Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

Top Menu

  • About US
  • Join US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
  • Islamic Culture
  • Da’wah
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
  • About US
  • Join US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

logo

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
    • America is the New Sick Man

      January 7, 2021
      0
    • Islam, Covid, Vaccination & Khilafah

      January 4, 2021
      0
    • Erdogan - Palestine Was Never a Red Line for You

      December 30, 2020
      0
    • The New European Inquisition

      December 8, 2020
      0
    • The Struggles of Living in France

      November 6, 2020
      0
    • Government Refuses to Provide Free Meals to Children

      October 28, 2020
      0
    • Palestine: The Betrayal of the Rulers

      October 5, 2020
      0
    • 10 Significant Facts About Palestine

      September 18, 2020
      0
    • The Khilafah Will Effectively Provide Security for Our Mothers and Daughters, When ...

      September 14, 2020
      0
  • Islamic Culture
    • The Dawah to Allah (swt)

      December 29, 2020
      0
    • Miracle of the Quran

      Q & A - Compilation of The Holy Quran During the Reign ...

      December 27, 2020
      0
    • Imam Bukhari: A Role Model for the ‘Ulema and Da’wah Carriers to ...

      November 17, 2020
      0
    • Rabi ul-Awwal’s Greatest Gift: The Mercy to All Humankind, Muhammad ﷺ

      October 25, 2020
      0
    • The Life of Bilal (RA)

      September 3, 2020
      0
    • The Greatness of the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah

      July 25, 2020
      0
    • Surah Tawbah: Masjid Ad-Dirar and the Disease of Disunity

      May 22, 2020
      0
    • Taqwa and the Digital Footprint

      May 16, 2020
      0
    • Spirituality- Man’s Emotional Quest to Find God

      November 28, 2019
      0
  • Da’wah
    • Video: Establishing Islam’s Leadership on the Earth and Our Responsibility

      October 27, 2020
      0
    • Establishing Islam’s Leadership on the Earth and Our Responsibility

      October 27, 2020
      0
    • Islam is based on an Enlightened Thought and We Should Accept Nothing ...

      October 26, 2020
      0
    • Video : The Return of the Islamic World Order - Invitation to ...

      October 25, 2020
      0
    • Video : The Islamic Ruling System

      October 22, 2020
      0
    • The Khilafah System: Taking Care of the People

      October 19, 2020
      0
    • Secularism Has Failed Where Islam Will Succeed

      October 18, 2020
      0
    • Video : From Pandemic to BLM - Invitation to - Jaleel Abdul-Adil ...

      October 16, 2020
      0
    • From Pandemic to BLM: Humanity Desperately Seeking an Alternative

      October 12, 2020
      0
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
News Watch
Home›News Watch›Syria: gambling making a quiet comeback

Syria: gambling making a quiet comeback

By Editor
January 4, 2011
669
0
Share:

First casino to open for 25 years celebrated its first week in business with a New Year’s Eve party.

It is 2am and the money is flowing. The sound of chips landing on the tables chimes with house music filling the room and the roll of the ball along the roulette wheel.

A shout goes out and the young lady’s number has come up. Under a tacky painted replica of the Sistine Chapel, replete with gaudy gold leaf and paisley carpets, the new generation of gamblers are living the high life.

Bow-tied waitresses in miniskirts deliver high-ball rums to men in suits while heavily-painted women sip champagne from their positions on the sidelines.

It isn’t Las Vegas. This is downtown Damascus.

In a move that is certain to divide religious communities, the first casino to open for 25 years celebrated its first week in business with a New Year’s Eve party where entry cost £300 per reveller.

It is the only fully-fledged casino to open in the region, outside Lebanon.

Gambling in Syria is technically illegal. It was banned in the 1970s when the hospitality mogul Tawfiq Houboubati’s three infamous gambling establishments – the Bludan casino, the Airport hotel casino and the Orient club – were closed due to pressure from clerics.

