Here comes ramadan

Ramadan started last week and as my Mum was over I was dying for us to get a beer before it actually started and I wanted for her to experience a night spent in Horreya.

We got there and I was relieved to see the the masses of empty beer bottles on the tables. Yayyyy a night of Stella and dingy surroundings. I signaled to the guy that we wanted two Stella's and he informed me there was no beer left! A smug looking guy popped his head around the corner and informed me that he had taken the last beer. What did he want for that? A medal? I stopped myself from scratching this smug gits eyes out and returned to the table to work out a plan B. After a few phone calls it was decided that we would meet in the Odean palace roof top bar, who apparently served beer through Ramadan (even though it hadn't even started)

We hopped in a taxi and headed in that direction, it took a while to get through the packed streets of Cairo's downtown but we finally reached our destination and after the mandatory fight with the taxi driver about the fair we found ourselves to be sitting on the cool roof of the Odean Palace. We met a friend there and started sipping our refreshing Stella's.
Another friend called and informed us there was a concert at the citadel and if we wanted to go he would pick us up. Happy to show my Mum this experience (and to get into the citadel for free) I jumped at the chance. So along he came to pick us up. Now this friend is an Egyptian, but he is a Christian Egyptian and I was pretty shocked to see what happened next.....
I still had about half of my beer left when he arrived and I cant really drink beer as fast as I could 5 years ago, so I asked him to help me with it. The waiter was leaning on a nearby table watching us like a hawk and the second my friend put the glass to his lips, the waiter ran over like he had a rocket up his ass.
He told him to stop drinking immediately unless he had a passport to prove he wasn't Egyptian. My friend protested that Ramadan hadn't even started yet and even if it had he was a Christian. It didn't matter the law is the law, Egyptians are not allowed to consume alcohol during Ramadan. Regardless of their religion.
My question is and really I dont want to get too political or critical of the system. But shouldn't the choice to refrain from alcohol be the persons own? Surly it is your own relationship with god that matters?
Anyway I was a little unnerved by this but then we went on to have a great night at the citadel so I suppose that's all that matters.... oh and we got in for free ;)