religious tolerance.

The delegation to the Pope comprised Muslims and Christians and we succeeded in getting an audience with the Pope to seek areas of cooperation with the Vatican and other regional bodies to open new channels of dialogue among the two religions, most especially around the world, using the Kuwaiti experience. This is because if you don’t discuss with me on how you engage in your religious practice, then, I don’t know you; but with frequent dialogue, we build better understanding and avoid problems before they become big problems that will take longer time to control. You will agree with me that tension will go down…

There is tension here, or there used to be tension…
No, for very many years, we have lived in peace and harmony here so much so that when you enter Kuwait, if you don’t ask, you can hardly know the difference between followers of the two religions.

When you dialogue in this Council, what do you discuss; what do you ask for from  your Islamic brothers when you dialogue or what do they ask from you?

We ask for better understanding, mutual respect, we live in peace and harmony and we discuss generally how we can contribute towards the further development of the Kuwaiti society in general.

You said this Council is just a year old. Did you start the body because of specific challenges and are those challenges mitigated now if they were the reasons for the establishment of the Council?

No.  Let me state here that we have never had and we do not at present have any challenges before the establishment of the Council…

Okay, since the establishment of the Council, do you have anything that once you take a stand, you are challenged, or when they decide to do a particular thing, your views are not considered while meeting on the platform of the Council?

They understand our grounds due to the several years that we have co-existed and we have very deep understanding of their own grounds too…

What are your grounds?

We are Christians, we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour and they understand that; although we know there are differences. But these differences will not prevent us from cooperating. They are not strong enough to prevent us from talking to each other, from respecting each other and defending any attack to Christianity and to Islam. For example, we jointly condemned the attack on Islam in Denmark…

So, if there are Islamic or Christian issues outside the country, do they reverberate here? Are there reactions here?
Well, not much and we are always calling for peace and harmony among Christians and Muslims around the world.
Here in Kuwait, do you organise crusades, like open air preaching at places like the stadium?

Em, inside the compound here, yes, not outside the compound. We are in an Islamic country, so, we know the law, and we obey the law but, also, we have a government that tolerates Christians. We have a right to import Bibles, you will soon see the Bible Society here; we also have a company called the Book House Company. With the approval of the government, we are importing Bibles in more than 50 languages because we have Christians from many countries that are living in Kuwait. So, we are helping them to bring Bibles and Christian literature…

Do you win souls, do you go out to convert Muslims to Christians?

Remember I told you that this is an Islamic country that has agreed to allow us practice Christianity. There are rules guiding what we do and it is not allowed for us to do that and we have this understanding and we will not cross our boundaries.

Since you became a pastor, how many Muslims have crossed over to become Christians?

You see, I just told you there are certain things we can do and we are guided by law. Sorry, I cannot answer this question.

Do you have challenges, most especially from fanatics who are intolerant of your religious belief?

Sometimes, we did but, as  I told you, there are laws here and they are obeyed by everybody irrespective of your religion.

Do you have representation in the National Assembly?  How many of its 54 members are Christians?

No, you know that democracy is a game of numbers and, with our number; it is difficult to win elective posts based on religious leaning.

What has been the problem?  Is it because Christians here are timid and afraid to try to run for elective offices or because the law does not allow you to run for offices?

Now, there is no law here preventing us from participating. We are all accepted as members of the society, to become a member of the House, you have to be elected.

So, your population has been 150,000…

Not 150,000, just 150…

And, you are not increasing?

No, no new members, actually just natural birth and also death. So, we are losing and gaining.

Do you have a particular stand on family issues like abortion, pregnancy out of wedlock and how does the society appreciate your views on the stand you take?

As a church, we are against abortion. I know in the Western world, there are a few churches that support abortion and homosexuality…

Since the society tolerates you to exist, do you make input into issues of policy? Are you given the opportunity to advice government on state matters?

We prefer rather to have politics for politicians. Our role here is just spiritual, to strengthen our faith and the faith of all our members…

In your church, do you pray for Kuwait?

Sure!

What do you ask God to do for Kuwait in your prayers?

To bless Kuwait, to bless the Amir…

What other blessing do you need, with oil wealth, peace and harmony flourishing in your land?

(laughs) Well, oil is not the only blessing that a country requires.

What else do you ask for?

To continue to have peace, harmony and further understanding among all our citizens. Kuwait is helping many countries in the world, and many times, we pray God to let us continue to have the blessing of peace and harmony so we can continue to be of assistance to those countries where they need our assistance.

In the Islamic Christian Council, do you jointly engage in charitable deeds around the world?

We have not reached that level, but we are trying to achieve that when we get to that level.

As a church, are you permitted to do that?

Sure, most especially here in Kuwait.

To whom do you give charity in Kuwait? Everybody is rich.

Not everybody in Kuwait is rich. We have people who are deprived, and when they come to us, according to our budget, we try to help.