On Tuesday the 28th, we did a talk with Naif Al-Mutawa, the creator and author of "The 99," a revolutionary cartoon/comic book series that is attempting to, in his words, "provide better heroes for Muslim children" in the Middle East and around the world. Every new comic book edition/show introduces one of the 99 powers of Allah as listed in the Koran. By personalizing these powers with heroic characters, all from different countries, Al-Mutawah is attempting to dispel misconceptions about Islam, engender cross-cultural appreciation, and provide Muslim children non-extremist alternatives to look up to. Some religious figures in the Islamic world are against it because it personalizes Allah, and making God into a figure is banned in the religion. Some Right-wingers in the US and Europe, unsurprisingly, are against this show's expansion into Western media markets because of its lessons rooted in Islam, although they are peaceful ones that promote tolerance among cultures. Our discussions with him were in part filmed by CNN, which is doing a piece on the series. I will post the link to the video once it is up.
The series has been spoken about by President Obama, and Al-Mutawah was recently named one of the top-50 "Influential Muslims" of the world. Al-Mutawa also operates one of Kuwait's only psychology clinics, in the same building.
The 99 Website
Al-Mutawa TED Talk
 |
| Classmates with Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa (center), photo by Wilco Carey |
On Wednesday the 29th, we traveled by ferry to Failaka Island, a Kuwaiti island only several miles off the coast of Iraq and Iran. This island was Saddam's first target during the Gulf War, and the Iraqi military effectively destroyed most of it. Due to government disfunction, the destruction on this island has laid largely untouched since the offensive, more than 20 years after the attack. This is a gorgeous island that could likely be developed into a serious tourist destination, but government inaction unfortunately leaves it as if the War was only yesterday. The population, thousands before the War, is only about 100 today. We also saw camels on the island, and jet-skiied off the beaches in the Persian Gulf.
 |
| Gulf War Iraqi military truck |
 |
| Gulf-War Iraqi Tank |
 |
| Gulf War Iraqi anti-aircraft gun |
 |
| Wild camels |
 |
Camel herder
|
 |
| Camel |
 |
| Gulf War damage on Failaka, mosque in background |
 |
| Bank damaged in Gulf War |
 |
| Interior of bank damaged in Gulf War |
 |
Me jetskiing on Persian Gulf
On Thursday the 30th, we met with the two heads of the Kuwait Investment Authority, which is charged with making strategic investments with Kuwait's money to earn a return for the country's treasury, and providing an economic future after oil. It was a very interesting discussion, and we asked questions and discussed such issues as Kuwait's credit, the Kuwaiti welfare state, and the urgent problem of economic diversification after oil runs out.
Also on Thursday, we had dinner with members of the Al-Sabah family, hosted by the daughter of the current Emir of Kuwait. It wasn't the "Emir's palace," but rather a huge compound/complex that houses a large group of the Al-Sabah family. It was fascinating to have discussions with them, and all of the boys on the trip wore our traditional Kuwaiti "dishdashas."
 |
| Boys of the trip with Badria Al-Sabah, the Emir's Granddaughter |
|
And finally: Kuwait City...Fast!!
No comments:
Post a Comment