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Rows of yellow-labelled whiskey bottles sit alongside imported French wines, while cans of Korean beer chill in the fridge: with Iraq’s Mosul free of terrorists, the booze is back.
The city spent three years under the iron-fisted rule of the ISIS group, which punished those caught drinking alcohol with public lashings or worse. But more than a year since Iraqi forces ousted the terrorists from Mosul, liquor stores are flourishing.
The western commercial district of Al-Duwasa is home to several modest outlets, including Khairallah Tobey’s.
The enterprising 21-year-old bounced between well-stocked shelves, pulling down bottles of beer priced at an affordable 1,500 Iraqi dinars — just over a dollar.
“Our sales are good right now,” said Tobey, a member of Iraq’s Yazidi minority.
Owners of Mosul’s bottle shops are all Yazidi or Christian, as Iraq does not grant alcohol licenses to Muslim citizens.
But under ISIS, which violently enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law when it overran Mosul in 2014, everyone was banned from selling, buying, or drinking alcohol.
Booze never completely disappeared from the city — its residents found ways to smuggle in the devil’s drink — but it was expensive and dangerous.
With Mosul back under government control since July 2017, liquor stores are now back in the open.
“At work, I feel relaxed and not afraid or nervous at all, thanks to the security and freedom now present in Mosul,” Tobey told AFP.
“A Personal Freedom”: With Terrorists Gone, Booze Is Back In Iraq’s Mosul
Iraq’s Mosul spent three years under the iron-fisted rule of the ISIS group, which punished those caught drinking alcohol with public lashings or worse.
World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: December 02, 2018 10:11 IST
‘A Personal Freedom’: With Terrorists Gone, Booze Is Back In Iraq’s Mosul
A man buys liquor from a shop in Iraq’s second city of Mosul. (AFP)
Rows of yellow-labelled whiskey bottles sit alongside imported French wines, while cans of Korean beer chill in the fridge: with Iraq’s Mosul free of terrorists, the booze is back.
The city spent three years under the iron-fisted rule of the ISIS group, which punished those caught drinking alcohol with public lashings or worse.
But more than a year since Iraqi forces ousted the terrorists from Mosul, liquor stores are flourishing.
The western commercial district of Al-Duwasa is home to several modest outlets, including Khairallah Tobey’s.
The enterprising 21-year-old bounced between well-stocked shelves, pulling down bottles of beer priced at an affordable 1,500 Iraqi dinars — just over a dollar.
“Our sales are good right now,” said Tobey, a member of Iraq’s Yazidi minority.
Owners of Mosul’s bottle shops are all Yazidi or Christian, as Iraq does not grant alcohol licenses to Muslim citizens.
But under ISIS, which violently enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law when it overran Mosul in 2014, everyone was banned from selling, buying, or drinking alcohol.
Booze never completely disappeared from the city — its residents found ways to smuggle in the devil’s drink — but it was expensive and dangerous.
With Mosul back under government control since July 2017, liquor stores are now back in the open.
“At work, I feel relaxed and not afraid or nervous at all, thanks to the security and freedom now present in Mosul,” Tobey told AFP.
“Openly, without fear”
Across the Tigris river in the city’s east, vendor Abu Rayan said he has had the last laugh.
“I opened up my shop again just to spite Daesh, after it kicked us out of the city and confiscated our property and money,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol, but drinking has remained commonplace across Muslim-majority Iraq.
Two years ago, the country’s presidency shot down a draft bill in parliament that proposed a ban on the production, sale, and import of alcoholic drinks.
There are no restrictions on consuming alcohol in Mosul, but those who sell, buy and drink it take certain precautions.
Most shops keep their signs relatively discrete, hanging just a few posters advertising Turkish beer Efes or its Korean counterpart Cass to help customers find the store.
Bottles are always packed in opaque black bags, and when they are cracked open, it’s typically out of public view — usually a spot on the Tigris river late at night or in the privacy of a home.