Al-Asala are at it again [arabic – al-wasat], not content with their proposal to be discussed in the forthcoming 3rd session of parliament to enact Islamic Shari’a laws, their next step is banning alcohol without for an instant taking into consideration and immense economic damage this move might incur, especially that there are various reports in the local papers over the last few days of the endemic problem of unemployment, and the abject failure that the “Bahrainisation” policy, especially taking into consideration the McKenzie research into the unemployment situation in Bahrain.
But, it seems that their main objective in parliament is not really the improvement of education, health, economy or any of these mundane things. Their objective is to surpass Saudi Arabia in its restrictive applications of archaic laws, and even surpass the Taliban movement. They fail to realise that in both of these instances they demonstrated their failure and dire consequences to their own people.
I guess the next thing on their agenda must be the creation of a mercenary Muslim army to go forth and spread their own version of Islam in the world.
Now where have we heard all of this before?
Comments
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
It’s frustrating when our so-called leaders — religious and political — think they have to protect us from ourselves. Every Muslim has to take responsibility for his/her actions and live with the consequences. To treat us as if we cannot be trusted to make our own decisions is part of what has gotten so many muslims into such a terrible state in the world today. We simply don’t know how to be accountable without following what our mullahs say down to how to go to the toilet.
Furthermore, our Muslim nations are home to many non-Muslims. Why should we restrict them from enjoying alcohol within legal limits on behavior (ie., barring drunk driving, public drunkenness, etc.)? Do we want to lose the contributions that non-Muslims make to our nations’ growth and development because we create an inhospitable climate for them?
My parents raised me to take responsibility for myself once I reached adulthood. I don’t need some fellow with a scraggly beard to do it for me.
Salaam Alaikum,
PM
Where before?
Where have we heard that plan to force religion down your throat using the power of the state? From the Emperor Constantine, Charlemagne the King of the Franks, “St.” Olaf the king of Norway, Ivan the Terrible Czar of all the Russias, Henry the VIII King of England and Defender of the Faith, his daughter Bloody Mary, his other daughter Elizabeth the Virgin Queen, and on and on and on
Oops, wait, these were all ‘Christians’
Maybe it’s just a phase, maybe religions have an ebb and flow to them like everything else. I hope I don’t live long enough to see the inevitable revival of such behavior among Christians
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
Mahmood.. I would like to ask you a question but is sort of personal and I am not sure whether I should ask on here. Is there an address I could contact you on
Re(1): Where before?
During my recent trip to Amsterdam, I was hosting a couple of customers from Saudi, one was from the East Coast while the other was from the West Coast. They have never met each other before. After a while at dinner they started swapping home-brew recipies! How to make pale ale, dark ale, red and white wine, what the best ingredients and how to get them from the Saudi market, how and where to get the best beer-bottle stoppers etc.
To me it was a fascinating discussion. They to me sounded like not only wine coneseurs, but wine and hop growers jealously yet generously protecting their brewing knowledge.
This is in Saudi today, a place where alcohol was banned 1,400 years ago yet you would find Saudis and expatriates going to all lengths to go around that ban. I somehow don’t think that (a) this ban will ever be in effect in Bahrain – too much economic distruction and the government won’t let this dickheaded bill to pass, and (b) if on the remote chance that the bill does pass, then I’ll change my job and start selling the required ingredients! 😉
Re: Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
sure! mahmood_at_mahmood_dot_tv
looking forward to hear from you!
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
Never mind that the word “Alcohol” is from Arabic, Beer is reputed to have come from Sumeria, and wine’s earliest reference is from Babylon. Ah, but that’s why we have education ministries to Tipp-Ex “Israel” from our atlases, and to pronounce a profondly muslim Middle East long before Islam was ever revealed.
When Prohibition was enacted in the United States, the government threw its full weight behind its enforcement, and soon realized that it wasn’t worth enforcing. Saudi Arabia has laws that ban the commercial availability of alcohol, but we all know the dirty little secret of what Sandra Mackey called “near-beer”.
Someone has to realize that alcohol is not the problem. Alcoholism is, public drunkeness is, drunk driving is, date rape is. These are things that require addressing. And brewing experiments are likely to go the way of filling gas tanks by candlelight (oops, I forgot we weren’t supposed to be talking about him…)
Mahmood, I recall reading your post about how you broached the Sex Ed talk with your son. I was kind of back and forth about it, and of course, the end result will hopefully be to your satisfaction. It then prompted me to think of when my father introduced me to beer when I was 14. Officially. He snuck me some beer when I was 5, I remember thinking it was the nastiest stuff on the planet. Then I found fried green beans. But anyway, 9 years later, he started me on a course of, “it’s no big deal, respect your boundaries and know your limits”. Which is exactly what it still is for me.
There is such a thing as responsible consumption, and on account of the idiots, they’r going to ruin it for the rest of us!
