Kuwait revoked the citizenship of a prominent Islamic scholar named Tareq al-Suwaidan. The reason for stripping him of citizenship is not known.
The Kuwait Al-Youm Official Gazette stated that a decree to withdraw the citizenship of “Tareq Mohammed Saleh al-Suwaidan and those who have acquired it with him in a subordinate manner.” The gazette did not specify under what specific legislation Suwaidan’s citizenship was stripped. In recent years, the country has revoked the citizenship of Kuwaitis for a range of reasons, including accusations of fraud and forgery.
Suwaidan is one of the region’s most prominent Islamic speakers, has written dozens of books, and was listed among the 500 most influential Muslims in the world in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
He is also the CEO of the Gulf Innovation Group and a TV host. Reacting to the development, opposition and rights activists criticised ruler Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah of using citizenship-stripping as a means of persecuting critics and dissidents.
According to a report by Middle East Eye, since coming to power in December 2023, Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah has suspended the Kuwaiti parliament, a relatively unique institution in the largely monarchic Gulf.
At the time, the emir said that the Gulf state’s National Assembly would be suspended, as well as several articles of the constitution, in order to review the “democratic process” potentially until 2028.
Tens of thousands of Kuwaitis have been stripped of their nationality since then, much of it targeting women who obtained citizenship through marriage but were since widowed or divorced.
In November, Kuwait also withdrew the citizenship of former MP Mohammed Hussein al-Muhan and several of his relatives.
The authorities cited article 21 of the Kuwaiti nationality law, which allows revocation if nationality was granted “on the basis of fraud, false statements, or incorrect documents”.
Rights groups say that the move is illegal under international law because, as dual citizenship is not allowed in Kuwait, it leaves many of them stateless and cut off from vital services.
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