One of the common lines you hear is that Islam does not respect freedom of choice. This is highlighted by Islam’s prohibition of alcohol, its consumption and sale. In the freedom-loving West, alcohol flows freely. If you wish to partake, you have that freedom of choice. If not, you can choose to abstain. Ultimately, alcohol just affects your own body and doesn’t cause anyone else any harm. So as an adult, you can make that decision for yourself and it would be oppressive for a person or a religion to prevent you from exercising that choice.

Let’s investigate this.

All legal systems constrain choice in one shape or another and there are justifications that are given for the laws of that system. For example, US law requires a person to have a driver’s license in order to operate an automobile. That law severely constrains people’s freedom of mobility, but it is seen as necessary for practical reasons. If people are allowed to drive without a license, the number of car accidents will skyrocket. Car accident fatalities will balloon. Damage to people’s property will increase exponentially. So, these are all practical reasons why we would want to have such a law in place. It prevents harm.

Now, one theoretical point that can always be pursued is: What is considered “harm” and what is considered “practical” depend on the assumptions you make about the world and your broader beliefs and commitments. But let’s bracket that for now.

Let’s just assume common Western standards of practicality and harm and take a closer look at alcohol consumption. According to the most recent research, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) affects at least 5% of the population in the US and in some communities affects 40%. FASD causes all kinds of psychological and learning disabilities and can result in severe anti-social behavior. A lot of the kids affected by this have to go through special education, many end up in prison, many are unemployable and end up falling into drugs and crime. All of this is the result of a disorder caused by pregnant women who drink. Even a small amount of alcohol consumption can be enough to cause an infant to be on this spectrum. The thing is, sometimes women don’t realize they are pregnant and continue their drinking habits not knowing that they are potentially giving their unborn child FASD.