The success of Islamists in ousting Kuwait's information minister underscores the strength of fundamentalist groups in the emirate. Mohammad Abolhassan, the only Shiite minister, resigned on Sunday under pressure from Sunni Islamist MPs who were gearing up to question him over his alleged failure to protect the values of society by allowing musical concerts. He became the third information minister to be forced out of office by Islamists in the past seven years, all on similar pretexts of "not protecting morality".
Abolhassan's resignation was a "major victory for hard-line groups ... and their extremist ideas," said Sayed Mohammad Baqer Al-Muhri, who heads Kuwait's Shiite Clerics Congregation. The entire issue was sectarian in nature, he charged. For almost two decades, Islamist groups have been the most powerful lobby in Kuwait's outspoken elected Parliament thanks to their well-organized grassroots. "Islamist groups are from within Kuwaiti society. They represent an ideology that exists in the country ... They want to protect the principles of the nation," said Hussein Al-Saeedi, spokesman for the Salafi Movement.
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