| Kuwaiti authorities have launched an investigation of mosque preachers suspected of spreading Al Qaida ideology and helping recruit for the movement. Kuwaiti security sources said authorities have interrogated about a dozen mosque preachers in the area of Kuwait City. They said most of the preachers were Egyptian nationals and suspected of supporting Al Qaida as well as the anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq. "We are not trying to downplay this extremist phenomenon," Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullah Al Maatouq said. "It has reached a dangerous level, and although the magnitude of this phenomenon is small we do not underestimate any size." The sources did not rule out that some of the Egyptian preachers would be expelled or detained. They said the issue has been discussed with the government in Cairo, which for the last year pressed the sheikdom to allow additional Egyptian labor into Kuwait. |