Manama: A planned lecture by an Egyptian Salafi scholar has been cancelled by the organisers of an annual festival in Kuwait amid reports that lawmakers had opposed his presence in the country.
Mohammad Yacoob had been reportedly invited by the organisers of “Hala February” to deliver a lecture on Sunday evening. However, under pressure from lawmakers who rejected his ideas as divisive and as a risk to Kuwait’s social unity, it was cancelled.
MPs Khalil Al Saleh, Youssef Al Zalzala, Nabeel Al Fadhl and Faisal Al Dowsan said they were shocked that the religious figure had been invited to Kuwait, local daily Al Seyassah reported on Monday.
They reportedly said that the government should take action against those who invited him to Kuwait and scheduled his lecture.
“I wish to know whether those who are behind this invitation will face legal action for targeting the country’s national unity,” Al Fadhl said.
Al Zalzala said that the government had a duty to preserve “Kuwait’s beautiful image.”
“It is so odd that whenever we are done with an issue that might have caused divisions within Kuwait, we fall into another issue that is at least as risky,” he said, quoted by the daily. “They bring here people who are known for sowing divisions. We want the government to issue orders to declare this man persona non grata and make him leave Kuwait so that we do not suffer a setback that we should hate to have,” he said.
However, those who supported the scholar defended his presence in Kuwait and said that the government was caving in to the demands of sectarian lawmakers.
