Kuwait

Kuwait

Kuwait

Kuwait City

Kuwaiti Dinar

One in Denmark that we're not summoned to, and one in Norway.

Kuwaiti Dinar

Kuwait

Don't get me wrong it's not like we don't have comedy in the Middle East.

Now, these are the world's first Islamic superheroes.

Kuwait s Parliamentary Revolution

Kuwaiti Democracy in Action

This tanker is bound for Kuwait.

It was one of our new fleet. Just came up from Kuwait.

Chinese, Indonesian, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish.

But I do know that I have seen a lot of changes.

I was recruited by the British Council, along with about 25 other teachers.

Where I've had some problems is some of the Arab countries, because I guess some of the Arab countries aren't getting along with Iran either.

This is Islam's influence on Hinduism and Judaism.

2.2 to 2.4 million barrels of oil a day the same league as Kuwait, the same league as Venezuela.

Kuwait has just held its eleventh parliamentary election since independence in 1961. Though Kuwait is a monarchy, its parliamentary history has not been placid, and the election campaign reflected ongoing tensions between the royal family and segments of the electorate.

But if another language can think that thought, then by cooperating, we can achieve and learn so much more.

Now, one of the things that I refer to when I about the importance of this message is that I gave a lecture at the medical school at Kuwait University, where I lecture on the biological basis of behavior, and I gave the students two articles, one from The New York Times and one from New York magazine.

With this election, Kuwaiti women participated in choosing the parliament for the first time. Though women have long been active in Kuwaiti public life, they were enfranchised only last year, after a long and difficult campaign, by a parliamentary vote, and accounted for just 28 of the 249 candidates.

But nevertheless, I was recruited by the British Council along with about 25 other teachers, and we were the first non Muslims to teach in the state schools there, in Kuwait.

According to Kuwait s constitution, the new ruler has one year to appoint a crown prince, but he has to appoint a prime minister immediately. The delay is significant, because Kuwaitis are unaccustomed to this kind of parliamentary influence.

We were brought to teach English, because the government wanted to modernize the country, and to empower the citizens through education.

Whatever the immediate outcome, the Kuwaiti government is facing a new political horizon. Women are now the majority of voters, and young people have taken up the reform banner.

Nevertheless, since the liberation of Kuwait following the Iraqi occupation in August 1990, the parliament has gained both stability and respect. The dissolutions of parliament in 1999 and 2006 were carried out according to the law, and elections were called in a timely fashion.

The 29 members of parliament who support a reduced number of constituencies were unable to agree with the government on a new number. As a result, the issue became the focus of a vigorous campaign by discontented Kuwaitis, who gathered in front of the National Assembly building and in universities to voice their criticisms.

In response, the government removed the redistricting issue from parliament to the constitutional court an attempt, reformers argued, to hold back change. When three members of parliament sought to question the Prime Minister their right, under the Kuwaiti constitution the parliament was dissolved and elections called.

The rules of political life in Kuwait have been worked out over 300 years since this small area emerged as a self contained polity. The royal family is empowered to administer the country, but through consultation with different sectors, like tribal leaders or merchant groups.

Most Kuwaitis see this very technical issue as a way of pressing for reform. Major regional issues, like the war in Iraq or Iran s nuclear program, were barely mentioned.

In exchange for voting to pass over the unfit Crown Prince, Kuwait s parliament is now demanding even more political and economic reforms, including the formal legalization of political parties, the separation of the position of prime minister from that of crown prince, and even for the prime minister to be chosen from outside the Al Sabah family. This was a true parliamentary revolution.

With independence in 1961, these rules were codified in a constitution. Compared to other Gulf monarchies, the Kuwaiti royal family has limited powers, though constitutional rules have frequently been ignored charges of vote rigging marred the 1967 election, and parliamentary dissolution has dotted the country s history.