US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT5100

UNCLAS KUWAIT 005100 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PGOV, SOCI, PREL, PINR, VT, KU 
 
SUBJECT: APOSTOLIC NUNCIO RAISES VATICAN CONCERNS 
ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN KUWAIT 
 
 
1. (SBU) Ambassador, DCM, and PolOff met with 
Mounged El-Hachem, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, 
Bahrain, Qatar, and Yemen, on December 10. El-Hachem 
praised Kuwait's general atmosphere of religious 
tolerance but said two concrete issues would receive 
a great deal of his focus. 
 
2. (SBU) First, to provide more worship space for 
the Roman Catholic community, he will pursue plans 
to build an unobtrusive two-story structure for 
prayer and community events that will not offend 
local sensibilities. El-Hachem said he would be 
satisfied with renting or buying property -- 
preferably in the Abbasiyya neighborhood -- and that 
the Church would be happy to have a Kuwaiti Catholic 
be the actual owner or renter. (Note: Approximately 
200 of Kuwait's 900,000 citizens are Christians. End 
Note.) 
 
3. (SBU) Second, the Church operates three private 
schools in Kuwait. Catholic students are not 
permitted to receive any Christian religious 
instruction and El-Hachem hopes to obtain permission 
to provide catechism to Catholic schools during the 
time allotted for the study of Islam by Muslim 
students. El-Hachem does not want to impose the 
teaching of Christianity on Muslim students but 
rather to give Christian students the option of 
studying their religion as part of the private 
school curriculum. Currently, the Ministry of 
Education prohibits any non-Muslim religious 
instruction in schools. 
 
4. (SBU) The Ambassador urged El-Hachem to add a 
third issue to his list of concerns: the treatment 
of domestic workers. The Ambassador also suggested 
that El-Hachem use his influence to keep this issue 
on the minds of other diplomats. El-Hachem 
enthusiastically agreed and at some length voiced 
his personal dismay at instances of abuse of 
vulnerable employees. He promised to do all he could 
to seek improved working conditions for these 
employees. (Note: Many of Kuwait's foreign laborers 
are Christians and often turn to religious centers 
when they have problems with their employers. End 
Note.) 
 
Bio Note 
--------- 
 
5. (SBU) El-Hachem, a Maronite, claims a special 
attachment to the U.S., since his father was a U.S.- 
citizen and World War I veteran before he returned 
to his homeland of Lebanon. His career includes 
extensive experience in the Vatican's State 
Secretariat as well as teaching courses on Islam. He 
 
SIPDIS 
mentioned that he was not aware of any past or 
present native Arab permanent Vatican 
representatives to the Middle East, and believes his 
appointment is part of Pope Benedict's initiative to 
increase the Vatican's diplomatic outreach to the 
Muslim world. Religious freedom issues in Saudi 
Arabia clearly worry him more than those in Kuwait, 
but he has only unofficial responsibilities there. 
 
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Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
You can also access this site through the State 
Department's Classified SIPRNET website 
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LeBaron