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
Any real concerted effort to ban alocohol in this country is going to lead to a significantly marked increase in hard drugs consumption. Look at Kuwait and Iran as examples.
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
A question for you folks (directly mainly towards the Bahrainis). Having seen the current MPs raise insubstantial issues again and again, and ignoring the issues that really affect us, do you think that the next elections will yield siginificantly different results?
We’ve seen these guys try to ban alcohol, segregate the uni, segregate expat workers. I would like to think that the Bahraini voters will have now realized that these guys are not serious about developing the country, and will vote in a different set of folks next time round. But somehow the sceptic side of me believes that there will not be a huge change. Poeple will still vote according to sects/tribes/families… i.e. the election will remain focused around personalities rather than on policies.
Is there any real hope? and what we can we do to get people to start thinking about issues rather than personalities. This is of course a question dealt by many young democracies. I wonder if anyone knows examples of other places which can be used as an example.
Thoughts?
– Chan’ad
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
Well, that beats the ex-pats in Kuwit who used to brew their poison with photocopy toner, I am told 😉
Yes, where there is a will there is ALWAYS a way — and no mullah can protect us from that now, can he? 😉
Salaam Alaikum,
PM
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
the election will remain focused around personalities rather than on policies
That’s the way it is here in the states–elections almost never turn on actual details of policy. It’s more about whether the guy running is one of Us or one of Them
littlewhy
wintersoldier.blogspot.com
Re: Where before?
Been there. Done that.
Steve
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
There is an old Arab man who owns the liquor store down the street from where I live.
I have told him about you, and suggested that when I win the California lottery, I would invite him to Bahrain where I promised I would go to share a beer with you.
Tell those bastard politicians to go to Hell! Beer is one of life’s
pleasures that cannot be denied man!
Political Economy
Historically, Arab politics has always been about compromise. Tribal interactions were always about give and take. And the playing field was almost always level. Oil and w’asta changed all of that.
American politics have a compromise feature built into them called “pork”, where a politicians constituency is given a line item in the budget in exchange for political capital. They’re usually called “pork bills”.
I propose we call dumb-ass motions to pander to an interest group (really, banning alcohol, introducing Sharia, segregating the sexes and the races), we need to call them something like “Halwa motions”. Halwa is sweet to the tongue, but the unGodly amounts of sugar usually have me clutching my stomach.
On a serious note though, how far are we from having an organized polling organization (similar to Gallup) that can be a fair assessment of popular opinion? What is the current situation of feedback where MPs and the council members hear from the people about whether or not they do anything productive?
Halwa Motions
Well, it’s better than Pork Bills 😉
And don’t forget halwa’s potential for rotting teeth and diabetes. I avoid the stuff altogether 🙂
Is there a plan for a polling organization? I have a friend at Al Jazeera who was telling me recently that the lack of such institutions in the Gulf creates major problems for the media. Without any means of accurately assessing performance and satisfaction in our political structures, we are in danger of simply paying lip service to democracy. What a tool we are lacking!
Salaam Alaikum,
PM
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
Never mind the motion to ban alcohol which isn’t going to be passed anyway – more pressing is the equally brain dead political societies law. Is this the worst, most amatuerish and confused sheet of paper that the esteemed MPs have passed? They might think its ok to blame everyone else for it now – each other, the government, the opposition, human rights groups for not objecting before hand etc – but these guys debated it, amended it and passed it so they’ve gotta carry the can.
As for Ahmed Berzhad – absolutely no contrition whatsoever. I’d rather leave Bahrain’s beer supply in the hands of the six terror suspects than allow you anywhere near the legislative chamber again.
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
–Benjamin Franklin
Re: Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
Yeah, some of the current MPs seem to have no backbone. I guess they happily accepted the government’s ideas on this since it means the current MPs will have more power (since the opposition will be out of the game).
It does however make you wonder why the human rights groups and the opposition were so oblivious to this draft law before it was passed in the parliament. Maybe I’m just out of the loop or something, but I didn’t hear anything about the draft law until just recently.
For anyone that has no idea what Long Beard and I are talking about, read the GDN report here.
Chan’ad
[Modified by: Chan’ad (chanad) on September 23, 2004 02:32 AM]
[Modified by: Chan’ad (chanad) on September 23, 2004 02:55 PM]
[Modified by: Chan’ad (chanad) on September 23, 2004 02:56 PM]
Proposed political societies law controversy
The link to the GDN article is here. The GDN website (come to that ALL the national papers in Bahrain) sucks, they still treat the internet as a print medium so the link that works today will not work tomorrow!
Anyway, the link in plain text (just in case) is http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/printnews.asp?Article=92293
Motion to ban alcohol in Bahrain
these mp’s need to chill out.. crack open a cold bud, order some pizza and watch the muharraq-gharbee game.