Kuwait

Kuwait, official name of which is State of Kuwait (Arabic pronunciation Kuvait: دولة الكويت, Dawlat al-Kuwayt), It is an Arab country located in Western Asia, at the northeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, where it shares borders with Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. Its name is a diminutive in Arabic of the word كوت kūt, which means "fortress". The country is 17,818 km² of surface area and in 2016 had a population of about 4 million people.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Kuwait was a prosperous trading post that rivaled the Iraqi city of Basra as a clearinghouse for goods moving between India and the Middle East. The area was also the center of the throughout the Persian Gulf, but by the early XX century it began to decline in importance in the region. In World War I (1914-1918), the British Empire imposed a trade blockade on Kuwait in retaliation for the country's ruler's support of the Ottoman Empire. After the Great War, Kuwait established itself as an independent emirate under the yoke of the British Empire. However, after the war between Kuwait and the Sultanate of Najd in 1919 and 1920, Abdelaziz bin Saud, the first king of Saudi Arabia, ordered a new and restrictive trade blockade of Kuwait that lasted from 1923 to 1937. discovered the first oil wells on Kuwaiti territory.

Kuwait gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. In 1990 the small country was militarily invaded and annexed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq, an occupation that lasted seven months and prompted the intervention of the United States military and the outbreak of the Gulf War. The Iraqi army withdrew from the country in the face of the US advance, but on its way burned down almost 800 Kuwaiti oil wells, an economic and environmental catastrophe. The country's infrastructure was devastated during the conflict and had to be rebuilt. In 2003 the US military he returned to the country to launch from there the military operations of the invasion of Iraq.

Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government and its economic and political capital is Kuwait City. The country is considered one of the most liberal in the region. It has the world's fifth largest oil reserves, a natural resource that currently accounts for 87% of its exports and 75% of its government's income, thanks to which its citizens enjoy the eighth highest per capita income in the world. The World Bank classifies Kuwait as a high-income state and the United States has designated it a major non-NATO ally.

Etymology

The name comes from its capital city, Kuwait, from which it was formed as an emirate and a British protectorate. It is a diminutive of اَلْكُوت‎, al-kūt: "the fortress" (from the root ك و ت • k-w-t), although the very origin of this word is unknown: In Arabic, kūt refers specifically to a fortified building, with other houses around it, that serves as a provisioning point for ships and only applies to a building near the edge of the water, be it a sea, a river or a lake; for this reason Kuwait literally means: "the small fortress (at the edge of the water)"

History

Old coins found on Failaka Island.

Kuwait's history can be traced back to 600 B.C. C., when the Greeks settled on Failaka Island, in the area of Al-Jazna Hill, calling it Ícarus, where they remained until approximately 300 BC. C. In this period certain elements of Greek mythology were mixed with the local culture that developed on the island from 700 BC. c.

The first Persian Empire in 490 a.c.

Some time later, the Persians conquered the current territory of Kuwait, until in 623 AD, the Arabs defeated the Persians in the battle of Zat Al-Salassel, in the Kazima area, going on to dominate the territory thereafter. forward.

Portuguese Protectorate

The oldest references to the territory of Kuwait were made on Portuguese maps from the 16th century by Luiz Lázaro and Domingos Teixeira. From that moment on, the region became a Portuguese protectorate. The Arab tribes of the Shatt al-Arab allied with the Portuguese to protect themselves against the Ottoman Empire and the Persians.

In 1521, Kuwait was under Portuguese control. In the late 16th century, the Portuguese built a defensive settlement on Kuwait.

Formation of the country

Kuwait was born in the 16th century, when several clans of the Al Aniza tribe migrated to the northern shore of the Persian Gulf from Najd, his famine-stricken homeland in central Arabia. They settled in what is now known as Qatar for over sixty years and later traveled across the sea to resettle on the island of De Chader, where there was already a small 'kut' fort. According to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information, the country was founded in 1672, during the Emirate of Barrak Bin Ghurai in Bani Khalid. In 1716 the Al-Sabah family settled in Kuwait, and in 1752 a member of that family was named the first sovereign of Kuwait, Sabah Bin Jader. Under his reign, in 1760 the first wall around the city was built, 750 meters long.

