Friday March 29th, 2024
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Saudi Arabia’s ‘Halal Bar’ Shut Down by Authorities on Opening Night

This had trouble written all over it from the very beginning...

Staff Writer

They say that, if something seems too good to be true (or in this case too absurd) then it probably is. Last week, CairoScene’s watchful eye caught news of Saudi Arabia getting its first halal bar, an announcement that was met with equal amounts of ridicule and celebration.

It did, however, raise several philosophical questions that will be argued through the ages. What’s a halal bar? Is a bar a bar if it doesn’t serve alcohol? If a bar doesn’t have alcohol, doesn’t that make it a café/restaurant?

Well, none of that matters, because the bar, which is operated by popular nightlife haunt, White Dubai, has been shut down (INSERT WOMP WOMP TROMBONE SOUND HERE).

The poor thing didn’t even get a chance to be its best self, as authorities ordered its closing on its very first night, meaning that a planned performance by intermittently popular, middle-of-the-road r&b singer, Ne-Yo, was also cancelled.

Why was the bar, which was to be open as a temporary venue as part of the Jeddah Summer Festival, closed down, we hear you ask? If you were expecting some kind of scandal, um, well, sorry – it was shut down for “violated legal proceedings,” which could mean anything, but it probably means that it all came down to some kind of paperwork issue (INSERT WOMP WOMP TROMBONE SOUND HERE AGAIN).

Photo of White Dubai