Sharia and Beer in Egypt

Sharia implementation used only as a slogan No Islamist party has ever put forward a list of all the Egyptian laws deemed incompatible with Sharia, wrote Ibrahim Issa in the Egyptian newspaper Al Tahrir. Islamist parties and movements use the implementation of Sharia only as slogan, but they never go into details because that would reveal that Egypt applies Sharia law in every aspect except in relation to venial sins. There is no legislation in Egypt that turns something halal (permissible) into something haram (forbidden) or something haram to halal, the writer noted. There were some old religious fatwas that made consumption of beer permissible, but with the 1970s religious expansion, the consensus was that alcohol was haram, especially after the emergence of alcohol-free beer. And so, whether under Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat or Hosni Mubarak, alcohol was never considered halal, even though its production was allowed. The excuse had always been to meet tourists' needs. But tourists do not visit Egypt for its alcohol, and it is quite easy to enforce prohibition of alcohol production and consumption. However, outlawing drug use and smuggling has never stopped it happening. And Islamic history has shown that banning alcohol has never ended its consumption and circulation, the writer said.