Kuwait was never part of the Abbasid Caliphate (8th century century) as it did not exist as such at the time. Kuwait was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, proof of this is that Sheikh Mubarak had the Ottoman flag over his palace and fully exercised Ottoman authority over his land. The current leaders of the country are descendants of Sabah I who was chosen by the community made up mainly of merchants. They were entrusted with the tasks of state administration, including foreign affairs and taxation. This represents a particularity compared to the rest of the Arab emirates of the Persian Gulf where the leaders took and maintained their authority by force.

The 17th century saw tumultuous times on the Arabian peninsula. What is now known as Kuwait was land occupied by tribes that was used for the spice trade with India. In the 18th century, most of the local population supported themselves by selling pearls.

British Yoke

Celebration at the Seif Palace in 1944

In 1899, growing British influence led Kuwait to become a British protectorate. In the first half of the XX century, a series of Western-style reforms and constructions would take place in Kuwait. In the Anglo-Ottoman Agreement of 1913 the British and the Ottomans agreed to define Kuwait as a kaza of the Ottoman Empire. In 1914 the first desalination plant in the country was built, and 7 years later the third city wall was built, 6400 m long. Since 1919 there have been many raids by Saudi Wahhabis against Kuwait. The British military Percy Cox imposed the Uqair Protocol of 1922, between Kuwait and the nechd of Abdelaziz bin Saud.

In 1922 the first public library was installed in the country, and in 1927 the construction works of the first airport in Kuwait would be completed, where the first plane would land the following year. In 1928 Abdul Aziz-Al-Rasheed published the Kuwait Magazine, the country's first newspaper. In 1933 the Kuwai municipality installed electric lighting in the city market. The year 1938 marks the beginning of a new era of prosperity for Kuwait, in that year oil is discovered in the Burgan field, after which in 1942 the first Bank of Kuwait is founded. Four years later the country's oil exports begin.

Oil made Kuwait one of the richest countries on the Arabian peninsula and in 1953 the country became the largest oil exporter in the Persian Gulf, attracting many immigrant workers who were barely granted citizenship. Kuwait, having amassed great wealth, was the first of the Arab Gulf states to declare its independence. He did so on June 19, 1961. This declaration was fought by Iraq until 1963.

Iraqi invasion

Pozos de petrolera en fuego in Kuwait in 1991, a result of the burning land tactics used by the Iraqi army in its withdrawal from the country in the Gulf War.

Following the alliance with Iraq during the Iran-Iraqi war (1980-1988) (largely due to a desire for protection from Islamic Iran), Kuwait was invaded and annexed by Iraq (under Saddam Hussein's regime) in August 1990. Hussein's early justifications included the argument that Kuwaiti territory was actually an Iraqi province, and that its annexation was retaliation for the "economic war" Kuwait had fought by drilling into Iraqi oil reserves.

At dawn on August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops crossed the border into Kuwait with armored vehicles and infantry, occupying strategic posts throughout the country, including the Emir's Palace. The Kuwaiti army was quickly crushed, although they managed to buy the necessary time for the Kuwaiti air forces to flee to Saudi Arabia. The hardest fighting took place at the Emir's Palace, where members of the royal guards fought to give the royal family time to escape. A cousin of the Emir, who commanded the guard, was in the group of those who died. Troops looted food and medical stocks, rounded up thousands of civilians and seized control of the media. Iraq held thousands of Western tourists hostage and later tried to use them as a shield for negotiations. After a brief puppet government led by Alaa Hussein was installed, Iraq annexed Kuwait. Hussein then installed a new provincial governor, describing what happened as the "liberation" of the people from the hands of the Emir; this was used mainly as war propaganda.

