ABSTRACT
The moral and financial support given by the Kuwaiti regime to the Islamist political groups contributed significantly to the spread of the ideology of these groups in the social body; the regime allowed their influence to spread even in state institutions, where schools and educational institutions have become centers for mobilization and recruitment. In addition to the Ministry of Awqaf, health centers, co-operative societies, youth centers and Quran centers have all become dominated and controlled by these groups; they are used as centers for spreading their ideologies through issuing publications and posters. These groups are active among students, laborers, intellectuals and merchants. They are also active in mosques and Haj (major pilgrimage) and Umra (minor pilgrimage) campaigns. They always lead campaigns for collecting Zakat and charity donations from the citizens. They try to convince the girls at schools, and during meetings after schools in one of the houses owned by one of the female leaders, to wear al-Ziyy al-Slami (Islamic clothes). Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah criticized the attitude of the Kuwaiti Government towards these groups, and warned of their dangerous practices on both the government and society by saying:
The only justification for that is to seek and gain the trust of the active Islamic groups in Kuwait . . . I say with bitterness that the country has been abducted by these self-styled Islamic groups, which are in fact exploiting Islam as a cover to conceal their political identity. They seek to climb on the shoulders of the regime and control the political process in the name of Islam, and their activity in Kuwait is the evidence . . . their suspicious behavior is not a barrier in the face of their expansion, but unfortunately, the government has let them be free since the liberation and allowed them to move freely into the foundation of societies, branches, and committees, which has enabled them to play a strong role in Kuwaiti life, thus offending the Kuwaitis. I am confident that I express the opinion of the Kuwaiti street when I say that the silent majority feel this sense . . . They even have the guts to intervene in the Cabinet formation and the choice of ministers. Unfortunately, the regime responds to the conditions ruled by them.
