KUWAIT CITY (AP) — A member of Kuwait's parliament says he is facing charges of insulting the nation after saying he supports legalizing the sale of alcohol in the predominantly Muslim country.
Nabil al-Fadhl told The Associated Press late Sunday that controversy was sparked after he first proposed repealing a law that bans dancing at public music concerts and festivals. Kuwaiti law bans people from dancing at concerts, though they are allowed to clap their hands and sway.
After his proposal, al-Fadhl said he was asked in parliament by an Islamist lawmaker if that means he would also support legalizing the sale of alcohol during concerts.
"Why not? Historically, many people in Kuwait drank alcohol on many occasions," he said he replied to the query.
The Kuwait Times later reported that several lawmakers swiftly condemned al-Fadhl "for saying that liquor was part of Kuwait's history and ancestors were tolerant toward allowing its consumption in the past."
Kuwait's first parliament banned the sale of alcohol in 1964. It is a sin in Islam to consume alcohol, though it is sold legally with some restrictions in the Gulf countries of United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
One lawmaker, Saud al-Huraiji, was quoted in the Kuwait Times as saying that al-Fadhl had "clearly undermined the image of Kuwaitis and the country's history." Lawmaker Humoud al-Hamdan said "the ancestors of Kuwaitis were well known for their fight against moral corruption, including the use of liquor."
Al-Fadhl said an Islamist lawyer filed charges against him for his remarks, accusing him of insulting the honor of Kuwaiti society.
Fadhl said he was only mentioning "facts about alcohol in Kuwait's history." On the black market, he said, people can buy a bottle of whiskey for 120 dinars ($408).
"It's available in ample amounts, but only affordable to the rich," he told the AP. "A good start would be to allow people to bring in their own alcohol from abroad instead of confiscating it."
Al-Fadhl, who is an independent lawmaker, said that despite his personal views, he is not planning to propose a bill to legalize the sale of alcohol.
The best part you know the royal families drink. The 911 as hoes were at a strip bars drinking the night. Who in the hel wants 79 virgins?? Give me couple of good pros any day. But I digress.
This will never be settled until the crusades occur again.There was a reason it happened once and trust when a nuke goes off in LA or Chicago, Or they just keep shooting up malls. It will occur.
Let's just do them in and get over it. CAUSE IT WILL COME DOWN TO US OR THEM!!And if your not a Christian, their still chopping your head off!!!
All you need is the secret squirrel handshake to get in!
Yeah, America really likes to "spread freedom and democracy" around the world.
in the UAE, it is not allowed for a performer to get off the stage and mix with audience. Similarly, a person from the audience cannot go to stage.
Islam, in contrast to this internal individualistic morality, makes morality an external thing. Morality is not so much about personal reflection as outward conformity. As such, guilt in the Western sense of the word does not exist. Shame caused by failure to outwardly conform is the primary moral force within Islam. Without a sense of guilt, there is no need for a conscience. Islam's externalization of morality transfers the obligation to think morally to authorities outside of the individual. Oftentimes, the state becomes the moral authority in Islamic societies because, as a creed, Islam is fundamentally political. The ummah itself is a pseudo- or meta-nation, and the Shariah is a blueprint from which the polity of Islam consistently emerges wherever the religion spreads.
What is the ultimate consequence of transferring one's moral responsibility to an outside authority? What does moral conformity and shame culture create? Well, among other things, it creates individuals who are not sure of themselves. A culture of shame and conformity creates individuals who cannot think morally for themselves. And when external moral authority proves to be corrupt, cruel, or brutal, the conformists, the morally handicapped followers of the authority, often become the unintentional instruments of evil.
One would be correct to say that Western men have not always chosen to act morally. They have often been cruel, brutal, and greedy. That is true. What is also true, however, is that the choice to be moral or immoral has been their individual choice. The same cannot be said for men and women in Islamic civilization who have for almost 14 centuries been encouraged by their creed to submit to the will of Allah by conforming in terms of behavior, appearance, and thought.