dry in Iraq?

[rodeodance]

http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/irq/irq_84_4_eng.txt
Drinkers Face Tough Times in New Iraq

In the south of the country, getting hold of a beer or bottle of spirits is a lot harder than it used to be.

By Salaam Jihad and Hussain Ali al-Yassiry in Najaf and Karbala (ICR No. 84, 11-Oct-04)

In the increasingly conservative climate of the Shia south, people in the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf who enjoy a tipple now and then are finding the going rough.

Liquor stores have been forced to close leaving drinkers with a long journey to purchase alcohol, and they then have to find a secluded spot to drink without harassment from disapproving neighbours.

Before the fall of the regime, it was illegal to sell alcoholic drinks in the holy cities, but drinkers could easily find beer, whiskey and other spirits in liquor stores on the outskirts of the cities. By law, Muslims cannot sell alcohol so liquor stores, traditionally, have been owned by Christians.

The al-Ansar quarter of Najaf was a popular place to buy alcohol, but after the war, the people in the neighborhood forced out Christian families selling liquor...... more