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by Lynne Roberts on Sunday, 02 September 2007
Kuwait switched to a Friday-Saturday weekend yesterday from its original Thursday-Friday, bringing the country in line with most of its fellow Gulf states.The move, designed to give the state an extra day with major trading partners, met with objections from Islamist MPs who called it ‘unIslamic’ and said it was done to please the Western world. Clerics say Islam forbids the imitation of Jews and Christians, and that the decision has been imposed based on the interests of a small group of businessment is following suit
Proponents argue Islam neither prescribes nor prohibits Saturday as a day of rest, and say the move will boost the economy. The Thursday-Friday Muslim weekend is now applied only in Saudi Arabia and Oman out of all of the six GCC nations. In Saudi Arabia, an attempt to switch to a Friday-Saturday weekend was blocked by the Shura Council, but the initiative is still on the agenda.The change applies to public sector offices in Kuwait. Private sector companies are not bound to follow the government, but most already work to a Friday-Saturday weekend to be more in line with international markets.
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