Crowds of Syrians protested on Sunday against authorities' efforts to limit the sale and consumption of alcohol in Damascus. Hundreds of residents from a range of religious sects protested in Bab Touma, a Christian neighborhood in Damascus. ' and brandished signs urging the government to safeguard personal liberties and religious minorities.
Heavily armed security forces surrounded the protesters, but the demonstration passed without incident. The governor of Damascus issued a decree last week banning the provision of alcoholic beverages in restaurants and nightclubs across the capital. Within three months, restaurants must remove wine lists, and bar and club owners must trade their licenses for cafe permits.
Authorities said the decision was made 'at the request of the local community'. The decree allows alcohol to be sold in three predominantly Christian neighborhoods: Bab Touma, al-Qassaa, and Bab Sharqi. Establishments in those three areas cannot serve alcohol on site, and shops can only sell alcohol in sealed take-away bottles.
Vendors must keep at least 75 meters away from mosques and schools, and 20 meters away from police stations and government offices. The interim government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces growing pressure from hard-liners to impose more conservative religious values. Al-Sharaa has not publicly weighed in on the alcohol debate.
Syria is still reeling from 14 years of civil war and five decades of dictatorship more than a year after Bashar Assad was ousted. Under Assad's family dynasty, Syrians had little civic or political freedoms but could drink alcohol, party at nightclubs, and dress as they pleased. Al-Sharaa vowed to unite the country and respect pluralism after being named interim president.
An alcohol ban is being introduced in Syria, a sign the country may be moving toward stricter application of religious conservatism. A bar owner in Damascus says he will close his restaurant after the decision because people won't come to eat pizza or smoke hookah anyway. Mohammad al-Abdullah questions the legal basis for the alcohol ban, stating that Syrian laws do not forbid people from drinking or selling alcohol.