(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Eight days ahead of the deadline set by the law and the Interior Ministry for the handing over of unlicensed firearms and ammunition without facing penalties, Kuwaiti scholars urged people to cooperate with the authorities and quickly fork over their unlicensed arms.
The scholars argued that the campaign to collect unlicensed weapons and ammunitions would boost the state security and people safety through preventing weapons related crimes such as terrorism, drug dealing and murder.
"Islamic teachings clearly advocate such noble objectives," Head of the Islamic Studies Department at Kuwait University's Sharia College Dr. Bassam Al-Shatti said in an interview with KUNA.
He called on all citizens and expatriates to help the Ministry of Interior to prove such a campaign a real success.
Al-Shatti stated that such kind of cooperation is what the Quran, Islam's holy book, recommended and lauded as cooperation in good deeds.
He expressed admiration of the wide-scale awareness campaign launched by the Ministry of Interior to educate people about the grave impacts of the spread of weapons on the safety and security of the society.
He noted that everybody in Kuwait has noticed the worrying increase in murder crimes and armed rubbery recently.
The main factor in all such crimes was the presence of unlicensed arms and ammunition at the hands of irresponsible people, he pointed out.
Dr. Mohammad Al-Tabtabae, former dean of Kuwait University's Sharia Collage, shared the same view.
"Retaining security is one of main purposes of the Islamic law," he told KUNA.
He expounded that "to achieve this goal, there should not be unlicensed weapons at the hands of people." Al-Tabtabae underlined that the firearms collecting campaign was greatly needed after the violent acts and weapons-related crimes have gone rampant in the country.
He stressed that "it is obligatory on everyone to cooperate with the Ministry of Interior and to abide by its instructions related to the handing over of unlicensed firearms and ammunitions to achieve the higher interest of the society and maintain security and stability." He extolled the initiative taken by hundreds of citizens to voluntarily hand over their weapons to the Ministry of Interior.
In three months, the Ministry of Interior has received 1,700 pieces of unlicensed weapons, including machineguns, pistols and hunting rifles, and five tons of ammunition.
The Ministry has set up 38 centers to receive unlicensed arms nationwide and allocated a hotline (1-888-830) to facilitate the handover of weapons.
For his part, Preacher Dr. Bader Al-Hajraf said that the campaign to recover weapons has been a public demand.
"The widespread of weapons is a serious threat to homeland security and people safety," Al-Hajraf told KUNA.
He urged citizenry to act positively with the campaign and to contribute to its success.
Meanwhile, Director General of the Interior Ministry's Public Relations and Security Media Department Brigader Adel Al-Hashash called for quick hand over of the unlicensed arms and ammunition to the centers opened for such a purpose nationwide before the deadline, June 22.
"Anybody who has firearm and fails to deliver it during the stated period will be prosecuted," he told KUNA.
He added that the Security Media Department has exerted relentless efforts to raise people awareness about the dangers of possessing unlicensed firearms or ammunition.
The unlicensed firearms collection law, passed by the National Assembly on January 28, stipulates that anyone possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition could be jailed for five years and be fined by up to KD 10,000 or one of the two penalties.
It also increases the jail time to 10 years and the upper limits of the fine to KD 50,000 for anyone who deals (i.e. buying or selling) in unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The law allows police, after taking proper authorization from the public prosecutor, to search any public location and private or public vehicles if there was cause to believe the existence of unlicensed or unlawful firearms or ammunition.
It also stipulates that people with unlicensed firearms and ammunition who choose to hand them in to authorities would be exempted from punishment. Such people have four months from the time this law is in effect to hand in their unlicensed weapons to be considered for exemption.
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