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  • World Cup fans find booze at hotels, Qatar’s 1 liquor store

    World Cup fans find booze at hotels, Qatar’s 1 liquor store

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    DOHA, Qatar — In a dusty neighborhood on the outskirts of Qatar’s capital, guards stand duty at a gated compound ringed with razor wire, carefully checking passports and permits before allowing anyone inside. But this isn’t a prison or a high-security area associated with the ongoing World Cup.

    It’s the liquor store.

    Rigid limits on alcohol are a fact of life in this conservative Muslim nation on the Arabian Peninsula, which follows the same strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam as its neighbor Saudi Arabia. Soccer fans coming to Qatar for the World Cup got a taste of that just before the tournament as authorities cancelled beer sales at stadiums.

    Yet corks continue to be popped in luxury boxes at games. Fans are filling pints from beer towers at dozens of hotel bars, lounges and nightclubs with liquor licenses. Sales of $14 Budweisers at Doha’s FIFA Fan Zone continue unabated.

    “Not to say that you need alcohol to fuel your life, but it’s a good time,” said Ed Ball, an American who created an online map for imbibers in Doha to find bars. “The idea being passed around that you can’t drink in Qatar is wrong. There are places.”

    In addition to the bars, there’s the liquor store where non-Muslim residents and visitors can shop after applying for a government-issued license. Located next to an Indian school in Doha’s dusty Abu Hamour neighborhood, it is run by the Qatar Distribution Co., a state-owned enterprise under the umbrella of Qatar Airways, which holds exclusive rights to distribute alcohol and pork in the country.

    The store — currently the only one selling liquor in Qatar — operates on an appointment system, harkening back to the strict coronavirus regulations that governed this country prior to just before the World Cup.

    On a recent visit, guards twice checked an Associated Press reporter’s identifications and appointments. Razor wire tops the compound’s high walls, which bar the public from a peek inside. Signs warn that any abuse aimed at the guards can result in an alcohol license being revoked. Empty silver-colored beer kegs are piled up in the parking lot.

    At the end of a chlorine-scented walkway, customers reach the entrance to the store. Inside, the shelves and stands are stocked with bottles of wine largely running from $12.50 up to $45. A liter of Absolut vodka goes for $42, while a liter of Jack Daniels whiskey sets a shopper back $70. A 24-pack of standard Budweiser cans costs nearly $52.

    A small section of the store offers frozen pork pepperoni pizzas, slabs of bacon, Spam and cans of pork and beans.

    Customers filled their carts or carried bottles and cans in their hands, checking against shopping lists or texting family members to double check what was needed. Several wore FIFA passes for the tournament around their necks.

    Outside the shop, a 31-year-old British woman who works as a school teacher in Qatar, filled the trunk of her car. She declined to offer her name, given the connotations drinking can carry in Qatari society, but dismissed criticism surrounding drinking and the tournament.

    “It’s really not that big of a deal,” she said of the licensing system in Qatar. “It’s like going to the supermarket — for alcohol.”

    She added that she thought the restrictions on sales for the matches also made sense. “I’m British. I know what it’s like to to be around drunk people all the time.”

    Across the wider Persian Gulf, alcohol remains banned in Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the sheikhdom of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Drinking alcohol is considered haram, or forbidden, in Islam. Imams point to a verse in the Quran calling wine “the work of Satan.”

    But the region as a whole has a long history with alcohol, itself an Arabic word. The 8th century poet Abu Nawas even was known for his “khamriyyat,” or “wine poems.”

    Both alcohol and pork face a 100% import duty. Qatar says it uses the tax revenue to improve health care, infrastructure, education and other public services.

    Visitors are not allowed to bring alcohol into the country. Many hotels are dry and prohibit guests from bringing alcohol to their rooms.

    Even with those restrictions, Qatar sold 23.2 million liters of alcoholic drinks in 2021, according to data from Euromonitor International. Though dwarfed by the United Arab Emirates’ 115 million liters sold in the same period, Qatar’s numbers show a 14.6% growth as the pandemic waned.

    Meanwhile, Ball’s online map of bars in Qatar has been viewed over 875,000 times. An accompanying Twitter account shows him downing two pints of beer in 10 seconds.

    “For me, drinking is just like eating. It just goes along with the culture,” Ball told the AP after returning home to Seattle, where he works for Boeing Co. “I know it’s not part of Qatar … but it’s also part of the World Cup. One of the biggest sponsors is Budweiser so it just goes to show you it kind of goes hand in hand.”

