Thursday, May 30, 2024
Amir inaugurates Al-Zour refinery
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah attended and auspiced the official inauguration of Al-Zour refinery operations on Wednesday morning, held at the Al-Zour petroleum complex. The motorcade of His Highness the Amir arrived at the venue of the ceremony, was welcomed by His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Imad Al-Atiqi.
Also, the CEO of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, and the Acting CEO of the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC), Engineer Wadha Al-Khateeb welcomed His Highness the Amir as well. The event was attended by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and seniors officials, as His Highness the Amir unveiled a memorial plaque of the project.
The ceremony began with the national anthem and a recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by a speech by Dr. Imad Al-Atiqi in which he described Al-Zour refinery as one of the key projects in Kuwait’s development plans and a cornerstone of the 2040 Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s strategic plan.
Dr. Alatiqi confirmed that the refinery has a significant role in supplying local power stations with clean fuel to meet the increasing demand for electricity due to population growth in the country. He also explained that the pioneering project embodied the transformation of the developmental vision of “New Kuwait 2035” The project provided job opportunities for national labor, with approximately 1,400 recent graduates employed to participate in this monumental national industry, he added.
Dr. Alatiqi announced that with Al-Zour inauguration, they successfully achieved an extraordinary refining capacity exceeding two million barrels per day, distributed across six oil refineries, three of which located in Kuwait: Mina Abdullah, Mina Al-Ahmadi, and Al-Zour, collectively producing 1.415 million barrels per day.
The other three refineries are located outside Kuwait: Al-Duqm in Oman, Nghi Son in Vietnam, and Milazzo in Italy, with Kuwait’s share of their total production reaching approximately 600,000 barrels per day. Then a documentary about the journey of the Al-Zour Refinery was displayed, followed by a speech By KIPIC Acting CEO Engineer Wadha Al-Khateeb.
Al-Khateeb said the inauguration of Al-Zour Refinery was an accomplishment added to the Clean Fuel Project at Al-Ahmadi and Abdullah Ports Refineries, launched in March 2022, which was “a milestone in history of oil and gas industry in our beloved nation, particularly refining industry.”Al-Zour Refinery will have a production capacity of 615,000 barrels per day, she said, a strong push for Kuwait oil refining in line with international environmental standards, which would also enable KPC and its affiliate companies to expand the export and marketing of their products. She said Al-Zour Refinery was capable of receiving all kinds of oils and could produce high-quality products like fuel oil, deisel, naphtha and low-sulfur fuel oil. These products, added Al-Khateeb, could be exported to more than 30 countries in the region and around the world through a pier attached to the refinery.
Al-Zour Refinery also includes the largest complex for sulfur cracking units, said Al-Khateeb.She said the new refinery would boost the State of Kuwait’s refining capacity from 800,000 bpd to 1.415 million bpd. Al-Zour Refinery, she went on, would also use treated water for industrial and irrigation purposes. It includes stations to monitor air quality and used special boilers to reduce emissions.
She said the oil sector was keen on contributing to facing climate change to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.Next, the Youth Advisory Board of the Al-Zour Refinery presented a segment titled “Technology and Innovation” and displayed a documentary about the oil industry in Kuwait. His Highness the Amir then officially initiated the operation of the Al-Zour Refinery, he was presented with a commemorative gift on this occasion.
His Highness the Amir conducted an inspection tour of the refinery, observing its vital facilities and receiving detailed explanations about the project’s operations from seniors and experts accompanying him. After finishing the inspection tour His Highness the Amir left the ceremony with the same warmth and appreciation with which he was welcomed. — KUNA
Kuwaiti scholars caution against uninformed fatwas, stress Sharia compliance.
To issue a fatwa is a precise task and a great responsibility, requiring extensive knowledge and a deep understanding of Islamic law. The Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, warned against negligence in this matter by saying: “The most daring of you to issue a fatwa will be the most daring of you to go to Hell.” This warning indicates that daring to issue a fatwa without sufficient knowledge will lead to its doer. To dire consequences.
In our current era, some people notice the spread of fatwas from people who lack the necessary qualifications, as some have begun to give themselves the right to issue fatwas simply because they have memorized some Qur’anic verses or have a superficial knowledge of the Prophet’s Sunnah. This situation raises important questions about the extent of these people’s qualifications to issue fatwas and the impact this has on people. the society.
In this context, we will present the opinions of some Sharia scholars who explain the conditions and controls that must be met by a mufti, and the importance of referring to specialized scholars to avoid unqualified fatwas that may mislead people and harm them.
At first, Dr. Ajeel Al-Nashmi, former dean of the College of Sharia, member of the International Islamic Jurisprudence Academy and the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy, told “Society”: Whoever leaves the fatwa to everyone who has a superficial knowledge of the Sharia sciences, stressing the need for the mufti to be qualified and recognized for his righteousness, and to have extensive experience in the Sharia sciences, He is able to analyze the legal evidence and know what is more likely than not, with a good understanding of the reality in which the questions are being asked.
