KUWAIT CITY -- Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might be in custody, but the process of building democracy in Iraq remains difficult. Kuwait offers an important model of Islamic tolerance. Like other Muslim states, Kuwait is filled with mosques. But Kuwait possesses something that many Muslim nations do not have: Christian churches.
Saudi Arabia is renowned for suppressing religious liberty, including executing apostates. Christian churches have been bombed and burned in Indonesia and Pakistan. Christians in Iraq worry about their future, with fundamentalist Shiites no longer restrained by Saddam Hussein's regime.
In contrast, Kuwait allows its many Christian residents to worship in peace. "We've never had any serious interference," observes Rev. Jerry Zandstra, a pastor at the National Evangelical Church, or NEC.