    Bars in Qatar typically scan IDs of those heading in, with many working on a voucher system during the tournament to make sure fans spend at least certain amount.

    On Saturday night, a group of Russians screamed expletives at the U.S. team during its match with the Netherlands as they downed shots and posed for photographs with servers at Doha’s Irish Harp.

    Dermot O’Callaghan, a 66-year-old soccer fan from Dublin, Ireland, enjoyed a much calmer pint at the bar, swaying along to the Cuban band Chicas Melao.

    “It’s very enjoyable, you can get a drink here if you want in the evenings,” O’Callaghan said. “You do have a cohort of fans roaming around, looking for a drink.”

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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    Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

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  • EXPLAINER: Islam’s ban on alcohol and how it’s applied

    EXPLAINER: Islam’s ban on alcohol and how it’s applied

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    DOHA, Qatar — Just two days before the World Cup opener, host nation Qatar banned the sale of beer at stadiums in a sudden U-turn that was criticized by some and welcomed by others.

    Qatari officials have long said they were eager to welcome soccer fans from around the world to the tournament but that visitors should also respect their culture and traditions. Alcohol consumption, impermissible in Islam, is one of the areas where the country has been attempting to strike a delicate balance.

    Here’s a look at some of the issues related to alcohol and Muslim beliefs.

    WHAT DOES THE QURAN SAY ABOUT ALCOHOL?

    Drinking alcohol is considered haram, or forbidden, in Islam. As proof of the prohibition, Islamic scholars and Muslim religious authorities typically point to a verse in the Quran, the Muslim holy book, that calls intoxicants “the work of Satan” and tells believers to avoid them. Additionally, they cite sayings of Prophet Muhammad and the negative effects that alcohol can have.

    Beyond abstaining from drinking, some Muslims also seek religious edicts on a variety of related day-to-day questions or dilemmas. These include whether or not to consume food mixed with alcohol; if it’s considered a sin to work at a restaurant that serves alcohol in a Western country; if perfumes containing alcohol are allowed; and whether to attend ceremonies or events where booze is served.

    MUSLIM ATTITUDES ON ALCOHOL

    While the prohibition on alcohol in Islam is believed to be widely heeded, not all Muslims abstain from drinking. Some drink, whether privately or publicly. In a Pew Research Center survey of Muslims around the globe, most people surveyed said that drinking alcohol was morally wrong. More than half in all countries where Muslims were surveyed held this view, including more than nine-in-ten in Thailand, Ghana, Malaysia, the Palestinian territories, Indonesia, Niger and Pakistan, according to the Pew report, which was published in 2013 and included 38,000 interviews. Still, in 11 of the 37 countries where this question was asked, at least one-in-ten said that drinking alcohol is morally acceptable and in some countries, sizable percentages said consuming alcohol is not a moral issue, the report added.

    HOW IS THE BAN ON ALCOHOL APPLIED?

    Alcohol is available in some Islamic nations though regulations vary widely and there can be intricate rules and restrictions on its sale or where it can be consumed. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, outlaw alcohol altogether. Drinking there can be punished by flogging, fines, imprisonment and, for foreigners, deportation. The kingdom has in recent years been opening up entertainment options, which has spurred speculation about whether exceptions for alcohol consumption may be made in the future.

    Other places have a more relaxed approach, such as Dubai, a top travel destination in the United Arab Emirates that is known to many for its glitz and love for superlatives. Dubai boasts a variety of bars, nightclubs and lounges that attract many visitors and well-to-do expatriate residents. In recent years, the city has also been increasingly loosening laws governing alcohol sales and possession of liquor. As in some other places, alcohol sales there provide a lucrative tax revenue source.

    Alcohol is sold freely in liquor stores in Jordan and served in bars and restaurants throughout the capital of Amman. It is also available in Muslim-majority Egypt, which is traditionally popular with tourists and is home to a Christian minority. There, the young and rich can sip on cocktails or wines in beach clubs or bars, many with foreign names, while swaying to music. Wine, beer and spirits can also be ordered online among other options. Still, drinking is rejected by most; in the Pew study, 79% of surveyed Muslims in Egypt said they viewed alcohol as morally wrong.

