News

News

TRH spend a second day in Kuwait

21st February 2007

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall toured Kuwait's largest mosque today and used the occasion to discuss interfaith issues with religious leaders from the Gulf state.

Their Royal Highnesses visited the impressive Grand Mosque and were taken on a detailed 40-minute tour inside the vast building during the second day of their 10-day overseas tour of five Gulf States.

The Prince and The Duchess arrived at the Grand Mosque and paused briefly to remove their shoes before entering the building.

The Prince is well-known for his work to encourage greater dialogue and understanding between faiths, especially between Islam and the West.

His Royal Highness has a particular interest in Islamic art and founded The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts to encourage and foster the traditional crafts that are rooted in the major faiths.

Their Royal Highnesses looked around the impressive vast prayer hall of the Grand Mosque, which can hold 10,000 male worshippers.

The mosque has a 141ft (43m) high dome and, as Their Royal Highnesses walked underneath it, their guide, Mohammed al Weteb, told them its interior surface was decorated with the "Asma al-hosna" - the 99 names of god.

The guide told his guests that the prayer area for the women was separate from the men, in a first-floor room which overlooks the prayer hall.

He joked: "The women, they pray above us and they can see us and keep an eye on us, but we can't see them."

The Prince and The Duchess were entertained by a group of schoolchildren, who recited a verse from the Koran in Arabic which stated those who did good deeds go to heaven.

The youngsters, aged six and seven, then answered questions from their teacher about the mosque.

When one little boy was asked how much the building cost to make, it appeared he had forgotten, but then he shouted out "14 million Kuwait dinar (£28 million)!”.

Later, The Prince and The Duchess joined the Kuwaiti Minister of Religious Affairs and Justice, Dr Abdullah Matouq Al Matouq, to discuss dialogue between faiths.

A spokesperson for Clarence House said after the meeting: "They exchanged views on ways to combat extremism and how to promote an understanding of Islam as a moderate and peaceful religion."

"They talked about the fact that 60 per cent of the population of Gulf countries are under 25 and unemployed, and tackling that is an important way to reduce the likelihood of extremism and anti-social behaviour."

The spokesperson said The Prince also talked about the work of his Prince's Trust, which works to help disadvantaged young people in the UK.

He added that also taking part in the discussions were the leaders of groups promoting more positive relations between Islam and the West and moderate religious views.

During the tour of the mosque The Prince also talked to Iman Martin, from the Western Perception of Islam Centre, based at the religious building.

Mrs Martin is originally from the UK but converted to Islam as a young woman and has lived in the country for the last 18 years.

The Prince and The Duchess then visited Sadu House, to meet traditional Kuwaiti craftsmen and women and to see an exhibition of Islamic artefacts loaned by The Prince’s School for Traditional Arts.

Al Sadu, a term used by the Bedouin of Kuwait, means ‘wool weaving’, one of the oldest Bedouin traditional crafts. To prevent its decline, the Al Sadu project was formed in 1979, and in 1991 the project was converted into a co-operative society which is now owned by the weavers themselves.

Their Royal Highnesses were greeted by Sheikha Altaf Al-Sabah, a member of the Ruling Family and a driving force behind Sadu House.

A bright red number 38 Routemaster bus and dozens of schoolchildren waving Union Flags greeted the royal couple when they arrived.

The Prince and The Duchess spent time chatting to the youngsters who came from a number of English language schools in Kuwait City before viewing an exhibition of works by staff, students and alumni of The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts.

The Prince stopped to talk to Graham Hawkins, headteacher of the British School of Kuwait, who drove the number 38 bus, with two friends, from England to the Gulf state in November 2005 after buying it for £7,000.

He said afterwards: "We bought it for the school as a symbol, there are none in London now. We had quite a few adventures bringing it over!”

The Prince and The Duchess were shown examples of different types of traditional Kuwaiti cloth made from camel and goat hair, and wool, as they toured the building.

Their Royal Highnesses watched as Umm Turki, a weaver for 28 years, made a rug
on a loom.

The Bedouin craftswoman spoke through an interpreter and described to The Prince and The Duchess how she grew up in the desert where the women would weave tents - known as "house of hair" - from goat hair.

In an outside courtyard The Duchess joined two women wearing a full veil, or niqabs, as they wove brightly coloured threads together.

She told them "It must be very satisfying finishing it, it's extremely neat."

The Duchess then added, joking: "I'm not going to try this one, I think I'll ruin it."

Before they left, The Prince tried on a brown Bisht with gold trim, which is a traditional long robe with wide sleeves.

Afterwards The Prince of Wales visited the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation for a series of displays and discussions about plans to reduce Kuwait’s carbon emissions.

---