Adnan Zahid Abdulsamad was a former member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, representing the

first district First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. Born in 1950, Abdulsamad studied political science and worked in the Oil Ministry before being elected to the National Assembly in 1981. While political parties are technically illegal in Kuwait, Abdulsamad affiliates with the National Islamic Alliance, which is a Shia party.

Supported severing ties with Denmark

On November 6, 2006, the parliament voted 22-15 to approve severing diplomatic ties with Denmark over the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy and spending about US$50 (€39.20) million to defend the prophet's image in the West. Both votes were nonbinding, meaning the Cabinet did not have to abide by them. Abdulsamad voted in favor of cutting diplomatic ties, saying, ""We have to cut diplomatic and commercial ties with Denmark... We don't have to eat Danish cheese."

Temporary marriage mini-series controversy

On September 16, 2007, Abdulsamad and fellow Shia MP Saleh Ashour spoke out against a planned

Ramadan soap opera An Arab television drama or Arab soap opera (also known as musalsal ( ar, مسلسل), plural musalsalat ( ar, مسلسلات)) is a television form of melodramatic serialized fiction. The musalsalat are similar in style to Latin American telenove ...

miniseries titled ‘’Sins Have a Price’’, which was to revolve around and criticize the Shiite form of

temporary marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

known as " Mutaa.” In a public statement, Abdulsamad accused the series of giving "a total distortion of Shiism ... It also incites sectarianism... It is very provocative and comes at a sensitive time amid the sectarian tension in the region." Abdulsamad charged that besides stoking sectarianism, the serial insults and distorts the Shia faith by mocking temporary marriage, a valid, sanctioned concept in Shiism despite the controversy and social taboos surrounding the practice.

Expulsion from Popular Action Bloc

On February 19, 2008, the Popular Action Bloc expelled Abdulsamad and fellow Shiite MP Ahmed Lari for taking part in a ceremony eulogizing

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

's slain top commander,

Imad Mughniyeh Imad Fayez Mughniyeh ( ar, عماد فايز مغنية; 7 December 1962 – 12 February 2008), alias al-Hajj Radwan (), was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. Information about ...

. The ceremony's description of the fugitive Lebanese militant — killed in a February 12 car bombing in Syria — as a hero sparked public outrage in a country that holds him responsible for hijacking a Kuwait Airways flight and killing two of its Kuwaiti passengers 20 years prior. The two lawmakers were only expelled from their bloc, and remained in the legislature. After the expulsions of the two, the seven member bloc was down to five members.http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/20/africa/ME-GEN-Kuwait-Mughniyeh.php

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdulsamad, Adnan Zahid 1950 births Living people Members of the National Assembly (Kuwait) Kuwaiti Shia Muslims Kuwaiti people of Iranian descent National Islamic Alliance politicians Popular Action Bloc politicians