New Damascus Governorate Regulations on Alcoholic Drinks

Translation and overview

Since the fall of the Assad regime, observers have wondered what type of government would emerge in Syria. From an early stage, it was clear to me that those leading the government- in particular, the former Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham leaders, including Ahmad al-Sharaa, and senior figures in the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham-backed Salvation Government that was based out of Idlib and its environs- are Islamist in orientation, by which I mean that they strive for a society whose main source of legislation is deemed to be Islamic law and jurisprudence. Of course, what exact form of governance that entails is not entirely set in stone, but at least some decisions- both local and national- should be expected that are influenced by stipulations of Islamic law and jurisprudence.

A recent decision issued by Damascus governorate- which is governed by Maher Idlibi (who served as a leading judicial figure in the Salvation Government and is an in-law of al-Sharaa)- is an example of this trend. The decision includes restrictions on sales of alcoholic drinks within Damascus, effectively limiting their sale to historically Christian areas. It is translated in full below with annotations in square brackets.