Saudis may let the corks be popped
Some in kingdom want legal booze, but others worry
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The lights are dim and the game is on loud at a sports bar in downtown Riyadh. Women on bar stools sip blueberry mojitos in front of wall-to-wall screens, erupting in cheers when their soccer team scores.
This being Saudi Arabia, of course there’s one thing missing: Alcohol. The drinks are virgin because the country bans booze. But as the kingdom goes through an intoxicating social transformation, Saudis are now starting to wonder — some with excitement, many with concern — if another hallmark of their country’s strict interpretation of Islam might start to disappear.
Under de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has drawn international castigation with the murder of a U.S.-based newspaper columnist and the jailing of activists and dissident clerics. Yet there’s also been a loosening of things that help foster the leadership’s narrative of an economic and social revolution.
A few years ago it would have been unthinkable that women would be able to mix freely in public with men, let alone drive. While the government has said nothing about legal drinking or indeed whether it would only apply to foreigners, even the fact that Saudis are talking about the possibility is remarkable.
“We’re in a totally different era,” said Saleh, 39. As is typical in the kingdom, he asked not to be identified by his full name so he could speak freely. “We thought there won’t be movie theaters in the country, that women won’t enter sports stadiums or drive — now it’s all reality and very natural.”
Executives have told some foreign visitors to expect restrictions on booze to loosen in Saudi Arabia next year. Foreigners working closely with government entities are hearing the government is working on import licenses.
Prince Mohammed’s grand goal is to plug Saudi Arabia into the global marketplace and create a destination that’s attractive to international talent like Dubai. The prince wants tourists to flock to grand Red Sea resorts he plans to build.
Saudi officials didn’t respond to requests seeking comment for this article after several attempts.
In an interview with
Bloomberg in October, the prince said he couldn’t find a foreign chief executive willing to move to Saudi Arabia to run his charitable foundation because they preferred living in Dubai. Among the benefits, nonMuslims can drink there under license, and restrictions were even lifted during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Residents can order alcohol at licensed restaurants anytime of the day.
“The quality of life and lifestyle are not good,” the prince said. “They want to work one week in Dubai and one week in Saudi Arabia. Come on, what’s happening?” Any changes, though, should be “without moving from Saudi-based laws and religion,” he said.
It’s not like booze is unavailable, it’s just that Saudi Arabia looks more like the U.S. during Prohibition than Dubai. There’s a thriving black market and home brew is sold openly at makeshift bars in residential compounds that cater to foreigners.
A bottle of smuggled wine costs more than $200; hard liquor pushes the cost past $300. The diplomatic quarters of Riyadh — a gated neighborhood filled with embassies — plays host to barely concealed parties. Some Saudi homes are so well-stocked that a host would ask which kind of white or red wine his guests would like.
There’s talk that the King Abdullah Financial District, a special zone in northern Riyadh, is considering allowing alcohol, according to three people who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Speculation over the booze ban could be a result of the government trying to gauge people’s reactions before making any decisions. And, as ever, they’re divided in what’s still a deeply conservative society.
There are other countries in the Middle East that also ban alcohol, like Iran, Sudan and Kuwait. In many of those that don’t, there are significant restrictions even if they’re sometimes overlooked.