Did Kuwait create biometric fingerprinting requirements in line with a Masonic plan under a new world order to introduce a new pandemic in 2025 that would result in worldwide lockdowns and mass mortality? No, that's not true. Kuwait's biometric fingerprinting initiative is primarily aimed at combating crime by identifying potential suspects, according to Maj. Gen. Eid Rashed Al-Ouweihan, director of the police's General Directorate for Criminal Evidence.
The claim appeared as a video (archived here) and was posted on TikTok on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, with a caption reading "Biometric fingerprinting is a Masonic plan" and it shows Kuwaiti Member of Parliament Shuaib Al-Muwaizri addressing fellow lawmakers in a public National Assembly session on July 12, 2023. In comments translated from Arabic into English by Lead Stories staff, Al-Muwaizri says:
The year 2025 will be marked by lockdowns in all countries worldwide caused by a new pandemic that will be introduced then. This is (why) the Ministry of Interior has (imposed) fingerprinting.
The lawmaker continues:
It is preposterous to accept biometric fingerprinting to implement the plan dictated by some freemasons across the world, who will create a pandemic in the year 2025 (ultimately) barring people from leaving their homes more than 15 minutes every day.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue Sep 5 14:18:33 2023 UTC)
Al-Ouweihan, the police criminal evidence director, said in video comments posted on X, formerly Twitter, that fingerprinting is not mandatory at this stage, but that may change as the initiative takes hold gradually. He said that Kuwaitis leaving the country do not need to have their biometrics taken, but that they "must do so on arrival in the country."
"Biometric fingerprinting serves the security apparatus in terms of identifying any individual who committed a crime, or is in hiding, or wanted by the police," Al-Ouweihan explained in the comments posted on May 21, 2023, on the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior's verified account on X. He said the biometrics will also facilitate citizens' entry into public offices, where visitors must show proof of identity to security guards.
البصمة البيومترية #CGCKuwait pic.twitter.com/dGFzDf7SEr
-- مركز التواصل الحكومي (@CGCKuwait) May 21, 2023
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior said in a statement on May 31, 2023, that it would open fingerprinting centers at shopping malls to facilitate the process for all Kuwaitis above the age of 18 years as well as non-Kuwaiti residents. In a statement dated June 4, 2023, the ministry announced it would also set up fingerprinting centers at police stations for police and security officials as well as their relatives.
The Times of Kuwait reported on August 27, 2023, that more than 1 million Kuwaiti citizens and residents of the emirate have registered their fingerprints since its introduction of the program in May. Kuwait's population is estimated at 4.3 million people, according to Worldometer, with 1.37 million Kuwaiti citizens and 3.1 million non-Kuwaiti residents, Statista reported.