    BREAKING THE RULES

    In dry countries, some have gone to great lengths to obtain alcohol, at times risking arrest, or worse. In Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, there have been reports of efforts to skirt the ban, including liquor runs by some to neighboring Bahrain. Attempts to sneak booze into the kingdom have over the years included bottles of whisky hidden in socks and cans of beer disguised as Pepsi. Some endeavors, however, end in tragedy. In 2002, 19 people in Saudi Arabia died and others were hospitalized after drinking cologne containing methanol. In Iran, some have also died from methanol poisoning after they drank toxic homemade brews.

    DRINKING IN QATAR

    Qatar, which like Saudi Arabia follows an ultraconservative version of Islam known as Wahhabism, has strict limits on the purchase and consumption of alcohol, though its sale has been permitted in hotel bars for years. During the World Cup, beer was originally supposed to be sold also at stadiums and at fan zones in the evenings. That changed Friday when it was announced that only non-alcoholic beer would be available at the stadiums, except for in the luxury hospitality areas where champagne, wine, whiskey and other alcohol is served. The vast majority of ticket holders don’t have access to those areas.

    The World Cup in Qatar is not the first to spur debate over whether alcohol sales should be allowed in matches. For the 2014 tournament, Brazil was forced to change a law to allow alcohol sales in stadiums — but the same cultural issues were not at play. Brazil had banned alcohol sales at soccer matches in a bid to curb fan violence. Some of those who were pushing for the ban’s lifting said at the time that in-stadium beer sales were a key part of World Cup tradition.

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    Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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  • Crowded fan zone turns thousands away before Qatar World Cup

    Crowded fan zone turns thousands away before Qatar World Cup

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    DOHA, Qatar — Authorities turned away thousands of fans Saturday night from a concert celebrating the World Cup beginning the next day in Qatar, showing the challenges ahead for Doha as it tries to manage crowds in FIFA’s most-compact tournament ever.

    Disappointed fans took being turned away largely in stride. Once away from the venue, Qatari police, security guards and others guided the thousands away with giant foam fingers, bullhorns and blinking traffic control wands.

    But the concert comes before the the 1.2 million fans expected for the tournament fully arrive in this nation on the Arabian Peninsula.

    And with Qatar deciding only Friday to ban beer sales from tournament stadiums, fan zones like the one on the corniche hosting the concert will be the only FIFA-associated area serving pints — meaning more fans could wind up there.

    “We know that what the police say here goes,” said a 30-year-old trucker from Mumbai, who declined to give his name for fear of reprisals. He and his friends had got a rare day off from Hamad Port to walk 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) to the fan zone before being turned away.

    “We’re sad to leave because it’s too early,” he added. “There’s nothing we can do.”

    Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which oversees the World Cup, did not immediately respond to questions about the fan zone turning away crowds Saturday night.

    Qatar, home to 3 million people, will see its population swell as the tournament begins. Already, it has spent over $200 billion for improvements across this energy-rich country slightly larger than Jamaica.

    That includes a vast new underground metro system that can whisk fans from the airport to matches. It has even closed schools for the month and urged residents to work from home.

    But Associated Press journalists already have seen pinch points where a large number of people can be bunched together even before the tournament begins.

    In Doha’s Souq Waqif, a major tourist destination, a walkway between outdoor restaurants quickly filled shoulder to shoulder Friday night. Its nearby metro station saw long lines, with some pushing and shoving between orderlies and those taking the train.

    Saturday night, however, started much smoother as Friday is the mandatory day off for all workers in the country. Fewer people initially stood along the corniche as a massive fireworks show suddenly went off, illuminating its skyscraper skyline to awed passersby.

    Just after 8 p.m., however, crowds thronged the Fan Zone, hoping to attend a concert featuring Lebanese singer Myriam Fares and Columbian singer Maluma. But as hundreds stood inside a holding pen, thousands more were outside of the venue.

    At one exit, the crowd tried to argue their way inside, with a few spectators slipping past guards. At an entrance, one security guard with a bullhorn pleaded with the crowd: “For your safety, please go back!”

    Still, some stayed and waited, hoping for a chance to get in, like Ayman Awad, a geologist who flew to Qatar on Saturday from Sudan.

    “I won’t give up,” Awad said. “I hope it doesn’t stay this crowded.”

    Many foreign fans, aware of Qatar’s restrictions on free speech, were wary of criticizing the host country as they waited. A group of Saudi tourists who expressed disappointment at the situation to an AP journalist later retracted their quotes for fear of wading into “politics.”

