For the first time in 72 years, Saudi Arabia allows the sale of alcohol: opinions are divided

The news that Saudi Arabia will allow the country’s first liquor store has the Wahhabi kingdom’s citizens and foreigners alike wondering: Is this a minor policy change or a major shock?

As The Guardian notes, sources familiar with preparations for the store’s opening revealed details of the plan on Wednesday, when a document was circulated indicating how carefully the leaders of the teetotal Gulf kingdom will manage its operations.

Located in the Saudi capital’s diplomatic quarter, the store will only be accessible to non-Muslim diplomats, meaning nothing will change for the vast majority of Saudi Arabia’s 32 million residents.

In addition, quotas for the purchase of booze will be introduced. Access to the store will be limited to those who register through a special application. And shoppers will be asked to keep their phones in a “special mobile device bag” while they select beer, wine and spirits.

However, some Riyadh residents told AFP they see the development as a first step towards wider availability of alcohol, which would be a sharp departure from the nationwide prohibition law in force since 1952.

“This country continues to surprise us,” said a Lebanese businessman dining Wednesday night at LPM, a French restaurant in Riyadh known for its extensive selection of non-alcoholic wines and cocktails mixed at the 18-meter (60-foot) marble-topped bar. – This is a country that is developing, that is growing and that attracts a lot of talent and a lot of investment. So yes, of course there will be a lot more.”

However, like other LPM visitors, the businessman declined to give his name, emphasizing the sensitivity of anything involving alcohol, which is prohibited in Islam, in a country home to the Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina.

At another table, ordering hazelnut tiramisu, two Saudi men in their 30s said they were worried about what selling alcohol would mean for the kingdom’s identity.

“It’s not who we are,” one of the men said. – It’s not that I have any condemnation towards people who drink. No, absolutely not. But having something that exists affects the culture and the community.”

He added: “Let’s say if I have a younger brother or sister, if alcohol is common, there is a chance that he will become an alcoholic.”

His friend intervened, saying that he would prefer that people continue to travel abroad to drink, as many do at present.

“It’s just scary that they allow such things to be imported. [в страну]. Any person who wants to try alcohol is literally an hour away by plane, he said. – Everyone travels here. It’s easily accessible. But what I’m saying is that in this jurisdiction, I’m not happy that this is allowed.”

As part of his Vision 2030 reform program, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is trying to transform the world’s largest crude oil exporter into a business, sports and tourism hub that can thrive in an eventual post-oil era.

That requires attracting more foreigners, and allowing alcohol consumption “in a phased manner” could play a role in that, said Christine Divan of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

“This is another step towards normalizing government sanctions on alcohol in certain settings,” she comments.

The government’s Center for International Communications said Wednesday that the goal of the new policy is to “counter the illicit trade of alcoholic beverages and products received by diplomatic missions.”

It was an apparent reference to a thriving local hidden market, where bottles of whiskey often sell for hundreds of dollars, The Guardian claims.

Framing the news this way “is probably intended to send a subtle signal that change may be on the way, but that the process will be gradual and tightly controlled,” says Christian Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at the Public Policy Institute. Baker at Rice University.

For their part, restaurant industry insiders are unsure whether this will impact business in the near term.

“It won’t have a direct impact on the food and drink industry,” one manager said, although he added that if it changes the outside world’s perception of Saudi Arabia, “it could bring attention to the kingdom,” meaning more customers.

If access to alcohol in Saudi Arabia ends up expanding beyond what sources described Wednesday, the biggest losers will be sellers of mocktails and other increasingly fashionable soft drinks.

“This is not good for me. I’m going to lose my business,” Evans Kahindi, brand manager for Blended by Lyre’s, a soft drink company, said with a laugh. “There have always been rumors that real alcohol is sold here… But honestly, that’s a government matter, we don’t know yet, and I can’t speculate on anything.”