Iraq bans alcohol in hotels and clubs, bringing country close to near-total ban

Iraq on Monday officially banned alcohol in social clubs and hotels - among the last venues serving booze - in what might be the last step in the country’s drawn-out process of stamping out alcohol.

Penalties for violating the new provision include a fine ranging from 10 million Iraqi dinars (about $7,700) to 25 million Iraqi dinars (about $19,000).

Alcohol has a long, on-and-off history in Iraq. Beer is thought to have been invented by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia some 5,000 years ago. Modern-day Iraq is also home to what might be the world’s oldest-known tavern. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein reportedly served esteemed guests Johnnie Walker Black Label, which he called “Iraq’s national drink.”

But the despot, whose regime was nominally secular, abruptly banned the public consumption of alcohol in the 1990s - a move his eldest son publicly criticized at the time as ruinous to Baghdad’s reputation as an easygoing city. After Hussein’s fall, vigilantes attacked liquor stores with guns and firebombs, killing shop owners. In 2013, gunmen using silenced weapons opened fire at nine Baghdad liquor stores, killing nine customers and three store owners.

In the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014, bars were shuttered during the years when it was controlled by the Islamic State, which strictly enforced a ban. Militants smashed stashes of liquor during their sweep through northern Iraq. Bars were opened again after the defeat of the Islamist group.

Still, alcohol has been accessible in Baghdad over the past two decades, sold in liquor stores by licensed non-Muslims including Christians and Yazidis, and served at clubs and hotels. It is also legal in Iraqi Kurdistan. That stands in contrast to neighboring Iran, where alcohol has been completely banned since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 (though some have found ways around the restrictions).

In 2016, parliament imposed a ban on the sale, import and production of alcohol, but the law was shelved as leaders emphasized their commitment to personal freedoms and the rights of religious and sectarian groups, including the around 3 percent of the population in the non-Muslim minority.

In March 2023, the law unexpectedly appeared in Iraq’s official gazette, Al-Waqa’i Al-Iraqiya, thereby entering into force. Alcohol shop owners staged protests in Baghdad, some carrying signs such as “Baghdad will not become Kandahar.” Civil groups and Iraq’s liberal and non-Islamic communities criticized the alcohol ban, arguing that it contradicts the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Iraqi constitution. Christian and Yazidi lawmakers filed unsuccessful appeals with the Federal Court.

Prices shot up exorbitantly. Gradually, stores - first unlicensed, then licensed - were forced to shut down. It became difficult to find even a once-common bottle of beer. The alcohol trade turned to secret groups on social media to coordinate how, when, and where to do covert handoffs.

Despite the protests, the 2023 closure order remained in effect and alcohol sales were limited to certain venues, such as tourist hotels, family social clubs and high-end establishments where alcoholic beverages are served at high prices to the ultra-elite in Baghdad.

On Monday, however, the century-old Al-Alwiyah Club was notified by the prime minister’s office to stop its decades-old tradition of serving alcohol.

The management of the Iraqi Hunting Club, another social club, posted an announcement to its restaurants ordering them to stop serving alcohol starting Monday due to direct orders from authorities. On its announcement board, it asked club members not to bring alcohol onto its grounds.

“Iraq is a diverse society, and there have been long-standing regulations governing the import and sale of alcohol since the monarchy era,” legal expert Ali al-Asad said Monday. “Such new laws could disrupt societal harmony.”

Yonadam Kanna, a Christian politician and former parliament member, said Monday that the law, which he described as being inserted by hard-line parliament factions, alienates non-Muslims, tourists and diplomats, and will result in the loss of minorities’ jobs.

Mohsen al-Ali, a social researcher, warned that closing down popular venues so abruptly may lead to the opening of unregulated bars in private homes, “creating chaos rather than the order the authorities are hoping for.”

This law is not the only controversial legislation passed under the current government. Another law was enacted designating an annual Shiite religious event as a national holiday, sparking widespread criticism from Sunni and non-Muslim Iraqis. National armed forces also launched a wide-scale arrest campaign targeting TikTok and Instagram influencers deemed to have violated “public decency.”