    The Fan Zone at Al Bidda Park plans other major concerts as well during the tournament. But it has taken on new prominence after Friday’s decision to ban alcohol sales at stadiums: It will be one of the few places outside of hotel bars and private residences where fans can have a drink while partying in this conservative Islamic nation.

    On Saturday night, a quick set of calls to several bars in Doha’s West Bay, an area full of high-end hotels, found that all were fully booked the night before the tournament as the Fan Zone was shut. Yet the real test will begin from Sunday, as Ecuador faces Qatar in the opening match and the group stage follows behind — with the crowds to come.

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  • World Cup opens with host country Qatar facing Ecuador

    World Cup opens with host country Qatar facing Ecuador

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    DOHA, Qatar — Given the level of focus on the Qatari regime, its attitudes toward human rights, immigrant workers, the LGBTQ community — and beer — the World Cup host’s soccer team has slipped under the radar.

    Qatar opens the tournament against Ecuador on Sunday, but even the buildup to that match has been overshadowed by Friday’s announcement that the sale of beer will be banned inside the stadium grounds.

    The World Cup is a source of immense national pride for Qatar in its attempt to raise its profile on the global stage and drive toward modernization. But what about the team?

    Qatar has never before appeared in a World Cup and faces a major challenge just to emerge from Group A, which also includes Senegal and the Netherlands. South Africa in 2010 is the only host nation to fail to get beyond the group stage, so to avoid sharing that distinction would be success in itself.

    Sunday may be Qatar’s best hope for a victory against an Ecuador team that is only five places above it at No. 44 in the FIFA rankings.

    Qatar’s preparation for this tournament has been going on for several years, including involvement in the 2019 Copa America and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. But it was victory in the 2019 Asian Cup that provided evidence of the country’s potential to provide a shock over the next few weeks.

    That continental title was masterminded by coach Felix Sanchez, who has been in the position since 2017 and before that was in charge of the under-19 team. The 46-year-old Spaniard learned his trade at Barcelona’s famed academy and his impact has been remarkable, with the Asian Cup success his standout moment.

    But the World Cup is another level entirely.

    “We try to maintain normality,” Sanchez told Spanish sports newspaper Marca. “We already know that there is that pressure, and we don’t have to add to it. We have our routine. We try to isolate ourselves from the noise around us and focus on getting our best performance.

    “It’s difficult because then you go onto the pitch, you see 60,000 people. It’s the first World Cup match and there’s so much expectation that it’s hard, but that experience will help them.”

    Ecuador will hope to spoil the party — and has been talked about as a potential surprise package. But the team heads to the World Cup on the back of doubts about whether it would even be allowed to compete after claims it fielded an ineligible player during qualifying.

    Chile and Peru argued that defender Byron Castillo was actually Colombian and illegally played in qualifying matches. That claim was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

    Ecuador kept its place at the World Cup, but will be deducted three points before the start of qualifying for the 2026 competition because of the use of false information on Castillo’s birthday and birthplace in its proceedings to grant him a passport.

    Castillo was then left out of coach Gustavo Alfaro’s 26-man squad for Qatar.

    With so much focus away from the field for both teams, Sunday’s opener will bring the conversation back to soccer.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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    James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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  • Culture clash? Conservative Qatar preps for World Cup party

    Culture clash? Conservative Qatar preps for World Cup party

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    On the Instagram accounts of fashion models and superstars last month, the sheikhdom of Qatar looked like one glittering party.

    High-heeled designers descended on exhibition openings and fashion shows in downtown Doha. Celebrities, including a prominent gay rights campaigner, snapped selfies on a pulsing dance floor.

    “As-salaam ’alykum Doha!” Dutch model Marpessa Hennink proclaimed on Instagram, using the traditional Muslim salutation.

    The backlash was swift. Qataris went online to vent their anger about what they called a dangerous and depraved revelry, saying it threatened Qatar’s traditional values ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Arabic hashtag, Stop the Destruction of Our Values, trended for days.

    The episode underscores the tensions tearing at Qatar, a conservative Muslim emirate that restricts alcohol, bans drugs and suppresses free speech, as it prepares to welcome possibly rowdy crowds for the first World Cup in the Middle East.

