[Sca-cooks] Alcohol in Islamic countries

[Woodrow Hill]

On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 12:52,  <galefridus at optimum.net> wrote:
> Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens (10th Century Islamic) includes dozens of recipes for wines and meads. I even found mention of what to do to remedy hangovers (drink cold water first thing in the morning -- some things never change!)

There is a significant amount of support for the drinking of wine in
many period Arabic cultures. For example: the two primary works I use
for period Ottoman poetry writing (OTTOMAN LYRIC POETRY and POETRY'S
VOICE, SOCIETY'S SONG) both detail the symbolic use of wine in these
writings; one also backed by period ref. such as the (in)famous Sultan
Selim II, known as "the Sot" due to his drinking habits.

Indeed, my "period hafla" concept (called a majlis in-period) includes
wine, since it's clearly part of the party according to my sources.

All this to say: Islam, and the cultures that derive from that
religion, are as rich and complex as the ones derived from Christian
sources. There was in period, as well as today, a lively debate about
the permissibility of drinking alcohol based upon religions sources.
And just like in Europe, people violated religious rules time and
again. It's a myth that "no one in Islam drank alcohol", and it's best
that folks put it to rest, in favor of a more nuanced and complex
understanding of the role of "the grape" in the cultures in question.

> -- Galefridus

----asim

-- 
The Politics of Dancing: http://apostate.raqsstorm.org