Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Kuwait has been urged by its Islamist parliament to
establish a religious police force.

Officials said the Interior Ministry is examining the prospect of
forming a force that would enforce Islamic laws in the Gulf Cooperation
Council sheikdom.

The officials said the proposed unit has not been approved by
either the government or Emir Sabah Al Sabah.

“The nature of this force has not been determined and would probably focus on general vice,” an official said.

Officials said the Interior Ministry has been flooded with complaints by followers of Islamist deputies, who control Kuwait’s new 50-member parliament. They said the complaints center on Muslim women frequenting cafes, a taboo in several GCC states, particularly Saudi Arabia.

“The Criminal Investigations General Department prepared a security plan to maintain control in cafes for women in all six governorates,” an official said.

The official cited a new trend in Kuwait, the opening of women-only
cafes. He said more than 120 people were arrested for such violations as prostitution, gambling and consumption of alcohol.

“There is information about cafes that contain cabins where immoral
activities could be practiced.” the official told the Kuwaiti daily Al Rai
Al Aam.

Islamist parliamentarians, who intend to regulate the Internet as well
as Twitter, have long warned of growing Western influence on Muslim women in
Kuwait. The sheikdom contains about 25,000 U.S. military personnel as well
as forces from Britain and France.

“Twitter is an open area,” Mohammad Al Dallal, a member of parliament’s
Islamist bloc, said. “Everyone can speak. But it is not always being used as
social media in Kuwait — not about friendship or personal matters but it is
being used politically, to attack. This is a bad thing.”

  Emir Sabah Al Sabah, Interior Ministry, Islamist-controlled parliament, Muslim women frequenting cafes, regulating Twitter and the Internet, Women causing trouble in Kuwait by frequenting cafes