The monarchy was deposed after annexation and an Iraqi governor was appointed.

Although initially ambiguous about Iraq's annexation of Kuwait, former US President George H.W. Bush strongly condemned Hussein's actions and decided to expel Iraqi forces. Authorized by the United Nations Security Council, a US-led coalition of 31 nations fought the Persian Gulf War to reinstate the Kuwaiti Emirate from January 15 to February 27, 1991.

Kuwait is today an independent country of strategic importance both from a military (proximity to Iraq) and economic (oil reserves) perspective.

Government and politics

The Bayán Palace is the official residence of the Emir of Kuwait.

Kuwait has been a constitutional monarchy ruled by the Al-Sabah dynasty since the 18th century. The emir or sheikh is the head of state, who represents the executive branch. The current emir, Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Yaber Al-Sabah ascended to the throne on September 29, 2020. There is the figure of the prime minister, who is usually a member of the royal family. The legislative power is represented by the National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma). It is unicameral and has 65 seats: 50 are elected by popular vote every four years, and 15 ministers, who are chosen by the emir and make up his cabinet. Despite this, the emir's functions are limited, since he delegates them to the prime minister, and the country has a higher rate of democracy than the rest of the Arab monarchies. For their part, the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court represent the highest bodies of the judiciary and are the highest courts in Kuwait.

Elections were held on Saturday, May 17, 2008, in which women, who were participating for the first time, were left without representation. Those who got representation were: Islamic Constitutional Movement (28), Shiites (5), Liberals (7) and Independents (the rest) over 50 seats.

Ministers who hold the most important positions generally belong to the royal family. The country regularly experiences political crises in a context of corruption cases. The government was forced to resign in November 2019, for the ninth time in eight years, following revelations about the embezzlement of some 240 million dinars (more than 700 million euros) from a military aid fund.

Human Rights

In terms of human rights, regarding membership of the seven bodies of the International Bill of Human Rights, which include the Human Rights Committee (HRC), Kuwait has signed or ratified:

Status of major international human rights instruments

Kuwait	International treaties
	CESCR		CCPR			CERD	CED	CEDAW		CAT		CRC			MWC	CRPD
	CESCR	CESCR-OP	CCPR	CCPR-OP1	CCPR-OP2-DP			CEDAW	CEDAW-OP	CAT	CAT-OP	CRC	CRC-OP-AC	CRC-OP-SC		CRPD	CRPD-OP
Pertenence
Signed and ratified, signed, but not ratified, neither signed nor ratified, without information, it has agreed to sign and ratify the body concerned, but also recognizes the competence to receive and process individual communications from the competent bodies.

Political-administrative organization

Map of Kuwait.

Kuwait is divided into 6 provinces (Arabic: muħafazat, singular - muħafadhah).

• Capital (āl-’ å zuma)
• Ahmadi (āl-ālīmadī)
• Farwaniya (āl-Farwānīya)
• HawalliAwallī)
• Mubarak the Great (Mubārak āl-Kabīr)
• Yahraāl-Jahrā’)

The largest cities are the capital Kuwait and Jahra (about a 30-minute drive northwest of the capital). The main residential and administrative areas are Salmiya and Hawalli. The main industrial area is Shuwaikh, which is located within Al Asimah province.

Geography

Kuwait from space.

Kuwait is made up mostly of deserts, with small differences in altitude. It is the only country in the world without lakes or natural water reserves.

It has nine islands, the largest being Bubiyan, which is linked to the mainland by a cement bridge. After liberation in 1991, the island was converted into a military base and civilians are currently not allowed to enter. The islands are Auhah, Bubiyan, Failaka, Kubbar, Miskan, Qaruh, Umm al Maradim, Umm an Namil and Warbah.

Climate

The desert of Kuwait during a sandstorm.

