Utah is attempting to drop the alcohol blood rate level from .08 to point .05 to award drinkers a stricter punishment. Those against this bill argue that this bill will not create much of an impact, better yet, they assume that saving even a few extra lives does not appear to warrant such a change in law. Those against this bill are also not backed by morality as much as they appear to be backed by greater financial outcomes for prison owners and other interest groups. As people of faith, we should be sensitive, especially when it comes to drinking and driving and in the representation of human life.

As a person of faith, I am however sensitive to something much more important. We live in a civil society that is against terror or acts of terrorism. With this being true, we can all agree that people that drink contribute to terror on the road and in their relationships, cost to business and our economy remains horrendous, yet we chose to focus on Mexicans, Muslims or even some feminist’s groups as being a potential threat to our liberties. I agree, we do need a continuation on vetting, etc. but the enemy is not from the outside as much as the greater enemy is from amongst us. Just as we should say no to a single act of terror, we should better evaluate the outcomes of drinking to create more benefit than harm for our citizens.

Is the above because I am a Muslim? To be fair, Muslims are not against drinking for those that believe it is their religious right, and this remains the accepted practice of all Islamic leaders. Muslim leaders gave consent to those religious groups that favored the sale and usage of alcohol as part of their practice, so long as they did not impose this on Muslims and dealt with it in their private localities. However, in America, we have one larger problem. Just as a Muslims should not be given the right to impose Islam on others, those in favor of alcohol use should not impose its cost on those that do not wish to bear its burden. We live in a society that does not claim a single faith, and the cost of damage caused by alcohol is upon all.

Here is the impact of alcohol. The numbers prove a greater killing from alcohol than terrorism upon Europeans and Americans year in and year out. Just as we should counter terrorism, we must also focus on other killers that are impacting every aspect of our lives. The following is a quote and its implications should be well looked at:

A CDC study of alcohol-related costs to the nation in 2010 (published in November 2015) shows that of the total $249 billion costs to the U.S. economy:

• Government paid for $100.7 billion (40.4%)
• Binge drinking accounted for $191.1 billion (76.7%)
• Underage drinking $24.3 billion (9.7%)
• Drinking while pregnant $5.5 billion (2.2%)

Factual data speak volumes. For those that rave about the benefits of alcohol, the Quran too agrees with you, however, it does so with caution. As the Quran states: Alcohol does benefit people, but the harms of it are greater than its benefit. I think this statement of the Quran can be agreed upon by all.