An old Irish whiskey toast implores God to ‘hold you in the palm of his hand.’ Now you can add Allah to that list.In a radical shift, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plans to allow alcohol sales to non-Muslim diplomats for the first time.Citing government documents, the AFP reported that Saudi’s de facto king, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will open such a store in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter which is mainly comprised of foreign missions and residences west of the city’s centre.Access will be restricted to registered foreigners and quotas will be strictly enforced, the document reportedly said. In a statement, the Saudi government’s Center for International Communication said the aim of the policy is “to counter the illicit trade of alcohol goods and products received by diplomatic missions.”Foreign embassies are known for boozy parties from foreigners who bring it in diplomatic pouches which aren’t subject to search or seizure. Practically all Saudis travel, and have consumed alcohol at some point. Some airports, such as Bahrain, have duty-free stores after the exit gates that cater specifically to Saudi tourists with extensive selections of single malt Scotch. Smuggled bottles typically go for hundreds of dollars on the black market.Even the word ‘alcohol’ has its origins in the Arabic word ‘Al-kuhl’ which refers to distillation. Both the word and process of distillation were brought into Europe by medieval Moors.Nonetheless alcohol has been banned in the kingdom since 1952 after one of King Abdulaziz’s sons got drunk and shot dead a British diplomat in a drunken rage..It comes as part of bin Salman’s so-called Vision 2030 agenda, which in recent years has liberalized laws allowing women to drive and seen the first movie theatres open. Bin Salman is also hoping to lure foreign tourists which would entail even a modest liberalization of many laws, not just alcohol consumption.Music concerts and theatre performances — such as Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice — are still prohibited under penalty of death or the lash. Public executions are routinely held in public squares for petty offences such as consuming alcohol.In 2015, a 74-year old British pensioner received 350 lashes for making home made wine, sparking a diplomatic dispute with the UK government.In 2023, the Saudi government carried out at least 172 executions according to human rights groups.While some see it as a sign of opening, Saudi conservatives worry it’s just the tip of the iceberg that will inevitably lead to Western-style social problems and crime and — gasp — prostitution.“Let’s say if I have a younger sibling, if alcohol is out there, there is a possibility that he will become an alcoholic,” one anonymous person told The Guardian.His friend chimed in to say that he would prefer that people continue to go abroad to drink, as many already do — specifically for that purpose.“It’s just scary that they’re allowing such things. Any individual that wants to try alcohol, it’s literally an hour by plane away,” he said.
