[Sca-cooks] Moslems and alcohol

[Terry Decker]

The prohibition on alcohol depends on interpretation of the religious law. 
The absolute prohibition is on "the fruit of the grape," so grape wines, 
brandies, etc. are completely prohibited, while other alcoholic beverages 
may or may not be permitted depending on the particular brand of Islam one 
follows and on how strictly one follows Islamic dietary laws.  The strictest 
adherents say that the prohibition applies to anything that alters the mind, 
which is part of the reason coffee and qhat were prohibited at one time. 
The best general rule is that alcohol is forbidden to Moslems.

Bear

> The range of utterly no alcohol to some alcohol so long as it isn't 
> brewed from grapes, appears to have varied by sect. I'm not sure that 
> there has been a loosening of the alcohol restriction over the years  in 
> general. I believe that it is still forbidden to most Moslems.
>
> Stefan