Alcohol responsible for many evils in society

I have been a medical doctor for the past 37 years in the state of Washington, who has been in practice in Ephrata and at one time had satellite clinics in different cities including Moses Lake, Sunnyside and Yakima. As a Muslim who never drinks or smokes I am very disturbed at the speed with which they are getting rid of fruit orchards such as apples to make room for vineyards. Alcohol, according to the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), “is the mother of all evils.” Many of the accidents on the highway and medical problems related to the liver, brain, et cetera are related to the abuse of alcohol. In my judgment there is no social drinking. It has became purely business which might be subsidized by the government. I am against that.

When I ran for Congress in the Third District of Eastern Washington, I suggested that wine and beer be made without alcohol and sold to countries such as Saudi Arabia which do not allow alcohol to be imported. There are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands who studied in the West including the U.S. who used to drink. When I visited Saudi Arabia to see my family members, I found non-alcoholic drinks in abundance. I thought I made this comment to my fellow citizens and to my patients.

Dr. Mohammad Said

Ephrata