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Closure of ‘idolatrous’ 3D print shop in Kuwait causes social media stir

A local newspaper has reported that a 3D printing shop in Kuwait was shuttered for selling “idols”, causing a social media debate

By Staff writer

A 3D printing shop in Kuwait was reportedly been shuttered by authorities after being accused of selling “idols”, according to local media reports.

According to Kuwait’s Al-Qabas newspaper, the shops closure on September 16 came after it was denounced by a local cleric, Sheikh Othman Al Khamis.

The newspaper, however, did not report which authority ordered the store be shut. No official comment on the case has been made by Kuwaiti authorities.

“I never expected that we could open a shop in the year 2018 and then have someone accuse the company of selling idols,” the shop’s manager is quoted as saying.

The Arabic-language hashtag “idols in Kuwait” has been used more than 21,000 times to discuss the case, both by people supporting the shop’s closure and those opposed.

One user, for example, wrote that “the dangers posed by these idols is great”, while another said that the figurines “are a means of leading people to polytheism.”

Many twitter users, however, posted pictures of their own figurines and poked fun at the shop’s closure.

“Nothing like a bit of coffee with my idols,” wrote Kuwaiti journalist Bashar Jassim Al-Kandari in a video which included various dolls and toys he owns, including Scarface, Chucky, Elmo and Gollum, from the Lord of the Rings franchise.

Another twitter user, going by the name @Sayed_Esma3eel, posted a picture of four toy animals – a gazelle, a whale, an oranguntan and an elephant – along with the caption “my animal cult.”

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