Ramadan Booze Ban

Dry law has been introduced in Ingushetia on the occasion of Ramadan. Up to 22 October the sale and consumption of alcohol and smoking in public places is banned in the Russian republic. The ban introduced by Ingushetia's authorities has met the requests of religious Muslims, said the Ingush presidential administration commenting on the decree signed by President Murat Zyazikov. The Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper says that ahead of the ban, the republic's religious leaders toured major shops asking salespersons not to display alcohol. The same rounds were made by clerics in Chechnya, as a result of which it is practically impossible to buy alcoholic drinks in the republic, the newspaper says. Muslim leaders of Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol Region have also made statements on Ramadan and how it should be observed. In particular, clerics appealed to doctors not to perform abortions. The Muslim leaders also demand that the only sex shop in Karachay-Cherkessia should be closed and sex ads in newspapers and on TV should be prohibited.