The climate is variable continental. Summers (April to October) are extremely hot and dry, with temperatures exceeding 50°C in Kuwait City. Winters (November to February) are cool, with little rainfall and temperatures below 21°C. Spring is warm and pleasant.

Kuwait City average climate parameters
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Average temperature (°C)	19.5	21.8	26.9	33.9	40.9	45.5	46.7	46.9	43.7	36.6	27.8	21.9	34.3
Average temperature (°C)	12.8	15.0	19.5	25.8	32.5	36.9	38.7	37.9	34.2	28.1	20.3	14.6	26.4
Temp. medium (°C)	8.5	10.0	14.0	19.5	25.4	28.9	30.7	29.5	26.2	21.5	14.5	9.9	19.9
Rains (mm)	30.2	10.5	18.2	11.5	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.4	18.5	25.5	116.2
Hours of sun	198.1	222.5	217.6	229.3	272.5	304.5	307.1	301.6	285.1	252.2	216.5	193.5	3000.5
Source No. 1: World Meteorological Organization (1994-2008)
Source No. 2: NOAA (1961–1990)

Ecology

Within the desert biome that occupies the entire territory of Kuwait, WWF distinguishes two ecoregions: the desert and xeric forest of Arabia and Sinai in the far west, and the desert and semi-desert of the Persian Gulf throughout the rest of the country.

Economy

A proportional representation of Kuwait's exports, 2019

The city of Kuwait is one of the most active financial and business centres in the Middle East.

Kuwait is a small, rich and relatively open economy, with secure crude oil reserves of 94 billion barrels (15 km³) -10% of world reserves-, where oil accounts for almost half of GDP, 90 % of exports and 75% of government revenue. However, in 1990 the country earned more money from foreign investment than from oil exports.

The expenses generated by the invasion of Iraq and the post-war reconstruction were a significant economic burden for the country. However, by the mid-1990s Kuwait had regained its prosperity.

Commercial centre The Avenues in Kuwait.

Oil prices have produced a surplus of €1.7 billion ($2 billion) for fiscal year 99/00. Fiscal year 00/01 only had 9 months due to a change in the fiscal year. The budget for the fiscal year 01/02 provided for higher expenses in salaries, construction and other categories. The GNP in 2003 was €4.6 billion ($41.7 billion), with a per capita GNP of €14,166 ($17,420).

The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) is the national company in charge of everything related to the production of crude oil, gas and refined products.

In addition to oil, at an economic level, the Central Bank of Kuwait stands out, in the capital, which is in charge of issuing the Kuwaiti dinar, the local currency. The dinar is equivalent to 1,00000 dinars for 2.60678 euros and 3.58616 US dollars, which makes it the most expensive currency in the world.

For its part, the country's labor force is 1,073,115 people, of whom only a quarter are Kuwaiti citizens.

The climate is a factor that limits the development of agriculture. As a consequence, with the exception of fish, it is almost completely dependent on imports for food. Similarly, 75% of the water supply has to be desalinated or imported.

Demographics

The Siddiqa Fatima Zahra mosque, built in 2011.

According to estimates by The World Factbook, the population of Kuwait in 2013 amounts to 2,695,316 inhabitants. According to calculations made in 2013, there were only three urban agglomerations in the entire country; these are: Kuwait, the capital, (2,451,764 inhabitants), Wafra (13,562) and Zawr (7,786). About 80% of the Kuwaiti population is Arab; Arab Kuwaitis include large numbers of Egyptians and also stateless Arabs called Jerrycan (Arabic word meaning other than Bedouin).

Many Arabs from the contiguous states took up residence in Kuwait after the oil prosperity brought to the country in the 1940s. However, after the Iraqi occupation the government had to go to great lengths to reduce the population expatriate Other large immigrant groups include Indians, Bengalis, Pakistanis, and Filipinos. Kuwait previously had a large Palestinian population. Most of them were forced to leave the country after PLO leader Yasser Arafat's endorsement of Iraq during the Hussein regime's occupation of Kuwait.

