Spokesman: Al-Sistani rejects the alcohol ban law and calls for a civil state that respects freedoms

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[size=52]Spokesman: Al-Sistani rejects the alcohol ban law and calls for a civil state that respects freedoms[/size]

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During the past week, foreign media, including the BBC and CNN, launched an attack against the Iraqi parliament's activation of the law banning the import, manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages inside the country, describing it as "unconstitutional".[/size]
[size=45]Al-Monitor Network, during a report published on Sunday and translated by (Baghdad Today), described Iraq as a "non-Islamic country," referring to the Iraqi constitution as a guarantor of the country's survival, "universal and guarantor of all religions, sects and races."[/size]
[size=45]And she indicated, “The law violated the Iraqi constitution and its provisions, not only by encroaching on the rights of minorities, but also by encroaching on the rights of individuals and their constitutionally guaranteed privacy,” according to her description.[/size]
[size=45]The network said, “Despite the issuance and activation of the ban, alcoholic beverage shops are still open in the capital, Baghdad, and the cities of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and are operating normally.” Despite this, the existence of the law has raised concerns among minorities and organizations concerned with monitoring the performance of the authority, for fear of its impact. on religious diversity within the country.[/size]
[size=45]The network reported statements by several officials of civil society organizations responsible for monitoring the performance of the authority, journalists and activists, as well as representatives of other religions and minorities in Iraq, “condemning” the law and calling for its abolition because it conflicts with the provisions of the Iraqi constitution, stressing that “the Iraqi Shiite religious authority did not support the law and demanded a state.” A civil society that respects the rights and freedoms of individuals and their personal and religious orientations.[/size]
[size=45]A representative of the supreme religious authority, Mr. Ali al-Sistani, spoke to the network about the position of the religious authority without mentioning his name, stressing, “The religious authority has not issued an official statement about the law, but it opposes any form of religious imposition through power and fully supports the civil state,” according to his description.[/size]
[size=45]The spokesman also referred to the positions of the previous reference on the enactment of official laws that take Sharia as a starting point, stressing that “Sayyid al-Sistani rejected the Civil Status Law in 2013 because it imposes Sharia on individuals, in addition to affirming his continued rejection of the use of religious symbols and images in official state institutions.”[/size]
[size=45]When asked about the reason for not issuing an official statement, the spokesman confirmed, "The supreme religious authority, Sayyid al-Sistani, has consistently declared his rejection of such laws and made clear, beyond any doubt, his position, and therefore, there is no need to repeat the same position again."[/size]
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