The Syrian authorities imposed strict restrictions on the sale of alcoholic beverages in Damascus, in a move that some see as a clear indication of the trend of the new regime led by Ahmed Al-Sharaa towards implementing a religious lifestyle.
Under a decision issued by the Damascus Governorate, bar and restaurant owners were forced to withdraw alcoholic beverages from their menus within three months, with the licenses of bars and nightclubs changed to cafés, and the sale of alcohol limited to sealed bottles “for take-out” only, and in areas with a Christian majority.
The decision also stipulates that places that sell alcohol must be at least 75 meters from places of worship and schools, and 20 meters from security centers, otherwise they will be subject to closure.
Reuters quoted a bar owner in Damascus as intending to close his shop, due to the sharp decline in the number of customers since the new government came to power in late 2024. He believed that converting the bar into a restaurant or café without alcohol was “useless.”
These measures come after similar steps taken by many restaurants, which began removing alcohol from their menus or serving it indirectly, since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the assumption of new power.
Ahmed Al-Sharaa had previously promised to preserve freedoms, and stressed in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly that Syria seeks to build a state that respects the law and guarantees rights.
However, critics, including Muhammad al-Abdullah, director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Center in Washington, believe that the decision is illegal and contradicts the interim constitution, which guarantees rights and freedoms, including the freedom to consume alcohol.
In a related context, the authorities escalated their measures during the month of Ramadan, as they arrested an employee in Hama Governorate on charges of “violating public morals” after breaking the fast in public, and a number of workers in one of the bakeries were dismissed for the same reason, in another indication of increasing strictness in the application of religious rules.