    “Our religion and customs prohibit indecent clothing and behavior,” Moheba Al Kheer, a Qatari citizen, said of the avant-garde artists and flamboyant models who mingled with Qatari socialites in late October. “It’s normal for us to worry when we see these kinds of people.”

    World Cup organizers say everyone is welcome during the tournament. Already, foreigners outnumber citizens 10 to one in Qatar. Some Qataris are liberal and open to mixing with foreigners. Many are thrilled about the tournament. But human rights groups have raised concerns over how police will deal with foreign fans’ violations of the Islamic laws criminalizing public drunkenness, sex outside of marriage and homosexuality.

    Qatar, a tiny Persian Gulf country that once was a dust-blown pearling port, transformed at almost warp-speed into an ultra-modern hub following its 1990s natural gas boom. Expats, including Western consultants and engineers and low-paid South Asian construction workers and cleaners, poured into the country.

    Glass-and-steel skyscrapers, luxury hotels and massive malls soon sprung up in the desert. In an effort to diversify away from a carbon-based economy, Qatar’s ruling family bought up stakes in things ranging from global finance and technology to the French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain and London real estate.

    The ruling emir’s sister, Sheikha Al Mayassa Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, became one of the world’s most important art buyers. His mother, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, became a global style icon and bought several luxury brands, including Valentino.

    But even as Qatar, among the world’s wealthiest countries per capita, looked to the West for inspiration, it faced pressure from within to stay true to its Islamic heritage and Bedouin roots. Qatar’s most powerful clan originates from the Arabian Peninsula’s landlocked interior, where the ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism was born.

    Qatari rulers treaded the tightrope between placating its conservative citizens and tribes and shoring up soft power as a major global player.

    “Doha’s religious discourse to its citizens is very different from its liberal discourse to the West,” said 38-year-old Qatari Mohammed al-Kuwari. “It cannot always succeed at both.”

    The glaring spotlight of the World Cup — which requires Qatar to relax access to alcohol, create fun outlets for fans and comply with FIFA rules promoting tolerance and inclusion — raises the stakes.

    In years past, the World Cup has turned host countries into the world’s biggest party, with joyous crowds drinking heavily and celebrating together. When emotions run high, fans can be euphoric — or rude and violent.

    This will shake up quiet Qatar, where such behavior is deeply taboo and virtually unheard of. Doha is not known for its nightlife. Despite its rapid development over the years, its entertainment offerings remain slim and its public spaces limited.

    Some foreign fans fret about how Qatar will handle hordes of drunken hooligans in the streets, given the nation’s public decency laws and strict limits on the purchase and consumption of alcohol.

    Swearing and making offensive gestures, dressing immodestly and kissing in public may normally lead to prosecution in Qatar. Anti-gay sentiment runs deep in society, like elsewhere in the Arab world. A senior security official has warned rainbow flags may be confiscated to protect fans from being attacked for promoting gay rights.

    Fan anxiety is apparent in recent Reddit message boards: “How would the government know if someone is gay?” “How bad is it to wear short pants (Can I get arrested)?” “Is it true that people who say negative things about Qatar on social media get arrested?”

    At the same time, conservative Qataris fret about how much their society can bend to accommodate World Cup guests. Doha plans to throw giant electronic music festivals. Authorities say they’ll turn a blind eye to offenses like public intoxication, intervening only in response to destruction of property and threats to public safety.

    “I hope that the World Cup will not strip society of its religion, morals and customs,” said a 28-year-old Qatari man who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

    He said he found comfort in a promise from the country’s advisory Shura Council last month that authorities will “ensure the building of a strong society that adheres to its religion” and reject “any excessive behavior” that breaks local taboos.

    But because the tournament fulfills the vision of the country’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to develop the country, experts say the tiny population of Qataris have little choice but to accept whatever comes.

    The emirate brooks no dissent. Qatar’s oil and gas wealth has generated a social contract where citizens benefit from a cradle-to-grave welfare state and political rights come after state paternalism.

    “If Qatar wants to be on the world map they have to adhere by global standards and values,” said Andreas Krieg, an assistant professor of security studies at King’s College London. “The government will stand its ground on certain issues, and the population will fall in line.”

    Al-Kuwari, the citizen, was blunter.

    “There is fear,” he said. “If a citizen thinks to criticize, a (prison) sentence awaits him.”

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    Follow Isabel DeBre on Twitter at www.twitter.com/isabeldebre.

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