Syrian authorities ban alcohol in capital Damascus
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People enjoying a night out in the Bab Touma neighbourhood of the Old City of Damascus, after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Damascus bans alcohol in restaurants/bars via decree, requiring licence conversions and restricting sales to Christian areas.
- Bar owners are given three months to comply, with one owner planning to close due to declining customers since Islamist rule.
- Legal basis is disputed; critics cite contradictions with human rights treaties and the constitution, despite assurances.
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DAMASCUS - The Syrian authorities have banned alcohol from restaurants and bars in Damascus, one of the clearest moves yet by the Islamist-led government towards enforcing conservative ways since Mr Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled president Bashar al-Assad 15 months ago.
The decree, issued by the Damascus governorate on the evening of March 16, requires that nightclub and bar licences be converted into cafe licences and restricts the sale of alcohol to sealed bottles for takeaway and only in predominantly Christian areas.
Any outlet selling alcohol must be located at least 75m away from places of worship and schools, and at least 20m from security facilities, according to the decree.
It gives bar owners three months to comply.
One Damascus bar owner, saying he had been expecting such a decree for some time, said he would close his establishment. He said that there had been a sharp decline in customers since the Islamist-led government seized power.
The bar owner, who declined to be identified for fear he could face harassment, said he saw no point in converting his establishment into a dry restaurant or cafe, adding that people did not visit the place for pizza or shisha.
Many restaurants had already changed the way they served alcohol or stopped doing so altogether after rebels led by Mr Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda commander, defeated Mr Assad in December 2024, after 13 years of civil war. Some took beer and wine off the menu, or began serving alcoholic drinks in tea glasses.
Woman arrested for failing to observe Ramadan fasting
Mr Sharaa has sought to assure Syrians that their rights and freedoms would be protected. In his address to the UN General Assembly in September 2025, Mr Sharaa pledged that Syria was now “building the institutions of a state governed by the rule of law, guaranteeing rights and freedoms”.
Mr Mohammad al-Abdullah, director of the Washington-based Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, disputed the legal basis of the move against alcohol sales, saying existing Syrian laws did not ban the consumption or sale of alcoholic beverages.
The decision, he added, contradicts Article 12 of Syria’s Constitutional Declaration approved by Mr Sharaa in 2025. This adopted all human rights treaties signed by Syria, several of which protect the right to consume alcohol, Mr Abdullah said.
The sale of alcohol in Damascus is now restricted to sealed bottles for takeaway and only in predominantly Christian areas.
PHOTO: AFP
Reflecting tighter application of religious conservatism, the authorities have acted to enforce fasting during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
An employee in the Salamiyah area of Hama was arrested for breaking her fast early. The public prosecutor accused her of “violating public morals”, according to a statement.
Employees of a bakery near Damascus were fired by the local council for the same reason. REUTERS
