Saudi Arabia to allow first alcohol sales in 72 years

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) –In a historic move, Saudi Arabia has announced its decision to permit alcohol sales for the first time in 72 years, sparking a wave of diverse opinions and emotions across the nation.

This groundbreaking shift in the Kingdom’s stance on alcohol marks a significant departure from its longstanding conservative policies.

For more than seven decades, Saudi Arabia has adhered to a strict interpretation of Islamic law, which prohibits the consumption and sale of alcohol. However, recent changes in the country’s leadership and a broader effort to diversify the economy have led to a reconsideration of certain social and economic policies. The decision to allow alcohol sales reflects a nuanced approach to modernization and an acknowledgment of evolving societal norms.

Located in the capital’s Diplomatic Quarter, the store will be accessible only to non-Muslim diplomats, meaning that for the vast majority of Saudi Arabia’s 32 million people, nothing will change for now.

Additionally, purchasing quotas will be enforced. Access to the store will be restricted to those who register via an application. And customers will be asked to keep their phones in a “special mobile pouch” while they browse for beer, wine and spirits.

Still, some Riyadh residents told AFP they saw the development as the first step towards wider availability of alcohol, which would be a dramatic break from the nationwide prohibition that has been in place since 1952.

Under his Vision 2030 reform agenda, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is trying to turn the world’s biggest crude exporter into a business, sports and tourism hub that can prosper in an eventual post-oil era.

That requires luring more foreigners, and permitting alcohol “in stages” could play a role in that, said Kristin Diwan, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

“This is one more step in normalising government sanction of alcohol in defined settings,” she said.

The government’s Center for International Communication said on Wednesday the new policy’s goal was “to counter the illicit trade of alcohol goods and products received by diplomatic missions”.

That was an apparent reference to the thriving local hidden market, where bottles of whisky frequently go for hundreds of dollars.

Framing the news this way “is likely intended to send a subtle message that change may be on the way, but that the process will be incremental and tightly controlled”, said Kristian Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

For their part, restaurant industry insiders were unsure whether business would be affected in the immediate term.

“For the food and beverage industry, this doesn’t make a direct impact,” one manager said, though he added that if it alters how the outside world sees Saudi Arabia, “this could attract footfall towards the kingdom”, meaning more customers.

If access to alcohol in Saudi Arabia eventually expands beyond what sources described on Wednesday, those with the most to lose include vendors of mocktails and other non-alcoholic beverages, which are increasingly fashionable.

“It’s not a good thing for me. I’ll lose my business,” Evans Kahindi, brand manager for Blended by Lyre’s, a non-alcoholic spirits company, said with a laugh.

“There has always been speculation about having the real alcohol here … But to be honest, it’s with the government, we don’t know yet and I cannot speculate on anything.”

Source: Guardian