Dr. explained. Al-Nashmi said that fatwas are divided into two types: The first: individual fatwas related to issues of what is permissible and what is forbidden in family and marital relations. These are sufficient for the muftis in each country, as disagreement is accepted and the opinions of the local muftis are sufficient.
Second: Complex contemporary issues such as medical, economic, and banking issues. These require two types of fatwa authorities: The first: Fatwa bodies in specialized institutions, especially economic ones, and the second: Comprehensive jurisprudence academies that bring together multiple opinions on the same topic to enrich the discussion and come up with a unified opinion that is agreed upon by the majority. The participants in these academies must be scholars well-established in knowledge without external influence on them. Whether political or otherwise, the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy was considered a successful example in this regard.
Dr. confirmed. Al-Nashmi is the seriousness of the fatwa matter, as it is related to revealing the ruling of Sharia law in new facts or calamities. Therefore, the unqualified or those with superficial knowledge of Sharia sciences cannot address this matter; Because whoever performs deduction must be familiar with its tools and how to use them to extract judgments from detailed evidence. That is, from the Holy Quran and the hadiths of the Prophet.
For his part, Dr. said: Khaled Al-Madhkour, Chairman of the Fatwa Committee at the Ministry of Endowments: Islam warns against following the opinions of those who are not scientifically qualified. Because they mislead the people and mislead themselves, as the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said: “God does not seize knowledge by seizing it from the servants, but He seizes knowledge by seizing the scholars, until, when He does not leave a scholar, the people take ignorant people as their heads, and they are asked and give fatwas without knowledge, with merit And they went astray.” Whoever issues a fatwa without knowledge will result in the loss of lives, money, and honor. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever issues a fatwa without knowledge, it is as if he was slaughtered without a knife.”
Dr. noted. The aforementioned pointed out that scholars and preachers must, when faced with fatwas that cause confusion and strife, refer to the official jurisprudence councils or approved fatwa committees, because they bear responsibility for the fatwa if it is wrong, and he warned of the danger of issuing fatwas without knowledge, stressing that this leads to serious problems, The ignorant mufti must be legally prohibited so that he does not influence people due to his weak opinion or ignorance.
Dr. confirmed. It is mentioned that issuing a fatwa is not an easy task, and that scholars who are aware of its danger avoid it out of piety and fear of bad consequences. He explained that the jurists have set general conditions for whoever undertakes to issue a fatwa, including that he be knowledgeable of the principles of jurisprudence, conversant with the jurisprudence of other scholars and their evidence, knowledgeable of the abrogated and abrogated, the correct and preferred, and proficient in the rules of the language. Arabic grammar, morphology, and rhetoric.
Dr. called. The aforementioned points to the importance of collective ijtihad and staying away from individual ijtihad as much as possible, especially in vital issues that concern the nation. These issues must be studied by a large number of jurists and scholars to issue a collective fatwa on them, because collective ijtihad combines several characteristics that are not available in individual ijtihad. Many research papers are written and subjected to long discussions, and some opinions may prevail as a result of these discussions. Then decisions and recommendations are issued based on what scholars have reached, which makes them strong, coordinated, and sensitive to the interest of the Islamic nation.
Union of Kuwait Charity Organizations condemns tent incineration in Rafah.
Union of Kuwait Charity Organizations has strongly condemned the Tents Holocaust, a brutal massacre committed by the Zionist occupation army in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. The massacre resulted in the martyrdom of 40 civilians and the wounding of 65 others with varying injuries. The head of the Union, Saad Marzouq Al-Otaibi, emphasized the importance of opening crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of civilians and provide them with basic needs such as food, water, and medicine.
Al-Otaibi called on the humanitarian and international community to take responsibility and put pressure to stop the "Israeli" aggression completely. He also stressed the need to provide a decent life for civilians in the Gaza Strip, who suffer from the ongoing siege and repeated attacks. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has deepened due to the continued occupation of the Rafah crossing and its closure to the entry of aid trucks. This implemented blockade further aggravates the humanitarian situation and prevents relief from reaching those in need.
The Union will continue its efforts to support the situation in Gaza through coordination and cooperation with charitable associations, foundations, and institutions in Kuwait to contain the worsening humanitarian crisis and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian brothers. The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs plays a prominent role in facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, coordinating with international organizations and donors to ensure aid reaches those who need it as quickly as possible.
Al-Otaibi appealed to the Gulf Cooperation Council, the League of Arab States, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to strengthen their humanitarian initiatives and intensify their diplomatic efforts to open the crossings and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid without restrictions. He concluded his statement by calling on all international and humanitarian agencies to take immediate action to end the siege on the Gaza Strip, ensure the continuous flow of humanitarian aid, provide protection for civilians, and put an end to their daily suffering.