The-then prime minister, Abdul Rahman Khleifawi, allegedly tired of complaints from bankrupted women about their husbands’ addictions, outlawed the practice once and for all.

Now, Houboubati’s son, Khaled – a prominent restaurateur and owner of the al-Wahda football club – has taken the reins from his father, opening the new casino under the innocuous name the Ocean Club at the site of his father’s former establishment at Damascus airport, 15 minutes from the city centre.

Unlike gambling establishments in the past, the new casino offers the full range of games, including blackjack, roulette, slot machines and card tables.

Houboubati has not responded to requests for comment, and has kept a low profile as rumours of the new venue circulate in the city.

But a source close to the family and involved in the opening told the Guardian the casino was operating without an official licence. “It’s been given the quiet go-ahead,” said the source, who did not want to be named.

Security is tight at the new establishment. Photographs are banned and after passing through bag checks and metal detectors, passport details of visitors are carefully recorded.

Despite its location and promotion as a tourist venue, staff, who were given three months’ training as croupiers and cocktail mixers, say so far the majority of clientele have been wealthy Syrians, who have filled the casino from 8am to 8pm for the week it has been open.

Historian and editor-in-chief of Forward magazine in Syria, Dr Sami Moubayed, said that in the past the government preferred to acknowledge a practice that had long been operating “under the table. Historically they preferred this industry to operate under the watchful eye of the government in a way that they can legitimately recoup taxes,” he said.

Gambling establishments , he said, opened and then succumbed to religious or political pressure several times over the last century, but continued to re-emerge. “I’m sure the religious establishment will not like it, but personally I abide by the idea that if the government can collect taxes from gambling then it’s better than sending that money offshore.”

Syria is in the middle of a tourism boom and this year has seen several policy attempts to temper religious extremism in the country.

The government has fiercely promoted its secular values. Last year saw a ban on the niqab being worn in universities and schools, while alcohol sale permits have also flourished.

“Perhaps this falls in line with those policies – but we just don’t know yet,” said Moubayed

The Guardian

Previous Article

Pakistan governor assassinated over blasphemy laws campaign

Next Article

New Look for Mecca: Gargantuan and Gaudy

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • News Watch

    Nigeria Muslims Decry Girls Abduction

    May 7, 2014
    By Editor
  • News Watch

    Syrian embassy accused of threatening protesters in UK

    June 23, 2011
    By Press Editor
  • News Watch

    Jeremy Browne: Ban Muslim women from wearing veils in schools and public places

    September 16, 2013
    By Press Editor
  • News Watch

    Disabled people face unlimited unpaid work or cuts in benefit

    February 17, 2012
    By Press Editor
  • News Watch

    Ex-president Musharraf admits approving CIA drone strikes

    April 14, 2013
    By Press Editor
  • News Watch

    Hundreds of female Cambridge students have been raped or sexually assaulted

    April 29, 2014
    By Editor

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Podcast

Latest Posts

Viewpoint

America is the New Sick Man

The scenes of mobs occupying the US senate and protestors demanding the US electoral result be overturned are extraordinary in America’s history. Many across the world watched in shock as ...
  • Islam, Covid, Vaccination & Khilafah

    By Editor
    January 4, 2021
  • Erdogan – Palestine Was Never a Red Line for You

    By Editor
    December 30, 2020
  • The Dawah to Allah (swt)

    By Editor
    December 29, 2020
  • Miracle of the Quran

    Q & A – Compilation of The Holy Quran During the Reign of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (r.a)

    By Editor
    December 27, 2020
  • The New European Inquisition

    By Editor
    December 8, 2020
  • The Repercussions of the US Presidential Election

    By Editor
    November 25, 2020
  • Imam Bukhari: A Role Model for the ‘Ulema and Da’wah Carriers to Follow

    By Editor
    November 17, 2020
  • 3.5K+
    Subscribers
  • Likes
  • 20.4K+
    Followers
  • Press Centre