Iraq’s crackdown on alcohol raises alarm among religious minorities

Only a few months into its term, Iraq’s government is suddenly enforcing a long-dormant law banning alcohol imports and arresting people over social media content deemed morally offensive.

The crackdown has raised alarm among religious minorities and rights activists.

The ban on the import, sale and production of alcohol was adopted in 2016 but was only published in the official gazette last month, making it enforceable.

On Saturday, Iraq’s customs authority ordered all border crossings to impose the prohibition.

Although many liquor stores across Iraq continued business as usual, presumably using up their stocks, border crossings went dry overnight, with the exception of the northern, semi-autonomous Kurdish region which hasn’t enforced the ban.

“This is an unjust decision for us”, said Walid Naim, a liquor store owner in Baghdad.

The price of alcohol, meanwhile, spiked due to tightened supply.

Some see the measures as an attempt by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to head off potential political challenges from religious conservatives and to distract from economic woes, such as rising prices and wild currency fluctuations.

Alcohol is generally prohibited in Islam, the religion of the vast majority of Iraqis, but is permitted and used in religious rituals by Christians, who make up 1% of Iraq’s population of about 40 million.

Many Christians see the ban as an attempt to marginalize their community.

Baghdad resident Abdullah Mohsen said the current law "does not make any sense".

“Iraq is a country of diverse races since ancient times, and alcohol is present in nature and culture of society”, Mohsen added.

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