Row brews over Moroccan alcohol law FEATURE 02/17/2010

Row brews over Moroccan alcohol law FEATURE 02/17/2010 RABAT — A row is brewing in Morocco over the sensitive issue of selling alcohol to Moroccan Muslims, which is banned by a law that is broken openly every day. A 1967 royal decree strictly forbids the sale or gift of alcoholic beverages to Muslims, who account for 98 percent of the population in this North African state. Offenders are liable to a prison sentence of up to six months and a fine of 150 to 500 dirhams (18 to 60 dollars). Yet sales and consumption are widely tolerated. Supermarkets enforce no restrictions on alcohol sales and bars in Morocco’s cities make no attempt to hide the sale of alcoholic drinks to clients, Muslim or otherwise... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune ALTERNATE URL: http://www.classicposters.com/commentary/20100217com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Not a command vote FRONTLINE Stranger than fiction ZOOMING IN Uneasy corona on new Chief Justice’s head C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Guilt by association? FEATURE Row brews over Moroccan alcohol law HE SAYS Integrity, credibility, honesty SHE SAYS Still iffy