Our Biggest Fans
Kuwaitis are getting the Lebanese “scourge”
To every Lebanese with even a remote interest in politics, Kuwaiti Newspapers from the serious Al Rai Al Aaam to the frivolous Al Seyassah are household names. The papers’ interest in nitty-gritty Lebanese affairs raised many eyebrows, and their occasional scoops have made headlines in Beirut and caused noises in Parliament and on the streets. Just yesterday, on a popular Lebanese talk show (kalam Ennas), a Kuwaiti caller made an impassionate attack on Syria and on its Lebanese allies, causing the Hezbollah guest on the show visible irritation.
It is fair to wonder then: Why is Kuwait, a remote oil-rich gulf state among many others, so particularly interested in our politics?
Some people would argue that it’s because of the similarity in our geo-strategic positions: Small liberal states constantly bullied by bigger and stronger neighbors are likely to sympathize with each other. Others would argue that it’s because of Hariri’s connections in Kuwait. President Emile Lahhoud recently accused PM Hariri of sending ready-made news to Kuwaiti newspapers, only to re-publish them on his own Almustaqbal media.
Fair enough, but I think that there is one more, largely overlooked factor that greatly affects Kuwait’s behavior: Competition with other Gulf countries.
In a globalized world, Rich oil states, which at one point looked very similar, are discovering the need to differentiate themselves and find their own unique “niches”. Qatar created Aljazeera; the UAE wore a business-friendly face, Saudi Arabia emphasized its scale. Kuwait, after some soul searching, found itself in Parliamentary Democracy.
Kuwaiti Politicians never miss an opportunity to say how happy they are with their democracy and freedom. They tout their free and fair elections and (depending on who you ask) are proud of the fact that women will be allowed to vote and stand in parliamentary and local elections.
Since Lebanon is an Arab democracy with older and more mature institutions, a lot of Kuwaiti became Lebanonphiles, accepting the messiness that can come from such a role model as a necessary collateral.
But has this gone too far? A writer in Al-Arabiya thinks so. This is the best part of his article entitled “The Lebanonization of Kuwait:”
، فجلبوا الشباب والبنات من المراهقين ومجاميع تحت الـ18 سنة، وأختاروا اللون البرتقالي رمزاً لهم استوحوه من تيار العوني اللبناني، فيما اختار معارضوهم اللون الأزرق للتعبير عن أنفسهم كتيار المستقبل اللبناني أيضاً، فيما كان هناك نية لخروج الشيعة باللون الأخضر الذي يعتمده أخوانهم في لبنان أيضاً!
Any observer of recent developments in Kuwait can see how similar their issues are to ours: from election districting (small versus large) to Al-fassad (corruption), to orange-clad demonstrators and politicians. If you’re still not convinced, just check this post by a popular Kuwait blogger. “Eat more mangoes,” he said, “they’re messy, delicious, and ORANGE!!!”
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Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.
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But does Kuwait enjoy (or suffer rather) the projection of regional struggles on its territory?
Perhaps that can be true. But what I think is that there is a war of corporations in Lebanon right now. Kuwait wants a piece of the pie as well, Saudi and UAE both have their feet placed in Lebanon, Kuwait just wants to pitch in as well.
u know, i’ve noticed kuwait becoming more lebanese. however, i think this is because so many of them have moved there lately, and they insist so vociferously that they’re better than the rest of us that everyone has started to believe it.
Mustafa… i am sorry but I disagree with you on this post.
1. someone told me they picked the color orange coz the number 5 in billiard is an orange ball ;) plus aoun is not the first person to pick orange… have u forgotten ukrania?
2. kuwait has been a democratic country since its inception. kuwait has always been involved in lebanese politics, its not a recent thing since the amount of lebanese living in kuwait every since the 50s is a huge number PLUS kuwaitis always used to travel to lebanon and have homes in lebanon… since before the civil war.
the kuwaitis who visit lebanon love lebanon… and honestly, its not coz of the prostitutes or the night life (although those are bonuses) but walla coz of the lebanese nature.. the human nature as well…
as for the newspapers, u have to becareful, ahmed jarallah, editor of al seyasseh has his own personal issues with syria hence why he always attacks syria in his newspaper.
Rampurple,
finally an opinion from Kuweit :). I respect it, but I didn’t invent the colors aspect, I wrote the article after reading the one in Alarbiya (where the Arabic quote comes from)
Mustapha, I agree with Rampurple. The problem with the media is the tendency to publish speculations, comments with no evidence as reported news. When we were interviewed by the media, they all associated us with Aoun not realizing that the color orange represents peaceful change and struggle as opposed to red representing violence.
In Kuwait, the color blue represents the national color of our country. Green represents Shi’a worldwide and is used at Hussainiya’s everywhere including Iran.
Some people tend to be illiterate in means of domestic politics, social norms and culture leading which leads them to misunderstand the issue. As for Al-Siyasa and Al Rai Al Aam, these are B-rated newspapers that publish news as credible as tabloids do, the most influencial newspapers in Kuwait are Al Qabas and Al Watan.
4 years ago, I wrote my MA Thesis on the effects of Al Taif Accord, because I thought the Lebanese model for conflict resolution and the role Al Hariri played was phenomenal, but am I trying to immitate or create a Lebanon in Kuwait? No.
Finally, I would like the Lebanese to understand that they are pioneers in the road to democracy in the Middle East, and they should be proud that other young, Arab democracies are using them as role models, not bothered by it.