Iraq's Alcohol Ban (in Arabic)

Nineveh 90 is a short-form podcast from the Chaldean News, featuring reports from the Nineveh Plain.

English Transcription:

Controversy Surrounding the Ban on Alcoholic Beverages: Minority Rights and Constitutional Concerns in Iraq

Amidst the calls to preserve the religious and national aspects of Iraq’s minorities, based on constitutional articles that clearly advocate pluralism, citizen rights, and both public and private freedoms as guaranteed by the constitution, along with the assurances extended by the majority to minorities due to a belief in the country’s historical societal diversity.

However, the recent decision to ban the sale and trade of alcoholic beverages contradicts all the aforementioned principles. President Abdul Latif Al-Rashid signed laws passed by the Iraqi Council of Representatives, including the Municipal Imports Law, which outlines the following:

1. Importing, selling, and manufacturing alcoholic beverages of all types is prohibited.

2. Violators of the first clause may face fines ranging from 10,000,000 to 25,000,000 Iraqi dinars.

This decision’s societal and economic impact on a significant segment of Iraq’s population has spurred governmental and civil figures to question its constitutionality. They aim to find a resolution that respects Iraq’s religious diversity and safeguards the rights of all groups.

The ban on alcoholic beverages, stated in Article 14 of the Municipal Law, was initially passed in October 2016 but encountered delays in ratification until the current president’s endorsement. The Chaldean Community Foundation, with offices in Michigan and Iraq, has actively lobbied authorities to amend the law, underscoring its effects on public freedoms and religious minorities like Christians and Yazidis.

A dozen lawsuits have been filed against this law, highlighting its impact on the livelihoods of non-Muslim religious minority citizens and its constriction of freedoms for those aspiring to establish a civil state.