In a dusty neighborhood on the outskirts of Qatar’s capital, guards stand responsibility at a gated compound ringed with razor wire, fastidiously checking passports and permits earlier than permitting anybody inside. But this is not a jail or a high-security space related to the continuing World Cup.
It’s the liquor retailer.
Rigid limits on alcohol are a reality of life on this conservative Muslim nation on the Arabian Peninsula, which follows the identical strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam as its neighbor Saudi Arabia. Soccer followers coming to Qatar for the World Cup obtained a style of that simply earlier than the match as authorities cancelled beer gross sales at stadiums.
Yet corks proceed to be popped in luxurious containers at video games. Fans are filling pints from beer towers at dozens of resort bars, lounges and nightclubs with liquor licenses. Sales of $14 Budweisers at Doha’s FIFA Fan Zone proceed unabated.
“Not to say that you need alcohol to fuel your life, but it’s a good time,” stated Ed Ball, an American who created a web based map for imbibers in Doha to seek out bars. “The idea being passed around that you can’t drink in Qatar is wrong. There are places.”
One state-owned liquor retailer
In addition to the bars, there’s the liquor retailer the place non-Muslim residents and guests can store after making use of for a government-issued license. Located subsequent to an Indian college in Doha’s dusty Abu Hamour neighborhood, it’s run by the Qatar Distribution Co., a state-owned enterprise underneath the umbrella of Qatar Airways, which holds unique rights to distribute alcohol and pork within the nation.
The retailer — at the moment the one one promoting liquor in Qatar — operates on an appointment system, harkening again to the strict coronavirus rules that ruled this nation prior to only earlier than the World Cup.
On a latest go to, guards twice checked an Associated Press reporter’s identifications and appointments. Razor wire tops the compound’s excessive partitions, which bar the general public from a peek inside. Signs warn that any abuse aimed on the guards may end up in an alcohol license being revoked. Empty silver-colored beer kegs are piled up within the parking zone.
At the top of a chlorine-scented walkway, prospects attain the doorway to the shop. Inside, the cabinets and stands are stocked with bottles of wine largely working from $12.50 as much as $45. A liter of Absolut vodka goes for $42, whereas a liter of Jack Daniels whiskey units a client again $70. A 24-pack of ordinary Budweiser cans prices almost $52.
“Not that big of a deal”
A small part of the shop presents frozen pork pepperoni pizzas, slabs of bacon, Spam and cans of pork and beans.
Customers crammed their carts or carried bottles and cans of their arms, checking in opposition to purchasing lists or texting members of the family to double examine what was wanted. Several wore FIFA passes for the match round their necks.
Outside the store, a 31-year-old British girl who works as a faculty trainer in Qatar, crammed the trunk of her automotive. She declined to supply her identify, given the connotations consuming can carry in Qatari society, however dismissed criticism surrounding consuming and the match.
“It’s really not that big of a deal,” she stated of the licensing system in Qatar. “It’s like going to the supermarket — for alcohol.”
She added that she thought the restrictions on gross sales for the matches additionally made sense. “I’m British. I know what it’s like to to be around drunk people all the time.”
Complex historical past
Across the broader Persian Gulf, alcohol stays banned in Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the sheikhdom of Sharjah within the United Arab Emirates. Drinking alcohol is taken into account haram, or forbidden, in Islam. Imams level to a verse within the Quran calling wine “the work of Satan.”
But the area as a complete has a protracted historical past with alcohol, itself an Arabic phrase. The eighth century poet Abu Nawas even was recognized for his “khamriyyat,” or “wine poems.”
Both alcohol and pork face a 100% import responsibility. Qatar says it makes use of the tax income to enhance well being care, infrastructure, training and different public companies.
Visitors should not allowed to convey alcohol into the nation. Many accommodations are dry and prohibit friends from bringing alcohol to their rooms.
Millions of liters bought regardless of restrictions
Even with these restrictions, Qatar bought 23.2 million liters of alcoholic drinks in 2021, in keeping with information from Euromonitor International. Though dwarfed by the United Arab Emirates’ 115 million liters bought in the identical interval, Qatar’s numbers present a 14.6% development because the pandemic waned.
Meanwhile, Ball’s on-line map of bars in Qatar has been considered over 875,000 instances. An accompanying Twitter account reveals him downing two pints of beer in 10 seconds.
“For me, drinking is just like eating. It just goes along with the culture,” Ball instructed the AP after returning dwelling to Seattle, the place he works for Boeing Co. “I know it’s not part of Qatar … but it’s also part of the World Cup. One of the biggest sponsors is Budweiser so it simply goes to indicate you it sort of goes hand in hand.”
Bars in Qatar usually scan IDs of these heading in, with many engaged on a voucher system throughout the match to ensure followers spend no less than certain quantity.
On Saturday night time, a gaggle of Russians screamed expletives on the U.S. group throughout its match with the Netherlands as they downed pictures and posed for pictures with servers at Doha’s Irish Harp.
Dermot O’Callaghan, a 66-year-old soccer fan from Dublin, Ireland, loved a a lot calmer pint on the bar, swaying alongside to the Cuban band Chicas Melao.
“It’s very enjoyable, you can get a drink here if you want in the evenings,” O’Callaghan stated. “You do have a cohort of fans roaming around, looking for a drink.”