Gulf | Kuwait

Kuwait bans preacher for inflammatory talk

Lecture broadcast on private TV station sparks public anger

  • By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
  • Published: 14:20 March 19, 2013
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Courtesy Al Qabas
  • Some of the demonstrators pressing for the ban.

Manama: Kuwait has barred a religious figure from entering the country, citing his abuse of Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) companions.

“Murtadha Al Quzwaini has been barred from entering Kuwait indefinitely for insulting and abusing many of Prophet Mohammad’s [PBUH] companions during a lecture he gave at a Shiite community centre in Kuwait and later broadcast on a private television station,” the Interior Ministry said.

“Al Quzwaini is of Iranian [descent] and holds a US passport. He entered Kuwait on January 5 and left for Iraq on January 15,” the ministry said.

The ban was announced after dozens of Kuwaitis, including former lawmakers, staged a demonstration late on Sunday in front of a police station in the Rigga area demanding that authorities refuse Al Quzwaini entry into the country, local Arabic daily Al Qabas reported on Tuesday.

“Several Kuwaiti citizens and I went to the police station to file a complaint against Al Quzwaini,” Dwaim Al Muwaizri, a lawyer, told the daily.

However, the case was not recorded officially on the grounds that the police station was not empowered to register such complaints, he said.

Video clips of the lecture given by Al Quzwaini were circulated on social networks, triggering widespread calls for him to be banned, the daily said.

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