Torres de Kuwait.

The official language is Arabic although English is generally understood. Some immigrants also speak their own local languages. About 85% of Kuwait's population is Muslim. Among Kuwaiti Muslims it is estimated that between 70% and 75% of them are Sunni and that around 25% to 30% are Shia. A large part of Kuwaiti Shiism stems from Kuwait's proximity to Iran and Iraq. There is a significant minority that practices Hinduism, and very few Kuwaitis are Christians. The coexistence of the Muslim majority with the rest of the religions is quite cordial.

Kuwait's literacy rate is the highest among Arab countries. This is due to widespread government support for the education system. Public school, including Kuwait University, is free but foreign students have restricted access to them. The government sends qualified students abroad to pursue degrees not taught at Kuwait University, exemplified by the approximately 1,000 Kuwaitis studying in the United States.

Culture

Tareq Rajab Museum

Religion

Our Lady of Arabia Parish in Al Ahmadi.

Islam is the official religion in Kuwait, and the majority of the citizen population is Muslim. There are also small native Christian and Bahá'í populations. Most of the expatriates in Kuwait are Muslim, Hindu, Christian or Buddhist.

Most Kuwaiti citizens are Muslim; It is estimated that 60%-65%/ are Sunni and 35%-40% are Shia. Some other minor Muslim denominations exist in Kuwaiti society, but in very small numbers. There are an estimated 100,000 Shia non-citizens.

In 2001, there were approximately 525,000 Kuwaiti Sunni citizens and 300,000 Kuwaiti Shia citizens. In 2002, the US Department of State reported that Shias formed between 30% and 40% of the Kuwaiti citizen population, noting that there were 525,000 Kuwaiti Sunni citizens and 855,000 total Kuwaiti citizens (61% Sunni, 39% Shia). As of 2004, there were an estimated 600,000 Kuwaiti Sunni citizens, 300,000-350,000 Kuwaiti Shia citizens, and 913,000 Kuwaiti citizens in total. In 2007, around 70% of the citizens belonged to the Sunni branch of Islam, while the majority of the remaining 30% were Shiites.

Christianity is a minority religion in Kuwait. Kuwait has a native Christian community, with a total population of between 200 and 400. As of 2014, there were approximately 259 Kuwaiti Christians residing in Kuwait. Kuwait is the only GCC country other than Bahrain to have a local Christian population holding the citizenship. Of the non-citizen population, there are an estimated 832,475 Christians (June 2018), or 18.24% of the population.

Government-recognized Christian churches include the Catholic Church (both Latin and Greek-Melkite), the Coptic Orthodox Church, the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait (Protestant), the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is also recognized. There are also many Christian religious groups not officially recognized by the government with smaller populations, including the Indian Orthodox Church, Mar Thoma, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Unrecognized groups are generally free to worship in private. There are also several believers in Christ from Muslim backgrounds in the country, although many are not citizens. A 2015 study estimates that around 350 people in the country follow these beliefs.

There are a small number of Kuwaiti Baha'i citizens. While the official 2013 census only shows three categories of religion: "Muslim", "Christian" and 'other', with only 18 people in the other category, another source claims there are around 400 Baha'is in total in Kuwait.

There were some Kuwaiti Jews before the 1950s, however all Jewish families left Kuwait in the 1980s. Recently there was a teenager named Yousef Al-Mahanna who secretly practiced Judaism and wanted to go to Israel and the Kuwaiti government threatened him that if he went to Israel they would take away his Kuwaiti citizenship, and an estimated few dozen Jewish resident foreign workers

There are approximately 300,000 non-citizen Hindus in Kuwait.

Approximately 100,000 non-citizen Buddhists reside in Kuwait

Hospitality

Young Kuwaitis celebrating the anniversary of the independence and liberation of Kuwait in 2011.

