Religious Freedoms Report & Kuwait

Al-Watan newspaper published an article about the International Religious Freedom Report 2005, released on the 8th of November. After a quick search, the English version of the report was found. The section related to Kuwait can be found here.
Highlights of the section related to Kuwait include:

• There was some improvement in the status of respect for religious freedom during the reporting period.
• Religious Demographics note: It is unknown what the process was in calculating this.
• A private company, the Book House Company Ltd., is permitted to import a significant number of Bibles and other Christian religious materials, including videotapes and compact discs, for use solely by the congregations of the country's recognized churches.
• Women continue to experience legal and social discrimination.
• During the reporting period, there were no reports of the Government prohibiting state employees from displaying or practicing any elements of their faith. However, in late 2003, the headmistress of a public high school in Farwaniya district reportedly dismissed several female students for failure to wear the Islamic hijab (headscarf). The school readmitted the students and the headmistress was criticized widely in the local media.
• The Ministry of Interior, General Customs Department, arrested and deported 32 individuals in 2004 for allegedly practicing sorcery and confiscated alleged sorcery-related materials during the reporting period.
• While some discrimination based on religion reportedly occurs on a personal level, most observers agree that it is not widespread.
• The liberation of Iraq's Shi'a majority has increased the assertiveness of Shi'a in the country, who achieved some important gains against institutionalized discrimination during the reporting period. Some hardline Sunni Islamist extremists became more outwardly hostile toward Shi'a religious practices and distributed virulently anti-Shi'a leaflets outside Sunni mosques during the reporting period. To prevent an escalation in sectarian tensions and demonstrate the Government's commitment to religious freedom, the Prime Minister met separately with the various religious and political groups during the year to promote religious tolerance and combat extremism.