Shia and Sunni Kuwaiti nationals prayed Friday prayer together at the Grand Mosque in a show of unity one week after a deadly blast ripped through Imam Sadeq (AS) Mosque which led to the killing of 26 prayers.
Share It :
With tight security following the last week incident, the ceremony was held attended by the emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and other security officials, reported Taqrib News Agency (TNA).
The move aims stressing national unity in the country and also highlighting the fraternity and affection tying all Islamic denominations in Kuwait.
The attack was claimed by the Saudi affiliate of the Sunni extremist group ISIL, which also carried out bombings at two Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in May, killing 25 people.
The (P) GCC on Thursday called for a united stand following the string of bombings, calling them “criminal acts not linked with Islam and its values”.
The authorities hailed the solidarity among Kuwait’s people, saying it sent an unequivocal message to those conspiring to stir up sectarian strife.
Following the attack on the Imam Al Sadeq mosque, billboards across Kuwait went up showing an image of the Kuwaiti flag wrapped around a hand, with the slogan: “We stand as one.” One of the landmark Kuwait Towers was graced with an illuminated message of condolence that referred to those killed as martyrs.
Sunni activists took to social media urging Sunnis to pray at Shiite mosques, while Kuwaiti celebrities appeared in television commercials speaking about unity.
At Kuwait’s Grand Mosque on Friday, prayer leader Sheikh Waleed Al Ali, a Sunni, called for national unity and urged Muslims to abandon extremist ideology saying, "Extremism has led to this bloodshed."
Both Sunni and Shiite worshippers stood in rows beside each other, each praying according to their tradition.
"Our message today is that Kuwait is united and nothing will ever succeed to divide us." said Abdullah Nuri, a Shiite engineer adding, "The highly positive reactions by our Sunni brothers after the blast made us very satisfied."
"This is a proof that Sunnis and Shiites are the same and that they [terrorists] will not succeed in dividing this country," said Abdullah Al Nejada, a Shiite cleric participating the prayer.
Shiites make up about a third of Kuwait’s 1.3 million citizens.
“This is a clear message to terrorists that you will not succeed in your plot. This is the Kuwaiti response to you,” MP Khalil Abul said he left the mosque.
"This prayer is a prayer of unity," he said and noted, "This heinous crime only brings us further strength and tolerance. Thank God it made our enemies fools. Were they under the illusion that with this crime they would create discord?"
Joint prayers were also held in Bahrain on Friday, where dozens of Shiites and Sunnis prayed side by side in a mosque near the capital.
The joint prayers were a show of Bahraini “unity in the face of those plotting against the Arab and Islamic world”, said Bahrain’s justice and Islamic affairs minister, Sheikh Khaled bin Ali Al Khalifa.