Kuwaiti culture, like many other Arab cultures, places great importance on hospitality.

The Greeting: Kuwaitis traditionally greet each other by shaking hands and kissing on the cheeks. Traditionally men and women exchange no more than a few words and may shake hands in greeting to respect the woman's privacy. However, it is common for women and men to kiss each other on the cheek if they are related. It is also customary in the greeting to ask long series of questions about health, that of relatives, their jobs, etc.

Tea and coffee: Hospitality is often shown by offering tea and coffee. It is rare that the guest who enters a house, office or even some shops, is not offered tea or coffee. Kuwaiti Bedouins customarily interpret a guest's refusal as an insult.

Food: Food plays an important role in Kuwaiti culture. Kuwait's traditional food is known as Machboos and consists of lamb, chicken or fish over or mixed with a large amount of prepared cooked rice, similar to Indian biryani. Curry sauces and small side dishes complement the main course. Traditionally it is eaten with the hands, although nowadays many prefer to eat them with western cutlery. Usually the food is prepared and served in large quantities and it is very common to invite diners to share the food.

Diwaniah

The diwaniah is a unique institution of Kuwaiti culture, which is not known in other countries of the Persian Gulf. Diwaniah are gatherings of men that usually take place in the evenings, one, two, three times a week or even every day. Usually, men meet in comfortable armchairs and discuss any subject, be it political, social, economic, local or international, without fear of being persecuted. Diwanahs can be considered as a symbol and proof of the country's democratic spirit and freedom of expression. Usually the guest serves tea or a snack. Some merchants and members of parliament advertise their diwaniah in the newspapers so that members of the public can visit them.

Women sometimes have their diwaniah too, although they are not as widespread and do not mix with the men's Diwaniah.

Music

Music playing the Table at the 8th Kuwait International Music Festival

Kuwait's musical tradition was well documented until the Gulf War, when the Iraqi army destroyed the archive. However, Kuwait has maintained an active music industry, both before and after the invasion. The music reflects the various influences of Kuwaiti culture in general, including music from East Africa and India.

Kuwait is, along with Bahrain, the center of sawt, a type of popular music with an air of blues. It was popularized in the 1970s by Shadi al Khaleej (the Bird Song of the Gulf). Nabil Shaeil and Abdullah El Rowaished are the most popular sawt artists today. Both include influences from techno music and European pop.

Other popular groups include the Al-Budoor Band.

Traditional music and dance

Kuwaiti traditional music is performed mainly by women in private, with some all-female music bands performing concerts at public celebrations. Simple percussion instruments such as small drums (mirwas) and clapping are the only instruments commonly used. Wedding songs include al-Fann, during which al-Khamary and al-Sameri are also danced individually.

The sailor's song Al Arda Al Bahariya is widely known in Kuwait, as are the al-Nahma-type songs that accompanied sailing duties.

Mawled are recitations from sections of Muhammad's biography, sung at religious festivals

The Bedouin are known for their use of an instrument called the rubabah, although they also use the oud, the tanbarah (stringed instrument), and the habban (bagpipes).

The al-Fareesa was a dance performed by women disguised as men on certain national and religious holidays. The dance is performed as a battle between a knight and two attackers. Other traditional dances include a saber dance called ardah (accompanied by drums and tambourines) and women's dances called khamari, tanboura, fraisah, zifan and samiri. Kuwait is not 100% Muslim, there are other religions such as Christianity that covers 5%.

Parties

February 25 is the national holiday and February 26 is Liberation Day.

Sports

Showers in a local football game.

The Kuwait national soccer team made history by qualifying for the 1982 Soccer World Cup, which was their first and, to date, the only World Cup in which they have qualified. But within the World Cup they only got 1 point after drawing 1-1 against the extinct Czechoslovakia, losing 1-4 against France and being defeated again, this time against England 0-1.