Invisible and Visible Shi’a

The Twelver Shi’a in Kuwait constitute a minority amongst the country’s population. Compared to the situation of Shi’a in the region, they enjoy a good position economically and politically. While this political aspect of their identity frequently has been highlighted in scholarly literature, little has been written about how Shi’a ritual life relates to the political and economic spheres of social life. In this article, I discuss the performance of the annual Shi’a Ashura ritual in relation to the political status of the Shi’as in Kuwait. I show that the Shi’as’ public enactment of the ritual is multifaceted and revolves around the issue of ritual visibility. Ritual performance demonstrates compliance with as well as contestations of state authorities’ identity policy regarding religion and nationality, contestations within the Shi’a community, and contentions in relation to other groups in Kuwait.