IRAQ Baghdad, Christian deputies against the law that prohibits the sale of alcohol

The Babylon Movement denounces that it is unconstitutional, because it ignores the rights of minorities. The standard was approved in 2016, but it only became official in recent days when it was published in the Gazette. Fines of up to 16 thousand euros. In Iraqi Kurdistan, an ancient Assyrian archaeological site with the inscription “Allah Akhbar” was vandalized.

Baghdad () – A new battlefront is opening up in Iraq over the sale and consumption of alcohol, a thorny and long-debated issue that has caused deadly attacks on Christian shops and merchants in the past by Islamic extremist groups. These days, indeed, some politicians are trying to repeal the law that prohibits the import and sale of alcoholic products, because on March 4 the order was given to enforce the law and apply the prohibition. The rule became law last month, despite a hard-fought battle and strong opposition from the parliamentary minority.

The five Christian deputies, elected on the basis of the quota of seats reserved for minorities, filed a lawsuit claiming that the law against the sale of alcohol is “contrary to democracy.” In Iraq, a Muslim-majority country, public consumption is discouraged and frowned upon, although the drinks can be bought in shops or sold in licensed bars.

The law was approved in Parliament in 2016 and carries fines of up to 16,000 euros. It prohibits the sale, import or production of alcohol, but it officially came into force last month, seven years after the vote, when it was published in the official gazette. At the moment it is not known with what rigor it will be applied, and if it will be rejected by the Supreme Court or it will keep it in force, ruling that it is in accordance with the law.

In the appeal, the members of the Babylon Movement denounced its unconstitutionality because it ignores the rights of minorities and restricts personal freedoms. It also contradicts a government decree that was adopted in the days before the publication in the Official Gazette on February 20, which establishes a 200% tax on all imported alcoholic beverages for the next four years.

Interviewed by AFP, Sarmad Abbas, a Baghdad trader, explains that the ban will end up fueling the black market but will not stop the sale of alcohol, which by the way is not restricted only to the Christian minority. He also acknowledges that Islam prohibits its consumption, although he adds that “here we are talking about personal freedoms that citizens cannot be prohibited from exercising.” In the past, the Chaldean patriarchate had also intervened on the issue, stating that the law against alcohol was a “liberticidal law” and that “at a critical moment like this [2016, ndr.]when the offensive in the north is taking place” against the Islamic State, “it harms everyone and in particular the national unity”.

The concerns of Iraqi Christians do not end with alcohol. On March 3, some vandals attacked and desecrated an Assyrian archaeological site in Dohuk, in Iraqi Kurdistan. The attackers wrote extremist Islamic banners and slogans, striking for the third time at the same location in the past seven years. It is in the area of ​​the Kalamata cave, on Mount Zawa, to the south of the city, which is almost 3,000 years old and where King Sennacherib, who ruled the Assyrian empire between 704 and 681 BC, is represented. posters that wrote on the reliefs is the motto “Allah Akhbar”.