Recently, I visited Goa in India. It takes a while to reach Goa. To get there, I flew from Detroit to Dallas to Doha (in Qatar), to Goa. I was traveling with a colleague who lives just outside of Dallas, so I broke up the outward journey by overnighting with him and his family in the Dallas area. It is a long way from Dallas to Goa – fourteen-plus hours to Doha, and another three-plus hours from there to Goa. Add to that a four hour layover in Doha, and it is quite a journey. I did manage to sleep for six or seven hours on the Dallas to Doha leg, so that made the flight considerably more pleasant. When flying, I tend not to drink alcohol. If I do, it might be a glass of wine with dinner. Flying dehydrates, and so water is usually my liquid of choice.
Anyway, after boarding my flight to Goa, I decided that I would indeed like a beer. As with my flight from Dallas to Doha, I was flying with Qatar Airways. They are the national airline of Qatar. I had noticed, on the flight flight from Dallas to Doha, that the beer choice was limited to Heineken. It was the same on the flight to Goa. When the cabin attendant (that is what they are called on Qatar Airways) came around and asked me what I would like to drink, I told her, a Heineken. As she reached beneath her cart to get the beer, she turned to me and asked if I minded if she poured it into a glass and not give me the can. As one who prefers their beer decanted anyway, I said that would be fine. “It’s Ramadan” she explained “and we cannot have labeled alcohol containers on display”. She proceeded to pour my beer, carefully out of sight of anyone, and handed me two small glasses of Heineken. Whether this was airline policy, was unique to that particular flight, or reflected the cultural sensitivities of this particular cabin attendant, I am not sure. I did notice on my return flight from Doha to Dallas that bottles of wine and cans of Heineken were on full public display.
After the cabin attendant moved onto the next row of passengers, I looked around the aircraft, but did not see anyone else drinking beer. I must admit I started to feel a bit self conscious . Was I the only one on the entire aircraft drinking a beer? As I reflected on my layover in Doha, it struck me that I had not seen anything that resembled a bar. The duty free shop had been replete with candy, perfume, and cigarettes – but there was not a drop of alcohol in sight. A little research later revealed that there are a couple of restaurants in the airport, where a glass of wine or beer can be enjoyed with a meal. While it is a Muslim country, Qatar does allow the sale and consumption of alcohol. However, access is limited. It is available in four and five star western hotels. Alcohol is also available to expatriates through a permit system. Permits are administered by the Qatar Distribution Company, and individuals wishing to obtain one must apply. Once in possession of a permit, there are two outlets in the entire country, from which alcohol can be purchased. The amount of alcohol that an individual can purchase each month is dependent upon their salary. The rules regarding consumption of alcohol in Qatar are quite strict. For example, it is forbidden to drink alcohol in a public place, or to give alcohol to Muslims. Muslims caught drinking alcohol may be subject to corporal punishment.
Other Islamic countries also have highly restrictive laws when it comes to the consumption of alcohol. These include Afghanistan, Libya, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Also, although not a predominantly Muslim country, alcohol is also prohibited in some states in India (fortunately, not in Goa). Of course, the United States had its own doomed experiment with Prohibition between 1920 and 1933. While I fully respect the sovereign right of each country to prohibit the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol as it sees fit, I have to admit that it would be difficult for me to live in a country where having a beer was either impossible or highly restricted. I simply enjoy beer, and the culture surrounding it, too much.