<![CDATA[This article assesses whether Indonesia’s regulation of alcoholic beverages can be justified as public-interest governance in a plural society when evaluated against Islamic legal principles (siyasah shar’iyyah and maqasid al-shari’ah) and legal philosophy. Using normative legal research with statutory, historical, conceptual, and philosophical approaches, it examines Presidential Regulation 74/2013, the 2023 Criminal Code (Law 1/2023), excise policy, halal product assurance (Law 33/2014), and regional regulations through a three-part qualitative test: policy purpose, legal character, and source of legitimacy. The findings show a structural tension between the Islamic prohibition of khamr, whose ratio legis is intoxication, and a state framework that treats alcoholic beverages as controlled commodities classified by ethanol content. The tension is instrument-specific. Criminal provisions on public intoxication and on supplying minors, and excise as a price-based control, can serve legitimate protective purposes, whereas the dual framing of excise as control and revenue, the information-only role of halal labelling, and uneven enforcement against illicit and adulterated liquor leave open questions. The article recommends evidence-based controls, earmarked and transparently evaluated excise, consistent age and location restrictions, and safeguards for religious freedom without disproportionate criminalisation. The findings are normative and require empirical testing.]]>
