Iraq parliament in surprise vote to ban alcohol

source Yahoo

The Iraqi parliament voted a complete ban on alcohol citing the country's Constitutional protection of Islamic tenets. The Constitution of Iraq also fully protects minority community rights, and so the ban fails Constitutionally. Christian MPs intend to file action in court to challenge the Constitutionality of the new ban which was appended at the last minute to other legislation leaving the anti-ban forces caught short.

An Islamic ban on alcohol is a direct attack on Christians and Orthodox Christian and Catholic worship which includes the ritual use of wine. It is also an attack on other minority communities which also use alcohol as part of their minority culture which is fully protected under the Constitution of Iraq.

At the moment the action of the Iraqi parliament will not see enforcement in the self-ruled Kurdish region where most of the Christian and Yezidi refugees from Mosul and surrounding villages are to be found.

The Iraqi Constitution was a project supervised and promoted by the USA and its allies in Iraq. The court challenge of the ban will provide evidence as to the success or failure of the Constitutional project with regard to the protection of minority rights.

There are other sources for the story for comparison in reporting:

The Independent UK

BBC

Reuters Africa

ABC News USA - a rather different reporting of the story quoting different sources.

a reply to: Kapriti

Oh great now we will see an influx of alcoholic refugee's.

Sorry I jusht could'nt resisht.

a reply to: Kapriti

Their country, their rules, their dictatorship.

*sigh*

We all have our own dictators.

A pity I can't give a flying fig about any other country any more since ours sucks so badly.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Kapriti

Their country, their rules, their dictatorship.

*sigh*

We all have our own dictators.

A pity I can't give a flying fig about any other country any more since ours sucks so badly.

How are they a "dictatorship" when it was their Parliament that made this decision?

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Sincerest apologies.

"Authoritarian Regime".

a reply to: Kapriti

From what I've read the only safe place to live as a christian in Iraq is Kurdish areas. Arabs and Persians kill them all the time but th Kurds protect them, so what difference will it make in areas which have largely been ethnically cleansed of Iraqs native people the Christians?

That settles it for me.
I won't be taking a vacation in Iraq anytime soon.

a reply to: DBCowboy

Even that's not accurate. Their parliament's members are elected every 4 years, and thus can be voted out if their constituents don't like their decisions. They have numerous competing political parties, though there's apparently a large coalition of different parties that has control right now. That seems like the complete opposite of an authoritarian govt to me.
en.wikipedia.org...

It's one thing to agree or disagree with a government's decisions. But false labels misrepresent what's actually going on, which contributes to misinformed people.

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

There are still many Christians living in Baghdad and other cities over which the Iraqi Parliament has military control. They are subject to this new law. Most stores that sell alcohol in Baghdad are owned by Christians, and would qualify as family enterprise or "mom and pop" businesses.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Any government that passes these kinds of laws , I consider "authoritarian".

My opinion.

*shrugs and walks away from a silly argument"

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Kapriti

Their country, their rules, their dictatorship.

*sigh*

We all have our own dictators.

A pity I can't give a flying fig about any other country any more since ours sucks so badly.

How are they a "dictatorship" when it was their Parliament that made this decision?

Don't you mean Corrupt Parliament made the decision for them?

a reply to: DBCowboy

Certainly the agenda of the Shiite parties in the Iraqi Parliament is an authoritarian one. They desire to replace the current Constitution and establish an Iranian-style theocratic government rooted exclusively in a Shiite interpretation of Sharia.

a reply to: Kapriti
Thanks for the information. Great to hear the Christians are still hanging on over there. It would be a travesty if the Iraqi Chrristian community goes the way of the Iraqi Jews boty dating back many thousands of years just to be cast out by the Muslim newcomers. From what I've read the new Iraq is largely dominated by Shia type Muslims, are they known to be accomodating to Christians an their use of wine in ceremonies?

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

The Shiite Arabs are not at all accommodating to Christians and their religious practices ... but there are exceptions with a very tiny minority of Shiite Arabs in Iraq following the instruction of a teacher who advocated living in peace with Christians, Jews, and Mandaeans (Sabaeans).

a reply to: Kapriti

Do the Shiite Persians allow Christians to drink alcohol in Iran?

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

I do not know the current situation in Iran. Immediately after the Islamic Revolution, all liquor was banned ... and the Iranians were busy destroying churches and arresting and/or executing pastors and priests. I do not know if Iran's relationship with Russia has tempered the way the Christian minorities are treated.

If it's anything like Saudi Arabia or Qatar then they'll just be a completely unenforceable black market for alcohol.

People will make their own in their own homes using their own stills.

a reply to: Kapriti

Non-muslims are allowed alcohol in Iran.

The Ayatollah in Iran passed laws that protected religious minorities, by large anyway.

"Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians are officially recognized and protected by the government. Shortly after Khomeini's return from exile in 1979, he issued a fatwa ordering that Jews and other minorities (except Bahá'ís) be treated well. In power, Khomeini distinguished between Zionism as a secular political party that employs Jewish symbols and ideals and Judaism as the religion of Moses."

What he did to the Bahais was absolutely horrific though.

a reply to: Ohanka

I do know about the edict to which you refer. My interpretation is that he issued it for western consumption. Initially Zoroastrians, Christians,Mandaeans, and Bahais suffered intensely. Even today Zoroastrians (even in Yazd) continue to suffer in ways that are rarely reported in the West. The plight of Bahais is nightmarish. Although I have not been in Iran recently to speak from experience, from what I have read and the stories told to me Christians do not fare much better in terms of harassment, arrests and torture, and refusal of the right to repair buildings or build new buildings. The only group that has fared relatively well under the theocracy has been the Jews, and even they have had to contend with elements of the Revolutionary Guard and the courts coming after them accusing them of Zionism.