Iraq's transport minister has issued an order banning alcohol at Baghdad International Airport after apparently becoming incensed at the bottles of drink and women's perfume on the shelves of the duty free shop.
The ban, forbidding the sale, consumption or advertising of alcohol, was issued by minister Salam al-Maliki and comes amid escalating concerns among secular and non-Muslim Iraqis about the creeping Islamization of the country under the Shiite-dominated government.
An airport official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "He told the head of the airport, Emad Dawood, to remove the bottles and if he didn't, then hely come back and smash them all."
The minister reportedly justified his ban by saying that Iraq was an Islamic country and that "it would give a bad and wrong first impression to visitors."
The alcohol row comes as conservative Shia Islamists on the committee writing the country's new constitution are trying to have the country renamed the Federal Islamic Republic of Iraq.
The official said the minister had used the airport many times without demurring at the contents of the duty free store.
"It was only after he came back from meeting the mullahs in Iran that he seemed to notice," he said.
Though Islam bans the drinking of alcohol, Iraq has a long tradition of secularism and before the war, beer, whisky, or the fiery home-produced arak, were consumed with relative freedom.
Yesterday, travelers wanting to calm frayed nerves after braving the trip to the airport along one of the world's most dangerous roads, were disappointed to find a sign on the door of the duty free store, stating in English: "Sorry, we are temporarily closed."
Hanna Yousseff, a Christian from Mosul, stared through the shop window at the bored-looking assistants who clustered around the till, chatting.
"I hope we are not becoming Iran," he muttered.
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