Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula, has had a long history of strict social and religious control for decades, but now under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country is writing a new story.
Coming out of Islamic fundamentalism, liquor shops are going to open in Saudi Arabia for the first time after 72 years.
Saudi Arabia has given permission for the first liquor store in its capital Riyadh. Non-Muslim foreign guests will be able to buy liquor here.
This step of the Saudi Prince is going to write a new story of change in this country of Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities of Islam.
Just a few months ago, Saudi Arabia has allowed women to drive cars. Apart from this, women have been allowed to attend programs with men, go to cinema halls and participate in electronic dance music (EDM) shows.
This is a common practice in countries around the world, but it was banned in the conservative Islamic country Saudi Arabia. Now the Saudi Prince has brought changes and approved them.
In the latest decision, the Saudi prince has agreed to allow non-Muslim diplomats in Riyadh to buy alcohol.
Let us tell you that drinking alcohol is considered haram in Islam and for this reason the sale of alcohol was banned in Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi Prince has given permission to open liquor shops with some conditions.
According to the conditions, before buying alcohol in Saudi, a non-Muslim foreign diplomat will have to first register through a mobile store. After this they will get the clearance code. There will be a fixed quota of liquor for every customer every month.
According to analysts, on one hand this step of the Saudi Prince reflects his open thinking and on the other hand it can promote tourism business in Saudi Arabia because Saudi Arabia wants to reduce the dependence of its economy on oil by 2030. Since the demand for electric vehicles has increased worldwide, oil consumption may reduce in the future.
If Saudi does not change itself in the changing global circumstances and its economy remains oil-based, then it may have to suffer losses in the future.
Therefore, the Saudi Prince is bringing rapid policy changes keeping in mind the needs of the future.