[MEMRI.ORG] Interviewer: "Today, we heard of a Kuwaiti citizen who converted to Judaism, and people say that he should be stripped of his [Kuwaiti] citizenship. This conversion, alongside his statements, are not important... Do you think that revoking his citizenship is justified in this case?"
Ali Al-Baghli: "No. We are a country governed by laws. It is not a crime and there should be no punishment unless it is written in the constitution. Article 50 of the constitution specifies that... Does our country's citizenship law – which has been turned into a game – state that a person should be stripped of his citizenship if he changes his religion? No, it does not. If it was a Jew who converted to Islam, we would be applauding him. Enough with that. It is a matter of personal liberty. If he is wrong, Allah will punish him. Why should we, as humans, interfere? After all, this religion existed even before our religion. It existed in the days of the Prophet Muhammad and the Rightly Guided Caliphs." |