mohair_chair
04-10-2006, 07:38 AM
Rise of Hamas concerns brewers By Matthew Gutman, USA TODAY
Mon Apr 10, 7:17 AM ET
For Buthina Khoury, whose family owns the only brewery in the Palestinian territories, the election victory of Hamas carries risk.
Hamas advocates a strict, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, one in which alcohol would presumably be forbidden.
So by June, the Khourys' Taybeh Brewing Co. will have introduced its first non-alcoholic beer.
"The times are changing, and we don't want to lose out," Khoury says, snapping off a bottle cap and pouring a rich-bodied Taybeh Dark, one of three beers the family makes.
Hamas, labeled a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department, rode to victory in elections Jan. 25 on a reputation of effectiveness and integrity. It positioned itself as a contrast to the corruption-plagued ruling Fatah faction.
Now Hamas has some Palestinians concerned it will move to ban alcohol and impose restrictions on women.
Khoury, a member of the Palestinian Christian minority, predicts Hamas "will change our social lives." She expects beer to be banned and women to be required to cover their heads.
Iyad Barghouti, director of the Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies, says many Palestinians have sought solace in Islam since the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, began in 2000. "Even before Hamas' victory, religion was on the rise," Barghouti says.
Hamas anchored its election campaign on a simple slogan: "Islam is the solution."
Islam forbids Muslims from consuming alcohol. Since 2000, the sale of alcoholic beverages has been banned in Gaza, where the two largest Palestinian Islamic factions - Hamas and Islamic Jihad - are based.
In the more secular West Bank, drinking and pubs remain legal. But even here there are signs of change: More women are putting on head scarves before going out in public.
Farid Dibwani's textile shop in the West Bank city of Ramallah has become a hub for popular new "slip-on" head scarves. "I can't sell a bolt of cloth, but (head scarves) are hot," Dibwani says.
Likewise, Ala Salhab's family owns a lingerie shop in downtown Ramallah. Turkish-made bustiers and black garter belts are gathering dust on the shelves. "Our new best-selling item is the (head scarf)," Salhab says.
On his first week on the job, Interior Minister Said Siyam announced that men in the Palestinian paramilitary forces would be permitted to grow beards. Under Fatah, paramilitary police were not allowed to have beards, which are seen as a sign of piety in Islam.
Hamas leaders say no sweeping social restrictions are planned.
"We have no intention of drastic changes ... but I believe that Islam should be an elemental part of this society," says Muhammad Abu T'eir, a Hamas lawmaker elected to the legislature in January.
When it comes to Taybeh's plans, Abu T'eir points out, even non-alcoholic beer is haram, or forbidden, by Islam. "I would never drink anything called 'beer,' " he says.
The rise of Hamas meant "the time was right to diversify," Khoury says, showing off the new bottle for Taybeh's alcohol-free beer. Both the bottle and label are green - the color of Islam and Hamas.
Taybeh means "delicious" in Arabic. The brewery, which sells 300,000 bottles a year of its most popular brand, Taybeh Golden Pilsner, dates back more than 10 years. Khoury's brothers, David and Nadim, returned to this village after living for 20 years in Boston. They invested $2 million into building a tidy brewery across from an olive grove on the edge of town.
For the first five years, Taybeh beer flowed in Palestinian and Israeli pubs and was even sold abroad. Business started declining when the intifada erupted: To stop suicide bombers, Israel expanded its network of West Bank checkpoints, making deliveries all but impossible. Israelis stopped drinking Taybeh, as suicide attacks by Palestinians increased.
The Khourys' brewery suffered an 80% slump in business during the uprising. It cut its workforce from 15 to five.
Avant-Garde, a Tel Aviv pub, used to offer Taybeh beer. "Nobody asks for it anymore," manager Lior Boim says. "We haven't sold it since the intifada started."
Mon Apr 10, 7:17 AM ET
For Buthina Khoury, whose family owns the only brewery in the Palestinian territories, the election victory of Hamas carries risk.
Hamas advocates a strict, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, one in which alcohol would presumably be forbidden.
So by June, the Khourys' Taybeh Brewing Co. will have introduced its first non-alcoholic beer.
"The times are changing, and we don't want to lose out," Khoury says, snapping off a bottle cap and pouring a rich-bodied Taybeh Dark, one of three beers the family makes.
Hamas, labeled a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department, rode to victory in elections Jan. 25 on a reputation of effectiveness and integrity. It positioned itself as a contrast to the corruption-plagued ruling Fatah faction.
Now Hamas has some Palestinians concerned it will move to ban alcohol and impose restrictions on women.
Khoury, a member of the Palestinian Christian minority, predicts Hamas "will change our social lives." She expects beer to be banned and women to be required to cover their heads.
Iyad Barghouti, director of the Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies, says many Palestinians have sought solace in Islam since the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, began in 2000. "Even before Hamas' victory, religion was on the rise," Barghouti says.
Hamas anchored its election campaign on a simple slogan: "Islam is the solution."
Islam forbids Muslims from consuming alcohol. Since 2000, the sale of alcoholic beverages has been banned in Gaza, where the two largest Palestinian Islamic factions - Hamas and Islamic Jihad - are based.
In the more secular West Bank, drinking and pubs remain legal. But even here there are signs of change: More women are putting on head scarves before going out in public.
Farid Dibwani's textile shop in the West Bank city of Ramallah has become a hub for popular new "slip-on" head scarves. "I can't sell a bolt of cloth, but (head scarves) are hot," Dibwani says.
Likewise, Ala Salhab's family owns a lingerie shop in downtown Ramallah. Turkish-made bustiers and black garter belts are gathering dust on the shelves. "Our new best-selling item is the (head scarf)," Salhab says.
On his first week on the job, Interior Minister Said Siyam announced that men in the Palestinian paramilitary forces would be permitted to grow beards. Under Fatah, paramilitary police were not allowed to have beards, which are seen as a sign of piety in Islam.
Hamas leaders say no sweeping social restrictions are planned.
"We have no intention of drastic changes ... but I believe that Islam should be an elemental part of this society," says Muhammad Abu T'eir, a Hamas lawmaker elected to the legislature in January.
When it comes to Taybeh's plans, Abu T'eir points out, even non-alcoholic beer is haram, or forbidden, by Islam. "I would never drink anything called 'beer,' " he says.
The rise of Hamas meant "the time was right to diversify," Khoury says, showing off the new bottle for Taybeh's alcohol-free beer. Both the bottle and label are green - the color of Islam and Hamas.
Taybeh means "delicious" in Arabic. The brewery, which sells 300,000 bottles a year of its most popular brand, Taybeh Golden Pilsner, dates back more than 10 years. Khoury's brothers, David and Nadim, returned to this village after living for 20 years in Boston. They invested $2 million into building a tidy brewery across from an olive grove on the edge of town.
For the first five years, Taybeh beer flowed in Palestinian and Israeli pubs and was even sold abroad. Business started declining when the intifada erupted: To stop suicide bombers, Israel expanded its network of West Bank checkpoints, making deliveries all but impossible. Israelis stopped drinking Taybeh, as suicide attacks by Palestinians increased.
The Khourys' brewery suffered an 80% slump in business during the uprising. It cut its workforce from 15 to five.
Avant-Garde, a Tel Aviv pub, used to offer Taybeh beer. "Nobody asks for it anymore," manager Lior Boim says. "We haven't sold it since the intifada started."