Kuwaiti priest finds acceptance in Gulf emirate

Dressed in a traditional white Gulf headdress and with two red crosses embroidered on his black clerical robe, Kuwait's first homegrown priest cuts a unique figure in the predominantly Muslim emirate.

The Rev. Emmanuel Benjamin Jacob Gharib, 68, celebrates both the Bible and Gulf Arab culture with his Christian congregation in Kuwait City.

Gharib, who will soon celebrate the 20th anniversary of his ordination, stressed the level of acceptance he has felt from fellow Kuwaitis.

"Everyone welcomes me wherever I go," he said.

Born in the Qibla district of Kuwait City, Gharib was raised in a devout Christian family and surrounded by mostly Muslim neighbours.

Like many Christian Kuwaitis, his roots lie elsewhere in the Middle East.

His father was born to an Assyrian family in south-east Turkey, which fled to Iraq due to the targeting of Assyrian Christian minorities under Ottoman rule.

Later, with the former Ottoman cities reeling from the upheaval of World War I, Gharib's parents decided to build their future in Kuwait.

'Turning point'

Emmanuel Gharib graduated from engineering school with a degree in geology in 1971 and soon found a job at the Kuwaiti oil ministry.

Ten years into his career, he and and his wife took part in a religious conference in Kuwait.

"That was the turning point," he said.

He quit his job and embarked in 1989 on a theology degree at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo.

He was ordained as a priest in 1999 and was later elected to head the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait, becoming the first and only Gulf Arab priest.

He also serves as vice president of the Islamic-Christian Relations Council in Kuwait, which he co-founded in 2009.

'One of our own'

The anniversary of Gharib's ordination next year will coincide with the 85th anniversary of the Evangelical Church in Kuwait.

But the presence of Christians in Kuwait dates back to the early 1900s, he said.

Over the past century, Christians have immigrated from Turkey, Iraq and Palestine during periods of upheaval, gaining citizenship under a 1959 Nationality Law, although a later law banned non-Muslims from naturalisation.

At the last count, Gharib said, Kuwait has 264 native Christians from eight extended families, out of a total native population of 1.35 million.

The local Christian population is dwarfed by 900,000 expatriate workers of various Christian denominations and nationalities -- from Lebanese to Filipinos.

Unlike Saudi Arabia, which bans the construction of churches, Christians of different denominations are "free to practice" in several churches and Kuwait City municipality has provided land to bury their dead, he said.

Christian Kuwaitis say they feel a greater sense of identification with one of their own as priest.

"An Egyptian or Lebanese priest performs the same liturgy, but a Kuwaiti priest can communicate the teachings of the Bible in the Kuwaiti dialect," said Abu Nader, a 63-year-old parishioner.

"Our relationship with him is very strong... He is one of us," 54-year-old Eyad Noman said.