GOK GRANTS MELKITE CATHOLICS LAND FOR NEW CHURCH;

UNCLAS KUWAIT 004590 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRF KU SUBJECT: GOK GRANTS MELKITE CATHOLICS LAND FOR NEW CHURCH; COPTS YET TO BREAK GROUND REF: KUWAIT 807 ¶1. Summary: Long-time church ally Shaykha Fareeha announced the GOK's decision to grant 6,500 square meters to the Greek Catholics (Melkites) for the construction of a new church. They currently worship in a rented home whose owner just raised the rent 21%. According to Father Boutros Gharib, receiving the land signals official GOK recognition of the Melkites, making them the fifth fully sanctioned Christian church in Kuwait. Meanwhile, an ongoing zoning dispute has delayed the construction of a new facility for the Coptic Orthodox Church despite receiving a plot of land in 2003. End summary. ¶2. PolOff met with Father Boutros Gharib of the Greek Catholic (Melkite) Church October 24 to learn of the latest developments since the GOK's decision to grant land for the construction of a new church. Gharib and church board members told the DCM October 4 that long-time ally Shaykha Fareeha, the Amir's sister, fulfilled her promise to secure land for the Melkites (reftel). Gharib attributed the announcement to the Shaykha who personally championed their cause. (Note: Ambassador sent a request to the Amiri Diwan October 9 requesting GOK assistance in facilitating bureaucratic approvals. End note.) The approximately 2,000 Melkites currently worship beyond capacity in a rented home converted into a church, rectory and reception hall. The announcement came at the Melkites' September 29 celebration commemorating the 55th anniversary of their presence in Kuwait. ¶3. The new church would be located in Mishref although a specific plot has not been designated. Gharib shared that the Melkites had initially requested land in the more centrally located Salmiya district. The GOK told them, however, that the largest available parcel was only 1,500 square meters, insufficient for the church's needs. Gharib reported that their landlord, a Shi'a with whom they have had a difficult relationship, notified him October 23 that the rent would increase 21% from 1,200KD ($4,104) to 1,450KD ($4,959) per month effective November. The cleric lamented that the already exorbitant rent now rose to an "unbelievable and unheard of" level. (Note: These figures do not appear high to us for this market. End note.) ¶4. According to Gharib, the gift of the land signifies that the GOK now officially recognizes the Melkites, a move that would permit the church to display exterior religious symbols such as a cross and the congregation's name on the new facility. Their current location in Salwa has no visible indications of its use as a house of worship. If Gharib's assessment is correct, the Melkites would join the ranks of four other fully recognized Christian denominations in Kuwait: Anglican, Coptic Orthodox, National Evangelical (Protestant) and Roman Catholic. Gharib projects that the Melkites could open their new church as early as 2007. ¶5. In 2003, the GOK granted the Coptic Orthodox Church 6,500 square meters in Hawally to build a church large enough to accommodate the estimated 65,000 primarily Egyptian parishioners in Kuwait. To date, however, an unresolved zoning dispute with the Municipality of Kuwait dating back to July has delayed the Copts' ground breaking. Municipality members, responding to objections from the Islamist "Foundations of the Nation" assembly, contend that the Municipal Council inappropriately approved the land grant despite opposition from the Ministry of Interior and of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON