SOUTH ASIA

RESEARCH
www.sagepublications.com
DOI: 10.1177/0262728014560475
Vol. 35(1): 120
Copyright 2015
SAGE Publications
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TRANSNATIONAL RELIGIOUS
DYNAMICS OF SYRIAN CHRISTIANS
FROM KERALA IN KUWAIT: BLURRING
THE BOUNDARIES OF BELIEF
Ginu Zacharia Oommen
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, India

abstract This article focuses on changes in religious practices and the

rise of radical religious groups among Christian Kerala immigrants to
Kuwait after the First Gulf War in 19901. Theimpact of religious
revivalism shows how religion has become a site for various identity-
based community-centred networks among South Asian immigrants
to Gulf countries. The article analyses the ways in which the church
is increasingly active among Syrian Christian immigrants of Kerala
in post-liberation Kuwait. Such religious groups are transnational in
nature, actively linked to both home and destination countries, and
the world beyond. The article focuses specifically on the growing
affinity of Syrian Christian immigrants towards Pentecostalism.
At the macro level, this article also investigates the interconnection
between the geopolitical dynamics in the Gulf and the expansion of
what appears to be religious space in Kuwait.
keywords: Christians, Gulf migration, identity, India, Kerala,
Kuwait, Pentecostalism, religion, Syrian Christians, transnationalism

Introduction
The changing socio-cultural strategies and dynamics of migrants from Kerala to the
various Gulf countries have remained insufficiently researched.1 Irudaya S. Rajan (2004:
27) reports that according to Government of India figures, nearly 6 million Indian
immigrants live in the Gulf region, specifically the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries.2 There are probably many more Indian worker migrants in the Middle East
by now. Significant numbers of those people come from Kerala and many are Christians.
This article addresses a highly sensitive topic, studying socio-religious changes among
non-Muslims in Muslim-majority countries of migration. It analyses changes in religious
practices, specifically the rise of certain radical religious groups among Kerala immigrants
after the First Gulf War in 19901 in Kuwait, and focuses specifically on Syrian Christians.
2 South Asia Research Vol. 35(1): 120

The aim is to understand the impact of religious revivalism by studying how religion
has become a site for various identity-based community-centred networks among these
immigrants. Groups inclined towards taking fundamentalist positions, such as Pentecostal
and Evangelical Christian denominations, but also some Muslim organisations with
strong Wahabi traditions such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, and Hindu groups like the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and followers of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (AMMA), all
have made inroads into the lives of Keralite migrants in the GCC countries.
This article examines, specifically, the growing affinity of Syrian Christian migrants
from Kerala in post-liberation Kuwait, who have traditionally followed their old
church, towards sects/practices like Pentecostalism. These new religious groups are
now becoming transnational in nature, actively linked to both home and destination
countries, and the world beyond. At a wider regional level, this research therefore
also identifies interconnections between the geopolitical dynamics in the Gulf and
the expansion of religious spaces in the Middle East generally, especially in Kuwait.
What needs to be further researched is to what extent such perceptions of religious
development need to be understood also as reflections of blurred boundaries within
wider social, and specifically ethnic, contexts among diaspora communities.

Overview: The Emergence of a Christian Diaspora

Indian migration to the Gulf countries has been both transitory and circulatory
in nature, which heightens the transnational activities of the immigrants and their
complex links with the sending country. Moreover, lack of social interaction with local
people, and resulting social alienation felt by immigrants in most GCC countries,3
has strengthened their quest for spiritual and religious identity. This study investigates
to what extent religion plays a role in the reorientation of immigrants lives in the
host country environment. Specifically, what role can and do religion and religious
institutions and structures play in (re)creating a sense of belonging?
The history of Syrian Christian migration dates back to the early 1900s when there
was a massive outflow to Southeast Asia, mainly Singapore and Malaysia. However, the
hostile situation in parts of Southeast and East Asia, a traditional area of emigration
since colonial times, and the discovery of oil in the Gulf diverted the flow of Syrian
Christians as worker migrants to West Asian countries. Kuwait was the first Arab Gulf
country that opened its doors to the indigenous Christian community of Kerala. In the
late 1940s, a small group of members of the Marthoma Syrian Church began to set up
worship services in the region. The oil boom of the 1960s accelerated the immigration
of Syrian Christians to GCC countries, which simultaneously led to the establishment
of more Syrian churches across the Gulf countries, except Saudi Arabia.
Since the late 1960s, remittances from the Gulf have been a major source of income
for Syrian churches in Kerala and notably, all the Syrian churches now have separate
Gulf diocese/diocesan bishops. Serving in a diaspora diocese is considered a very
prestigious assignment among the clergy. Currently, there are nearly 60 Malayalam
Oommen: Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians 3

churches in the GCC countries that include both Syrian Christian and Catholic
denominations, besides various Pentecostal and Charismatic groups. Until the 1990s,
the fact that the church was trying to woo immigrants was nothing more than a routine,
low-key affair. However, as this article shows, in the new millennium, the role of religion
has dramatically increased among Indian immigrants, especially within the Syrian
Christian community, for which a major development has been the rise of Charismatic/
Pentecostal churches. These Pentecostal churches propagate a predominantly global
religion, which emphasises the gospel of prosperity. Pentecostal spirituality is a unique
blend of faith and wealth and it plays today, as this article demonstrates, a major role
in reshaping the religious identity of South Asian immigrants to the GCC countries.
Analysing the increasing popularity of Pentecostalism, this article also examines
the influence of the American Evangelical movement among second-generation
Syrian Christian immigrants. Digging deeper, one sees a gamut of issues that has led
to the assertion of the church in the life of expatriate workers. The regions political
instability and economic slump, the hostile social environment and the communitys
continued social alienation from the host society have all invigorated this phenomenon.
Specifically in Kuwait, Iraqs invasion of the country in 1990 and the subsequent
expulsion of worker migrants from Kuwait inflicted a sense of insecurity on Syrian
Christians. One of the main features of the post-liberation phase has not only been a
renewed increase in worker migration, but also the proliferation of various religious and
caste groups and the explicit display of religiosity in everyday life among immigrants.
The prominence of Evangelical prayer groups with charismatic pastors, huge donations
to missionary activities, popularisation of tithe, increasing dependence on pastors/
clergy and emerging trends for pilgrimage to the Holy Land reflect the exuberant
presence of religion in immigrants lives.
The stress in the life of a construction worker to earn enough money in the limited
contract period, or anxiety over the extension of ones work visa, has also encouraged
people to turn to the seductive appeals of these new churches. While accumulation of
wealth remains a major concern for immigrants, the struggles in this process generate
anxiety, stress, competition and insecurity. As a result, in the GCC countries, popular
religion in the form of Charismatic Pentecostal groups seems to have attained the upper
hand over official religion, since the newly popular religion stresses the prosperity
gospel. A large number of immigrants, especially young people, have moved away from
their traditional churches. The article examines how existing religious structures have
undergone a notable transformation to cope with evolving domestic and international
socio-economic and geopolitical developments.

Wider Conceptual Framework

Patterns of immigration have changed since technology has enabled distances
between the home and the host society to contract as never before. Studies on other
Christian groups moving to a new land have shown that immigrants establish and

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maintain familial, economic, political and cultural ties across international borders,
in effect making the home and host society a single arena of social action (Ruiz, 1999:
95). Contemporary migration is marked by acceleration of the pace of interaction
between the host and home setting through multiple networks. Transnational migrants
simultaneously live therefore in at least two settings. Religious communities simulate
transnational movements which challenge the way in which we have imagined religion
and politics traditionally, basically by blurring imagined boundaries. The current phase
of international migration has set in motion a plethora of such transnational movements.
They are transnational in the sense that they refer to movements which come into being
within the social intricacies and specificities of certain communities, yet are increasingly
identified and appropriated outside (Waldinger & Fitzgerald, 2004: 11789). Migrants
retain their religious beliefs and traditions through various kinds of social and economic
links with the home country (Levitt, 2003: 753), yet also experience change. Technological
advancements have strengthened migrants links with home countries. Yang and Ebaugh
(2002: 278) identified a number of immigrant congregations that kept in daily contact
with the sending country through the Internet. Many migrants make efforts to sustain
such relations through transnational religious practices as well (Levitt, 2004: 5).
Although social scientists have written extensively on the role of religion in diaspora,
very little research has been done on the impact of transnational religious groups in the
sending countries. Rudolph and Piscatori (1997) conclude that in todays post-modern
age, religious communities have become vital agents in the creation of a transnational
civil society. But there is also an inward-looking tendency. Immigrants lean towards
familiar religious institutions to escape the hostility and discrimination of their settings,
and also to reconstruct and achieve social recognition. Vertovec (1997: 2735) argues
that new rituals and religious practices reinforce the homeland ties of the immigrants.
At the same time, newly moneyed migrants rely heavily on the religious trajectory for
the strategic conversion of economic capital into prestige and status (Osella & Osella,
2003). Changes in religiosity and religious practices are, in turn, influenced by migrant
experiences based on their religious beliefs in their host countries.
In the context of Kuwait, factors such as social alienation, work pressure, geopolitical
dynamics and the lack of social space have prompted Kerala immigrants to move
closer to religious spheres in an alien setting. For Syrian Christian immigrants,
the transnational religious institutions are operating as one of the viable networks
connecting sending and receiving countries. Moreover, the unique social situation
in Kuwait has reshaped religious and ritual practices and has notably reinvigorated
community and denomination-centred identity.

Syrian Christian Migration to Kuwait

While in 1990, the total number of Indian expatriates in Kuwait was nearly
170,000, around 80,000 Keralites returned to Kerala during the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait in 1990 (Zachariah et al., 2003). According to an interview conducted by
Oommen: Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians 5

the author with the Indian ambassador to Kuwait on 15 January 2009, there were
nearly 590,000 Indians in Kuwait then, with Keralites accounting for around 4050
percent.4 Keralites started migrating to Kuwait after the discovery of oil in 1946
and there were nearly 600 immigrants from Kerala in Kuwait by 1948 (Zachariah
et al., 2003: 21).
Zachariah (2006) reports that Christians, including Syrian Christians, form
18.6 per cent, roughly 6 million people, of the population of Kerala. Indian
Syrian Christians, one of the oldest Christian sects in the world, alone comprise
nearly 3million. Syrian Christians of Kerala are defined as persons born to Syrian
Christian parents who follow the Syrian rite (Mathew & Thomas, 2005). Keralas
Syrian Christians comprise different denominations like Syro-Malabar, Malankara
Catholics, Jacobites, Orthodox Syrian Church, Marthomites, Caldhaites, Cannanites
and Protestant Syrians. Earlier, the community was concentrated in and around five
or six districts of Kerala. However, given their high rate of education, occupational
diversification and few local job opportunities in the community, Syrian Christians
migrated to other states in India and abroad.
The first group of Syrian Christians came to Kuwait in the late 1940s as workers at
the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and at the American Hospital. The oil boom of the
1960s accelerated the migration of Syrian Christians to the GCC countries and led to
the establishment of Syrian churches across the Gulf countries, except Saudi Arabia.
Kuwait was one the first GCC countries to allow Syrian Christians to worship and
form congregations. Members of the Syrian Christian community engage in various
occupations, working as nurses, doctors, company secretaries, managers, technicians,
electricians, drivers, paramedics, industrial labourers and construction workers.
Most Syrian Christian migrants belong to the moderate-income group, with both
husband and wife engaged in work. Many Syrian Christians work in secondary and
tertiary education. Women of the community mostly pursue nursing, paramedical
professions and secretarial jobs. Unlike other worker migrants, a substantial number
of Syrian Christians in Kuwait reside with their families. Males are predominantly
engaged in blue-collar employment, with some of the younger generation involved
in professional jobs.
In Kuwait, roughly 4050 per cent of the migrants from Kerala are Christians,
another 40 per cent are Muslims and the rest are Hindus. Syrian Christian expatriates
flocked together under the banner of the Kuwait Town Malayalee Christian
Congregation (KTMCC), founded in 1956 for inter-denominational worship in
Kuwait City at the American Hospital Chapel. As the first non-white congregation
of the GCC states, it comprises various Syrian denominations. KTMCC consists of
seven Kerala non-Catholic churches: Marthoma, Orthodox, Jacobite, Church of South
India (CSI), St Thomas Evangelical, Brethren and Indian Pentecostal. According to a
rough estimate, non-Catholic Kerala Christians in Kuwait would be around 35,000
and Kerala Catholics would be nearly 50,000. Presently, in Kuwait, the Marthoma
Church and the Orthodox Church have three congregations each, while the Jacobites,

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Cannanites and CSI have one each. There are 13 priests from Kerala who serve in
the various churches of Kuwait. Indians are not permitted to construct churches in
Kuwait, however, and the member churches of the KTMCC worship at the National
Evangelical Church of Kuwait (NECK) premises. Kerala Catholic denominations like
the Syro-Malabar and the Malankara Syrians conduct their worship at the Catholic
Church at the Vatican Embassy premises in Kuwait City.
In Kuwait, there is no official government list of recognised churches. However,
seven Christian congregations have some form of official recognition, which enables
them to operate openly.5 NECK is an ecumenical registered body of the Protestant
Church to help mainly migrants conduct worship. NECK comprises of the KTMCC,
the English Language Christian Congregation (ELCC) and the Arabic Language
Congregation and has a pluralistic administration. The chairman comes from the Arab
congregation, the vice-chairman from the Anglican congregation and the secretary is
from the Malayalee group. All mainstream churches, except Catholics, are permitted
to conduct their worship at the NECK premises.

Geopolitical Dynamics and the Rise of Christianity in Kuwait

The history of Christians in Kuwait began in the early 1900s after Reverend Dr Samuel
Zwemer and Reverend Fred Barney, missionaries from the American Reformed Church
of America, arrived in Kuwait in 1900. Subsequently, in 1911, Kuwaiti Amir, Sheikh
Mubarak Al-Sabah, granted permission to the American Reformed Church under the
leadership of Dr Scudder to build a hospital, which was finally completed in 1913
(Sharaf, 2009). The KOC was established in 1934 as a partnership between Gulf Oil
and British Petroleum. Since many staff members were Christians, the KOC built two
churches in the Ahmadi area of Kuwait in the late 1940s and until now, these two
churches are maintained by the KOC. The American Hospital Chapel was converted
into a church in the mid-1960s. Currently, NECK is located in the American Medical
Mission premises.
There is a small Arab congregation of approximately 150200 families of local
Kuwaiti Christians. The first Christian family came from southeast Turkey and
Iraq in the beginning of the 1920s and they have been in Kuwait for over 90 years.
These Kuwaiti Christians belong to the Presbyterian congregation and the Reverend
Immanuel Ghareeb is the lone native pastor of Kuwait (Sharaf, 2009).
After Kuwait gained independence from Britain in 1961, in the 1970s and 1980s,
the Kuwaiti ruling elite tried to maintain a degree of neutrality between the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States. However, towards the end of the
1980s, Kuwait switched its allegiance completely to the United States. The IranIraq
War was the decisive factor in consolidating yet closer US ties, and the Iraqi invasion
of Kuwait and the subsequent US intervention further strengthened KuwaitUS
relations. After the liberation of Kuwait, church activities picked up, most probably
Oommen: Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians 7

because of the discernible presence of Americans in the country. For instance, the US
Department of State (2009) report on religious freedom notes:

the U.S. Government discusses religious freedom with the Government as part of its
overall policy to promote human rights. Intensive monitoring of religious freedom matters
remained an embassy priority. During the reporting period, embassy officials met with
senior representatives from the major recognized Christian denominations, encouraged
them to present their concerns in a unified manner to the Government, and advocated
on their behalf in high-level meetings with government officials.

The American intervention in Kuwait altered the social dynamics of the Arab Christian
minority, and also expanded the non-Islamic space in Kuwait. In January 1999, the
Arab congregation in Kuwait ordained Reverend Immanuel Benjamin Ghareeb as a
priest for NECK. He graduated from the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1989
and is the first Kuwaiti Christian to be ordained with the support of the American
Episcopal Church (Sharaf, 2009). Further, in December 1999, the Bible Society
established its distribution office, the Book House Company. Kuwait was also the first
country among the GCC states to allow the Bible Society to set up an office. Currently,
NECK has an agreement with the Kuwaiti government to import books and gifts that
relate to the Christian faith through the Book House Company. Kuwait became also
the first GCC member to establish full diplomatic ties with the Vatican in 2001, and
to allow the Vatican to represent its interests in the region. Currently, the American
Revival Church or the Light House Church is a well-established congregation with
more than five American pastors. The website of the Light House Church shows the
multiple spiritual activities of the American missionaries for expatriates. The senior
priest of the Light House Church has resided in Kuwait since 1985 and now, the
church has an official Bible College and an American School. These developments
are relevant for the Keralite diasporic communities and contribute to the blurring of
boundaries discussed here.
In Kuwait, during my fieldwork in the Christmas season of 2009, I witnessed the
display of religious symbols like the traditional Keralite Christmas star, bursting of
crackers and loud carol singing in the streets by migrants. Some of the older respondents
informed me that such public displays of Christianity are a more recent phenomenon,
occurring only after the liberation of Kuwait. The non-intervention of the government
regarding public celebrations of traditional Indian Christmas customs could be due to
the strategic dependence of the Kuwaiti regime on the Americans.
Unsurprisingly, the public expansion of Christianity has been sharply criticised by
Islamists. For example, in February 2012, some Kuwaiti Members of Parliament (MPs)
openly called for a halt to the construction of new churches in Kuwait. Kuwaiti MP,
Osama Al-Munawer, announced on Twitter that he was planning to submit a draft law
calling for the removal of all churches in the country (Shane, 2012). This was followed
by the call of the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia for the demolition of all churches in the

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GCC states, including Kuwait. The displeasure among some sections of the Kuwaiti
population at the open presence of Christians in the country shows signs of increase.6

The Invasion Syndrome

On the first day of my stay in Abbasiya, a predominantly Keralite settlement in Kuwait,
I was astonished to see immigrants, especially males, walking with bibles in the streets,
heading towards prayer meetings organised in individual houses and halls. By evening,
I could hear loud chants and Christian songs, mostly from the basement of buildings
(normally called Underground Churches), a routine affair in Abbasiya today, and
clear proof that spirituality and the role of religion have increased dramatically in the
post-liberation phase in Kuwait. I was told that for many respondents, worship and
church had been a routine low-key affair till 1990. Life was more relaxed, the Kuwaiti
immigrants were relatively the richest immigrants due to the high pay scale and other
welfare schemes of Kuwait and people often went on weekends for picnics to Iraq
or to drink alcohol. However, the invasion altered the socio-economic and religious
perceptions of the migrants, especially among Syrian Christians, to a great extent.
Mathew Joseph, the marketing manager of Kuwait Airways, said that the invasion had
a deep impact on the minds of the people. It has increased the need for investment
and need for spirituality.
Since the invasion, there has been a drastic change in the activities of the church,
as well as in peoples attitudes towards spirituality and religion. The majority of
respondents confirmed that the invasion had been a big setback and that life in Kerala
during the interim period had been highly traumatic and dreadful. Indian worker
migrants had to leave Kuwait despite having debts in India and being burdened
with social commitments such as the marriage of sisters, education of siblings and
unfulfilled promises of bringing immediate family members and friends to Kuwait
for employment. One respondent told me:

I came to Kuwait in September 1989 and I was the first member from my family to reach
the Gulf and had to pay a huge amount of money to the travel agent. So I pawned my
property to obtain the required amount. After arriving in Kuwait I asked my sister to
join a nursing programme in Tamil Nadu and I had to pay donations to secure admission
for her. I took a loan thinking that I could repay it eventually. But the invasion was a big
shock and I was clueless. It shattered all my dreams and I landed in Kerala with huge
debts and finally left for Bombay in search of a job to support my family.

Many migrants narrated difficulties and unpleasant relations with siblings and family
members in Kerala. The unexpected arrival of the Kuwait returnees was a sudden shock
to their families who were not ready to shoulder the responsibility of debt-ridden
siblings from abroad. The invasion changed both the economic and spiritual strategy of
Kerala migrants. A good number of migrants in Kuwait currently had begun investing
in building homes and buying land in Kerala, and they also became more concerned
Oommen: Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians 9

about the needs of their immediate family members. Their attitude towards investments
in their childrens education also underwent a sea change. Most immigrants I spoke to,
including recent arrivals to Kuwait, articulated a common phrase to me in Malayalam:

Anything can happen here. There is no sense of security and mental peace here. Our job
is so insecure here and we are rotating our lives as a machine for making money without
enjoying life qualitatively. Prayer at the Pentecostal Church is a big relief to us. We were
Christians before migration, but we found God in Kuwait.

The invasion syndrome haunts immigrants deeply even today. It has influenced the
Kerala migrants mainly at two levels. First, it resulted in the clustering of migrants
from the same social setting in respective neighbourhoods. At present, Keralites are
mostly settled in Abbasiya, apart from Mangaf, Salmiya, Riggae, Abu Halifa and a
few other places in Kuwait City. Most Keralites, especially Christians, prefer to live
in Abbasiya, which is called mini Kerala. Second, it has been causing immigrants to
turn increasingly to religion and transnational religious organisations.
This fits a pattern. Hirschman (2004: 1228) argues that for immigrants who are
separated from their homeland and from many relatives, religious membership offers
a refuge in the sense that it creates a sense of belonging and participation in the
face of loss and the strains of adjustment. Participation in religious rituals provides
comfort to those enduring hardships in an alien land, especially in a socially alienated
environment like Kuwait. Yang and Ebaugh (2002: 278) also note that religious
mobilisation helps immigrants cope with marginalisation by providing fellowship,
social services and leadership positions to compensate for the downward mobility
many of them experience.
Geopolitical instability, economic recession and psychological stress have increased
the attraction of immigrants to spirituality and thereby helped the assertion of religion,
especially by more radical religious groups among the migrants. Economic growth
and financial undercurrents in Kuwait were slow till 2003, and even rich Kuwaitis
were not ready to invest in their own soil. The American invasion of Iraq changed
the insecurity phobia to some extent, after which the internal economic trajectories
attained momentum. A diplomat at the Indian Embassy placed this feeling of insecurity
in the wider context of geopolitical dynamics in the region when he said:

Until 2003, the Kuwaitis too were going through a great sense of insecurity and economic
scrutiny. Even they were not ready to make any further investments and this further
aggravated the sense of timidity in the economic market which inevitably heightened the
nervousness of the immigrants and also heightened the feeling of uncertainty.

I was told that working conditions in offices and hospitals have become stricter, with
stringent penalties even for mild errors, and the workload has increased dramatically.
Nurses and medical professionals explained to me the unprecedented level of
psychological pressure and disgrace they may have to endure in the workplace.

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One of the main features of the post-liberation phase among Kerala immigrants
is the proliferation of various religious and caste groups and the explicit display
of religiosity in the day-to-day life in the host setting. The numerical increase of
migrants also has a direct impact on the proliferation of religious worship centres and
transnational religious groups, particularly the so-called Charismatic Christian groups.
Notably, all communities have opened their own religious centres in post-liberation
Kuwait. Six Islamic organisations are functioning actively for Kerala Muslims.7 Among
Hindu migrants to Kuwait, both spiritual and caste groupings are widespread.8
As mentioned earlier, the main centres of Christian immigrants are Abbasiya,
Ahmadi, Salmiya and Mangaf. Currently, all the Syrian Christian denominations have
more than three congregations in Kuwait. Earlier, the Marthoma Church had only one
parish in Kuwait City, but now it has increased to three parishes in Ahmadi, Salmiya
and Abbasiya. Similarly, the Indian Orthodox Church has expanded to three worship
places in Kuwait City, Ahmadi and Salmiya. Smaller Syrian Christian denominations
like Jacobites, Cannanites and Syrian Protestants also have their own congregations in
Kuwait. In addition, there could be nearly 5060 Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in
Kuwait. Overall, a complex picture of geographically confined Christianity emerges
in this particular diasporic space.9

Churches as a Place for Social Recognition and Refuge

Worship centres have also become places for the recognition and display of individual
success. Church designations like secretary or trustee are seen as symbols of social
mobility and recognition. Annual elections of office bearers are now common in the
Syrian churches of Kuwait. One vicar pointed out that competition for leadership
in church often ends up in conflicts and personal rivalries. Elections for the church
hierarchy are a month-long affair with house-to-house campaigns by the candidates,
which is not a common practice in Kerala. Religious institutions are the only avenue
to display ones success in a socially alienated host setting. Most males involved in
parish politics are from middle-income groups and the educated/high-income groups
generally abstain from the internal affairs of the parish. One of the respondents
commented that nurse husbands were actively involved in church politics to attain
recognition and status in the community. Many respondents did not bother to discuss
the internal skirmishes in the community and tried to project their contribution as
being in the welfare of parish.
Members compete with each other for their childrens participation in the choir
and to play musical instruments during church services. There are incidents of people
leaving the parent church and moving to a Pentecostal Church for not being properly
accommodated in their church. Young migrants often complain about the monopoly
of the veterans, older immigrants, in church affairs and the unwillingness of the older
immigrants to accommodate the newcomers in the church. During one interview, a
church leader boasted about his proximity to the bishops. His living room was decorated
Oommen: Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians 11

with his photographs with the bishop and political leaders on the occasion of various
church functions he had organised.
I observed that the church has become a kind of epicentre for many respondents
and the frequency of their participation in religious activities has highly increased.
However, the participation of women in church activities remains quite limited, though
many women earn more than their men. It is middle-income and less-educated males
who are reportedly engaged in parish activities in Kuwait.
As Hirschman (2004: 1230) notes, almost all studies of contemporary immigrant
churches and temples in the US describe the multiple services they provide to
newcomers, from information about jobs, housing and business opportunities to
classes in English and seminars on various practical topics. The church also functions
as a public organisation among the immigrant community. It is also a major site of
social networking, finding jobs for newcomers with the help of senior church members
and providing assistance to establish joint business ventures. All the major religious
organisations in Kuwait have an employment cell. The vicar of Marthoma Church
narrated how members of other religious groups from Kerala also benefited from the
employment cell of his church. Additionally, the church provides short-term loans
to people who have lost their job or do not find a new position in a stipulated time.
An important feature of community networking is the social security scheme or
family relief scheme managed by different religious groups. The treasurer of the Kuwait
Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KKMCC) told me that it was the first expatriate
organisation to introduce such a unique social security scheme and many families
have benefited from it. Currently, all churches have various schemes for the welfare
of their members. The website of the Indian Orthodox Church says: The objective
of the Family Relief Scheme shall be to provide financial assistance to the family of a
member in the event of his/her natural/accidental death or physical disability within
or outside Kuwait.10 Respondents explained that deaths or disability due to accidents
are always a critical moment for an immigrant family and these schemes are extremely
advantageous during an unexpected tragedy. In Kuwait, the religious or community
organisations thus fulfil both spiritual and socio-economic needs of members, thereby
consolidating the loyalty and dependency of people towards such religious institutions.
Their positive interventions have reinforced the authority of religion among migrants to
a great extent. Effective functioning of these schemes also reflects that the Indian state has
failed to provide for migrants in need and demonstrates that the host country does not
want to take any responsibility for immigrants. Many respondents were highly critical
about the approach of the Indian Embassy regarding the welfare of the Indian community.

Rise of Pentecostalism/Charismatic Churches:

Official versus Popular Religion
Vertovec (2000), in his path-breaking study on the Hindu diaspora, highlighted
the trend among immigrants to embrace popular religious movements instead
of theofficial religion. Official religion is institutionalised, with rituals and values

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under the leadership of clergy and proper organisation with strong roots and a
lineage. Popular religion is less hierarchical and is maintained by lay persons with
magico-religious and charismatic attributes (see Teiser, 1995). Popular religion
stresses healing, fighting evil and miracles. In Kuwaits post-liberation phase, the
major development among the Syrian Christian community has been the growth
of Charismatic/Pentecostal churches, predominantly a global religion, emphasising
the prosperity gospel. It is a unique theology connecting faith and wealth within the
framework of the Bible and the globalised market. Pentecostalism, too, emphasises
the war against evil spirits, healing, demonology and the forsaking of worldly
pleasures. Martin (1990) contended that Pentecostalism challenges the hierarchical
and organic Catholic order, which historically has been associated with authoritarian
and patriarchal social systems. The erosion of members from mainstream churches
to these splinter groups is extremely high in Kuwait.
One respondent said: The main goal of every immigrant is to make as much
wealth as possible in a limited span of time. Wealth accumulation poses challenges,
generating anxiety, stress, competition and insecurity. The Pentecostals operate in
this diasporic space of uncertainty and instability and the healing ministry of the
Pentecostal Church offers a most appealing spiritual activity among immigrants. As
this group places much priority on the economic well-being of members, success in
life continues to be the favourite prayer item. Separation from loved ones is another
stress factor. Spatially separated, Gulf parents and Gulf wives left behind in Kerala
face many social problems at home.11 Even where both husband and wife work in the
Gulf, many families are unable to keep their children with them, as most Gulf states
lack proper institutions for higher studies. This separation constitutes a major cause of
concern for parents living in the Gulf. Pentecostals and Charismatic churches reportedly
provide a variety of survival strategies in this complex, stressful diaspora situation.
One, therefore, observes intense competition between the mainstream Syrian
Church (which includes all the traditional denominations) and the new Popular
Church of the Pentecostals whose members range from people who strive for spiritual
needs to those who require social assistance, like some workers and people marginalised
in the mainstream churches. Vasquez (1999: 630) argues that Pentecostalism may
offer a variety of survival strategies for diaspora groups, including re-articulation of
the self, maintaining community links, building collective identity and providing a
certain degree of empowerment for women.
Major activities of the Pentecostals are visible in labour camps, which were neglected
by the mainstream church for many years. For instance, the Relief Net Service (RNS)
is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) associated with a Pentecostal Church
named Grace Fellowship, with 19 branches in Kuwait. The president of RNS, a former
communist activist in Kerala, told me:

Sometimes the labourers are left without salary for two to three months or without visa
renewal. Our organisation provides food, medical kits and also short-term loans for those
Oommen: Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians 13

who do not have a salary. We organise medical camps with the support of doctors from
Kerala and also arrange vehicles to take them to good hospitals.

The RNS has prayer halls in almost all camps and attracts a vibrant congregation in
Abbasiya. However, the mainstream church takes the view that Charismatic groups
like Pentecostals just exploit the precarious socio-physiological context that prevails
in Kuwait. A prominent member of the Orthodox Church commented that splinter
Pentecostal churches indulge in spiritual terrorism, inflicting fear among people.
Unlike in Kerala, however, the Syrian denominations do not excommunicate those
members who have joined the Pentecostals. Most people keep dual membership and
attend the worship of Pentecostal churches, although they are members of the Syrian
Church. Since this creates blurred boundaries of belief, the pastors attempt to carve
out limits, for example, of being born again, with members time and again reminded
of the uniqueness of this membership.
Abbasiya is the nucleus of the splinter/Pentecostal churches and the worship centres
of these churches are known as the Underground Church, a term that comes from the
fact that such churches usually conduct their prayers in the basement of buildings, as
they cannot worship at the NECK premises. The caretaker of one such building told
me that one Pentecostal Church had hired the basement for a full year at a high cost.
On Fridays, the streets of Abbasiya are packed with cars and buses in which members
have been brought from distant labour camps. The church also conducts house prayers
almost every day according to the work schedule of members. Mary Suzan, a nurse
from Abbasiya, stated that she attends prayers at least three days per week, except
when she has night shifts. In Kuwait, as compared to Kerala, many immigrants spend
an enormous amount of time on prayers and church-related activities. In his Haitian
study, Brodwin (2003: 95) hinted that the Pentecostal churches become virtually the
only communal space in Guadeloupe where Haitians can collectively articulate the
sentiments of anger and exasperation produced by the migration experience. Similar
developments are observable among Keralites in Kuwait.
The popularity of spiritual broadcasting channels is another key element for
members of Pentecostal groups. Religious television (TV) channels in Malayalam
are extremely popular among migrants. Malayalam Christian channels like Shalom,
Jeevan and Power Vision, launched in the late 1990s, resemble American channels
like ECTV or GOD. All channels have offices across the Gulf, including Kuwait, with
high-tech equipment and a TV crew. In almost all Christian homes I visited, Christian
channels were followed avidly. TV preachers like B.G. Varghese and Thampu are
well-admired spiritual leaders in the migrant community and contribute immensely
to these channels for various programmes. Many of these channels function mainly
on funding from GCC expatriates. I also heard people talking with pride about the
participation of their children in various programmes. One respondent said: I watch
Power Vision Channel every day and it gives a lot of peace. I also record the sermons
on my mobile and listen while I am working.

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14 South Asia Research Vol. 35(1): 120

Charitable giving has become quite common among migrants from Kerala.
Particularly members of Pentecostal churches contribute enormous amounts of
money to charity and missionary activities in India. The concept of tithe is popular
among Christian migrants. It is an Old Testament concept of contributing one-tenth
of ones income to the poor and needy. While it is not widely prevalent among the
Syrian Church in Kerala, the Pentecostal Church popularised this concept among the
migrants as a mark of thanksgiving for economic success. The Pentecostal Church insists
that contributions be given to the pastors/church and that the church distributes the
money for various needs. Thus, charity is highlighted as the prime duty of a born-again
Christian. In addition, spending a huge amount of money on religious ceremonies and
connected social occasions like baptism and marriage was observed among Christian
migrants. The religious space appeared to be the only arena in the host setting for
many people to express themselves and release their feelings.
Pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine is another significant aspect which is now widely
prevalent among Syrian Christian migrants. Each year, almost all churches in Kuwait
organise a pilgrimage via Jordan to the Holy Land, especially during the summer
vacations. Perhaps due to the influence of Gulf immigrants, pilgrimage to Israel/
Palestine has now also become popular in Kerala. At the same time, pilgrimages to
various religious places in Kerala itself are also increasingly popular among migrants in
Kuwait. Popular Christian shrines in Kerala like Parumala, Manjanikara, Malayatoor
and Puthuppally have a high participation of Keralites from GCC countries. These
pilgrimages and participation at feasts and festivals in native churches could be termed
as expressing attachment to the home society. Participation in such rituals and visits
to shrines reinforce peoples roots, offering an opportunity to express their attachment
to the sending society, and also to create an alternative category of belonging by the
migrant community (Levitt, 2003: 755).

Community Formation and Identity

Do the observable changes mean that religious identity has surpassed the national/
ethnic identity of Syrian Christians in an alien setting? Kurien (2004) argues with
reference to American Hindus that religious organisations become a preferred means for
immigrants to maintain and develop their ethnic identities, while much of their process
of group formation and mobilisation is accomplished by using religious organisations
and symbols. In the host setting, religion makes a significant contribution in identity
construction, community formation and maintaining the community. In some cases,
immigrants make use of religious space to sustain their transnational connectivity with
the sending and receiving countries. Identity formation based on religion is clearly a
strong feature for migrants from Kerala in Kuwait. Collective forms of worship have
increased among migrants as they grow in numbers and wealth. The salient feature
of Pentecostal churches is corporate prayers. The church or worship place is not just
a centre of religious devotion, however, but also a haven of social and community
Oommen: Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians 15

solidarity and a space of identity. Social networking and close interaction among
immigrants are, by and large, confined within the community, especially among
Christians, within the wider framework of religious pluralism that has traditionally
marked Kerala society. Currently, the church seems to be one of the nodal points
of interaction between sending and receiving societies. The president of the Kuwait
Arts Lovers Association (KALA), the largest secular association of Kerala immigrants
attached to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), stated in an interview that people
are more comfortable in associating and connecting with religious institutions rather
than secular organisations. This is the general trend. It is also important in this context
to note that there is no united Kerala association or a pan-Indian association in Kuwait.
The strongest and largest organisations are the religious groups, which are systematic,
neatly structured and well organised, and often have many units across Kuwait.
There are many factors, then, that make community-centric organisations more
appealing among immigrants. First, immigrants are socially isolated from the host society
and their interaction with Kuwaiti nationals is strictly confined to the workplace. The
social isolation of Syrian Christian immigrants has produced greater cohesion within the
community and the church fills this social vacuum. The vicar of the Marthoma Church
notes that in this isolated environment, the church or religious institution creates a sense
of sharing and caring among migrants. Collective forms of worship create a communal
identity among these migrants. Second, the absence of social/public space in the host
country has created strong cohesion and a deep sense of community bondage. As religious
institutions are turned into public as well as spiritual spaces, life is more strongly centred
than in Kerala on the trio of office, home and church. Religious institutions, to a large
extent, recompense for the lack of social space in Kuwait.
Churches are systematically organised and divided geographically into various
prayer groups in accordance with the convenience of members. The Marthoma
city church has 42 prayer groups, each comprising of 6080 families, with a prayer
secretary. The prayer group organises picnics, sports, get-togethers, and church
members celebrate personal events like birthdays or wedding anniversaries and
achievements like the academic success of children in the respective prayer groups.
Hence, prayer groups form a key element in the life of Syrian Christian migrants and
the prayer secretary is the main person of this network. Many interviewees responded
that their close friends are from the church or from the prayer group since they interact
frequently within this community. Intriguingly, this extends to future planning, too.
A respondent from a Syrian Orthodox Church narrated:

15 members of our Prayer group have bought 6 acres of land next to the Parumala
Church [a very popular church in central Kerala] and we are building cottages and a
Community Centre there. We bought it together because we are members of the same
prayer group in Abassiya and we want to continue our friendship and would like to live
together after our retirement. Moreover Parumala Church is the sacred church of Syrian
Christians and we would like to stay very close to the church so that we can attend the
Church service every day.

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16 South Asia Research Vol. 35(1): 120

In this case, the church is playing an important role in creating an alternative

denominational identity, while also sustaining transnational links for the migrants. I
have observed how a unique denominational identity is being evolved among these
traditional Christian migrants in the diaspora setting. However, I have also noticed
a unique, born-again transnational identity formed within the Pentecostal groups,
delinking them from the outside world. The Charismatic groups aim to project an
exclusive spiritual identity from other denominations. Brodwin (2003: 98) argues
that their alienation and exclusion from the dominant society is precisely the problem
they address through the moral and theological doctrines of Pentecostalism. Members
of Charismatic/Pentecostal groups normally remain confined within the circle of their
own church members. Their lives revolve around daily prayer meetings and house visits.
The born-again Pentecostal identity also transcends national boundaries, however, as
members envisage a global community of believers. One Pentecostal pastor told me that
the mission of the church is to evangelise to win maximum souls within the immigrant
community. He added, however, that the church normally discourages members
involvement in worldly groups like clubs and political associations. Charismatic groups
evolve strong transitional networks of their members and pastors from Kerala often
visit Kuwait to assist the diaspora community. These somewhat radical groups reinforce
and reshape communal identity of an exclusionary and sometimes fanatic nature.

Youth and American Gospel

In Kuwait, Indian youth are basically divided into two categories, those who were
born and brought up in Kuwait as the second generation, and young immigrants
from Kerala. There is little social interaction among these two groups as the young
second-generation Indians consider recent immigrants from Kerala as conservative
and less fluent in English. The second generation is also more attracted to American
English Charismatic churches, such as Ethnic Local Church Concerns or the Light
House Church, than to the traditional Syrian Church. Young professionals, like doctors
and engineers, who migrated from Kerala are also attracted towards the American
Church, considered as a status symbol, as it is Western and more modern. One young
immigrant commented that the Syrian Church is ritualistic, monotonous, conservative
and not updated in accordance with the changing global situation. At present, young
people prefer the American model of praise and worship service in English rather
than the sober liturgy and prayers of the Syrian Church. The mainstream church is
quite concerned about the youth exodus to the American Church and disloyalty to
Syrian traditions and beliefs. To counteract this, the Marthoma Church has started
an English worship service, called Young Adult Group (YAG), exclusively for the
second generation.
The senior pastor of the Syrian Church described the second generation as a
protected group with a materialistic outlook groomed in the laps of parents and unable
to take challenges of the society. Notably, however, a great majority of the second
Oommen: Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians 17

generation had arranged marriages within the community. Lack of social interaction
and the unavailability of social space other than that of the church community could
explain this. Most children are sent to Sunday schools and at present, nearly 1,000
children are enrolled in the Sunday school of the city parish of Marthoma Church.
Jenny Thomas, one of the young immigrants, told me:

Sunday school was not only my foundation for spirituality but also for spiritual grooming.
Most of my friends were from Sunday school, from the Church or from the Christian
community in Kuwait. When we went to Kerala for higher studies we hung out with
the same group. Now we also have blogs and social networking to interact regularly.

Interestingly, the second-generation migrants now also have their own prayer cells
and groups in various professional colleges in India, again serving both spiritual and
social needs.

Conclusions
Clearly, the socio-cultural environment of the host country has varying impacts on each
migrant community. Geopolitical churnings, socio-political isolation and the exclusion
of immigrants from the social structure of the host society has further consolidated the
religious space. The invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent exodus of many immigrants
to Kerala and the hardships they encountered in Kerala altered both the spiritual and
economic strategies of the migrant community. Proliferation of religious organisations,
assertion of religiosity and displays of religious symbols prevail among the Syrian
Christians of Kerala in Kuwait. This can be attributed to the invasion syndrome,
along with various other reasons. Post-1990, the church and clergy emerged as the
epicentre of migrants lives and today, the migrants are somehow dependent on the
religious institutions for both spiritual and social needs. Diaspora religious practices
play a major role in sustaining the transnational links between home and host country
settings, and also create an alternative sense of belonging to the sending country. In
the contemporary context, religion provides opportunities for migrants to engage
in community formation and helps to carve out a unique denominational identity.
However, the migrants uncertainty and anxiety is also being used by Charismatic/
Pentecostal groups to invigorate a strong born-again transnational group within
Syrian Christians. The host settings have paved the way for the emergence of this
charismatic popular religion, which creates a unique global identity that transcends
national borders and also blurs religious boundaries. At the same time, religion also
shapes an identity which is highly communal in nature. The young generation in
search of identity is finding solace in Anglicised prayer groups and indirectly identifies
with the West through modern religious practices. The lack of public space, social
alienation and the quest to achieve social recognition are being filled through such
religious connections. All of these developments show that in the diasporic space of

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18 South Asia Research Vol. 35(1): 120

Kuwait, the church clearly plays a major role in the lives of migrants, and it appears
that the dependence of migrants towards religion is increasing in an unprecedented
manner. However, in the process, religion itself undergoes significant change, too.

Notes
1. For research on nurses and connected references, see Percot (2006).
2. The GCC is a regional intergovernmental union comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Established in May 1981, it is engaged
in discussing closer cooperation. However, as individual member states pursue quite different
policies when it comes to dealing with migrants from South Asia, and many of these countries
depend heavily on such migrants, it is unlikely that uniformising policies will emerge.
3. One of the peer reviewers observed that the extent of social isolation would critically
depend on the time and place of the migrants arrival, as urban spaces like Dubai are today
not unlike the new migrants home environment in Kerala, at least as far as the potential
closeness of social relations is concerned.
4. According to the same source, Andhra Pradesh (120,000) ranks second, followed by Tamil
Nadu (80,000), Karnataka, Goa and Bihar (each 40,000), Rajasthan (20,000), Punjab
(15,000), Bengal (3,000) and Orissa (1,000).
5. These are the NECK, Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox,
Greek Catholic and the Anglicans.
6. Intriguingly, as pointed out by one of the peer reviewers, this matches the reverse situation
of the phenomenon of Hidden Islam in Italy, where an extraordinary new book, comprised
almost entirely of pictures (Degiorgis, 2014), documents, most impressively, the more or
less silent agreement to keep the presence of the minority religious group, here Muslims of
various kinds, as unofficial and informal as possible.
7. They are the KuwaitKerala Islamic Group (affiliated to Jamaat-e-Islami), Kuwait Kerala
Islamic Centre (affiliated to Mujahideen), Lizallie Study Circle (affiliated to AP Sunni),
Friday Forum, Kuwait Kerala Islamic Centre (a factional group affiliated to Mujahideen)
and the Kuwait Kerala Muslim Association.
8. Prominent among these groups are AMMA, a group connected to Mata Amritanandamayi,
the Ayappa Sewa Sanghom, the National Service Scheme (NSS) and Sree Narayana Dharma
Paripalana (SNDP). Interestingly, NSS also organises spiritual meetings, especially the 30
days recital of the Ramayana during the month of Karkataka (mostly in July or August).
In Kerala itself, organisations like NSS are hardly involved in peoples spiritual affairs.
9. On the comparable situation of Hidden Islam in Italy today, see Note 6.
10. The NSS and SNDP also have similar schemes.
11. It is estimated that, at present, there are nearly 1 million Gulf wives in Kerala.

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Ginu Zacharia Oommen is presently a Junior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum
and Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, New Delhi, and an Associate Fellow at
MIGRINTER, University of Poitiers, France. He completed his PhD in 2006 from the
Centre for West Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and has
held Visiting Fellowships in Poitiers, Paris, New Delhi, Berlin and at Sichuan University
in China. His major publication to date is Ethnicity, Marginality and Identity: The Jews of
Cochin in Israel (New Delhi: Manak, 2011). His research interests include transnational
migration and diaspora studies, Indian labour migration to Gulf countries, South Asian
labour history and transnational religious networks in South Asia.
Address: Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi 110011, India. [e-mail: ginuzach@gmail.com]