IN MY last week’s article titled “People are in the religion of their government”, I had narrated the story of a Kuwaiti youth who is studying in the United States of America under the Kuwaiti government scholarship. I thought his scholarship was terminated because he got married to an American girl, which is prohibited as per Article 4 of the scholarship regulations of Kuwait’s Ministry of Higher Education.One of the relatives of this righteous youth clarified that his scholarship has not been terminated, and that when he decided to marry this American girl, he had called the Kuwaiti cultural attaché in the US to inform them about his intentions, and to enquire about the documents needed to validate this marriage.The youth was told that, if he marries the American girl, his scholarship will be terminated immediately and that he should look for a Kuwaiti or a GCC girl to marry if he intends to marry, as it is permissible to marry them while on scholarship.I was left in a state of awe when I heard it from one of the ministers in our wellguided government , which has filled Kuwait with mosques but has overlooked the existence of charity branches of fundamentalists that are collecting millions of dinars under the pretext of helping those in need, and scores of religious phenomena such as sermons which are broadcasted day and night on TV channels, radio, centers for memorization of the Holy Quran, the religious institutes and the Sharia college, which is not necessary.This government represented by Ministry of Higher Education is inciting, if not urging, our children to commit evil. Since thousands of us have studied in European and American educational institutions and universities, many of us had liberal female friends known as “girlfriends”. Such a culture of friendship with the opposite sex is accepted in those communities. Here, our government orders our children not to form legitimate relations with any foreign girl by officially marrying her.On the other hand, the government is urging our children to marry their fellow female compatriots or their GCC female cousins. When it comes to foreigners, either American or European or even Arab girls who are not from GCC countries, it is completely prohibited to hookup with them in a legitimate manner that is approved by Islam.It is like they are telling them that it is enough to court them by sharing homes, bathrooms, kitchens and even beds. A simple symbolic stance from us: what is the opinion of the fanatics of this country — the kinds who support the idea of Negative Phenomena Committee, customs and traditions, decorum and Islamic values — regarding this outrageous incitement from the government agency? What is their opinion concerning the incitement of our students to live in evilness and wickedness with the opposite sex, instead of within the institution of marriage, which is encouraged by Islam and other Ibrahimic religions in a bid to uphold proper healthy relations between the two sexes?By Ali Al-Baghli Former Minister of Oil[email protected]