Soxy Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Belgians looooooove their beer No beer? No lunch! Thu Jun 30, 9:13 AM ET BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A lunch meeting between a leading parliamentarian in Belgium and counterparts from Iran has been canceled because the beer-loving Belgian could not stomach a ban on alcohol. "Even for the tolerant Herman De Croo, that was a bridge too far," De Croo, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, told De Standaard daily Thursday. De Croo, president of parliament's lower house, had been due to entertain the speaker and members of the Iranian parliament Friday during their visit to Belgium -- famous for its diversity of beer brands. But he said lunch had been canceled because the Iranians, who as Muslims do not drink alcohol, wanted their hosts to do the same. "I did not receive such demands in writing. But ... I was indirectly asked not to serve alcohol," said De Croo. The visit ran into further trouble after Iran's parliament speaker Gholamali Haddadadel insisted he would not shake hands with the female president of Belgium's Senate. Anne-Marie Lizin, a Socialist, then canceled their meeting. She said in a statement that Iranians should respect local customs in Belgium, just as Belgians should in Iran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiff Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Awesome (even though it wasn't the whole story). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosMediasBlancas Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 A lot of the liquor stores in my area are owned and run by Middle Eastern Muslims. I guess they can't drink it, but they can sell it, even to those people who are obviously alcoholics and will probably die from consuming too much of it. Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Not all muslims honor that. Just like not all Catholics eat fish on Friday and not all jews keep kosher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosMediasBlancas Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 My co worker's family owns a corner store in a s***ty neighborhood in the city. They are pretty hardcore Muslims, they fast during Rhamadan etc. They sell booze and 'cigarette paraphenalia' at their store. I have no way of knowing if that's common, it's just kinda interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Ah Belgium... the Disneyland of Beer. One country that definately has its priorities straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 I actually got a tear rolling for that story! That's just beautiful. Just more added reason to crack a bottle of St. Bernardus. Though it will wait for this Wednesday. But I shall raise a glass for this fine example of a human being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyho7476 Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jun 30, 2005 -> 11:44 AM) A lot of the liquor stores in my area are owned and run by Middle Eastern Muslims. I guess they can't drink it, but they can sell it, even to those people who are obviously alcoholics and will probably die from consuming too much of it. Interesting. Apparently muslims don't worry about doing bad to non-muslims... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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