The Iraq Parliament [official website] approved a law “Forbidding the import, manufacture and sale of all kinds of alcohol drinks.” Until this time, alcohol has been made readily available in shops, bars, restaurant and hotels in Baghdad and in some of the provinces of Iraq, and it was not unusual for young people in Baghdad to be observed drinking. Lawmaker and head of the parliament’s legal panel, Mahmoud al-Hassan, stated [Reuters report] that the law was necessary to preserve Iraq’s identity as a Muslim country. Al-Hassan belongs to the Shi’ite majority, a conservative section of Iraq’s population, which has dominated the parliament since the US invasion of the country in 2003. Opponents of the law stated that the law infringes religious freedom of Christians and other minority groups, protected by the constitution, while member of parliament (MP) Ammar Toma justified the law [BBC report] stating that the constitution stipulates that “no law that contradicts the established provisions of Islam may be established.” Christian and other minority groups have expressed concern over the law, which they view as a threat to fundamental principles of freedom and the inevitable result of the growing influence of religious parties. MP and Iraq Christian minority leader Yonadim Kanna has expressed his intention to refer the case to federal court stating that the ban violates the Iraq Constitution.

This recent ban on alcohol may well have been the inevitable outcome of the significant challenges Iraq has faced in recent years in connection with providing basic infrastructure and a stable government. In April the Iraq parliament voted to remove [Al Jazeera report] the parliamentary speaker Salim al-Juburi after accusing him of blocking reforms. The move was one of many cabinet membership questions that have led to chaos in the chambers. In November 2015 the parliament voted [JURIST report] to prevent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi [official website] from unilaterally passing important reforms without parliament’s approval. In August 2015 Iraq’s cabinet approved a proposal [JURIST report] by al-Abadi to reduce the number of top political positions, decrease spending, and restart a corruption investigation program. A vice presidential position currently held by former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki was among those to be eliminated. Those in favor of the changes say they are needed [Gulf News op-ed] for the government to operate more effectively, but opponents who broadly support change worry that they concentrate too much power [Al Arabiya report] in Al Abadi.