Fear of militias and extremists groups has been a major cause behind the decline in employment seen among religious minorities in Iraq. Selling alcohol is considered a hazardous job in Iraq, since shops and vendors have previously faced attacks with machine guns and grenades.
Owners of alcohol shops, who refused to disclose their identities, said that they do not receive official permits from the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism, but they are forced to pay "sums of money to Iraqi army units to provide protection."
The work being done by the Ministry of Tourism — headed by Minister Liwa Semsem, a Shiite leader affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr — is unclear, and the ministry's official website lacks any regulations or guidelines for those wishing to register alcohol shops.
It seems that some soldiers have cautioned owners of alcohol shops that they may issue orders to shut down alcohol storehouses and prohibit the sale of alcohol.
On April 9, 2012, security forces attacked nightclubs and shops selling alcohol in Baghdad and shut them down after owners and patrons were assaulted based on charges that they were working without official permission.
On the night of Sep. 4, 2012, Iraqi security forces raided recreational clubs in Baghdad. Security officers presented an official statement signed by the Office of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces ordering their closure, and soldiers and members of the security forces destroyed everything in these clubs and violently expelled their patrons.
During a press conference attended by Al-Monitor last year, Ali al-Alaq, a Shiite member of the parliamentary Religious Endowments Committee, called for legislation to combat alcohol.
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