The Ministry of Interior has set a special water-tight plan to tighten security measures near Hussainiyat (Shiite mourning houses) in the Islamic calendar month of Muharram, to start Wednesday, Oct. 14 and ends Friday Nov. 13.
In a press statement, the ministry said that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah held Monday a high-level meeting with the ministry officials including Undersecretary Suleiman Al-Fahad and his assistants for different sectors to discuss the different aspects of Hussainiyat safeguarding plan.
The conferees tackled the deployment, patrol and traffic police plans and pre-emptive security measures to ensure the safety of the people visiting Hussainiyat.
During the meeting, the minister said that security people would not condone any violation of law regards of the violators and would not allow holding any rituals outside Hussainiyat.
In this regard to, he urged the community leaders to do their best to make sure that all activities are organized inside the secured buildings. He added that he had given clear-cut orders to policemen to maintain the smoothness of traffic in the roads surrounding the Hussainiyat and to deal firmly with any violation. The minister also asked policemen to deal elegantly with people and to show high discipline during the plan enforcement.
Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled has expressed gratitude to directors and visitors of Hussainiyat for their cooperation and understanding of the security measures to maintain their safety.
The Ministry of Interior has been enhancing security measures around Shiite worship and congregation places after the suicide bombing attack, claimed by the so-called Islamic State In Iraq and the Levant, that targeted a Shiite mosque in Kuwait city last June and left 26 worshipers dead and 227 others injured.
Shiite Muslims hold a series of events usually in Hussainiyat, also known as congregation halls, to observe Muharram. The event marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was killed. The commemoration of the event during yearly mourning season, from first of Muharram to 20th of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calender, with Ashura (the 10th day of the Muharram) comprising the focal date.