Arabic restaurant reaches out during Pride Week
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2018 (2685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
An Iraqi chef from Winnipeg spotted a rainbow-coloured hookah hanging in a shop in the Middle East and had one thought: it would be perfect to offer his customers during Pride Week.
He bought 10 of them and now his St. James restaurant/hookah lounge, Ali Baba, is rolling out the red carpet to the LGBTTQ* community, says chef and co-owner Sinan Aboud.
“People can sit here in a group and socialize,” Aboud said Wednesday. “They have an area to chill.”
The hookah water pipe is legal in Manitoba’s public places when it is not used to burn tobacco or cannabis. (However, it is not allowed on outdoor patios where food and/or beverage service is permitted, under Winnipeg’s smoking bylaw.)
The main draw of the hookah is to be part of a social gathering, Aboud said. The hookah connects people, and he said he wants LGBTTQ* folks to feel connected, too. (Pride Winnipeg’s annual week-long celebration runs through Sunday.)
The practising Muslim, who studied human rights at the University of Winnipeg’s Global College, said Canada celebrates diversity — and he wants in on the party.
“I believe in an individual’s rights. Here in Canada, people get along and respect each other,” said Aboud, who arrived in 2002 as a refugee.
The idea of a hookah lounge — traditionally a male domain — welcoming the LGBTTQ* community came as a surprise to one of its members.
“This is exciting,” said Muhammad Ahsan, training and education co-ordinator for the Rainbow Resource Centre, a Winnipeg non-profit serving the LGBTTQ* community. Ahsan was born in the Middle East, and said hookah lounges in that part of the world are typically misogynistic spaces.
“An LGBT person doesn’t feel comfortable going to places like these.”
In 74 countries, same-sex sexual contact is a criminal offence, and in 13 — including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, parts of Syria, and parts of Iraq — it is punishable by death.
Ahsan said he doesn’t smoke, but plans to get a group of friends together to visit Ali Baba during Pride Week.
“For me, it’s a welcoming gesture, even if the chef isn’t a community member,” said Ahsan. “This person is jumping over the fence. He’s breaking a stereotype. (He’s) trying to show they are welcoming and they’re trying to bring about change through whatever they can do.”
Not getting hung up on someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation is the Winnipeg way, said Ahsan.
“I’m very proud of living in Winnipeg,” he said. “No matter how you look or who you are, strangers will smile at you. This is one thing that keeps me in Winnipeg. Most of the people are so welcoming.”
Pride Winnipeg president Jonathan Niemczak said he’s not surprised a Muslim-run restaurant is reaching out.
“All cultures are slowly becoming more accepting to our community,” he said, noting Pride Winnipeg has had Muslim board members. “They’ve reached out to us in the past to speak at rallies and take part in the Pride parade.”
The annual rally at the Manitoba legislature, followed by a parade through downtown Winnipeg, begins Sunday morning.
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Hookah loophole
Ali Baba (2635 Portage Ave.) is open from 5 p.m. until 3 a.m., seven days a week, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
It is one of several hookah restaurants and lounges in Winnipeg.
Manitoba’s current legislation only bans the smoking and vaping of cannabis and tobacco in public places — it doesn’t ban smoking a hookah.
“It is legal to use hookah pipes in public places so long as tobacco and/or cannabis is not being used in the hookah pipe,” a provincial spokeswoman said Wednesday in an email. “Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living monitors smoking and vaping practices on an ongoing basis to inform decision making that supports protecting and improving the health of Manitobans.”
The Non-Smokers Health Protection and Vapour Products Act comes with the threat of a fine of up to $3,000 for a first offence.
In March, Winnipeg city council amended its outdoor smoking bylaw, banning the use of personal smoking devices (including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes, water pipes, hookahs, and other similar products and devices) on outdoor patios where food and/or beverage service is permitted, with the exception of Indigenous-led ceremonies.
“There is no bylaw for indoor smoking,” a city spokeswoman said.
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