[Sca-cooks] Alcohol in Islamic countries

[Christiane]

Madhavi observed that Persian and Indian Muslims were very liberal about wine drinking, and Cariadoc mentioned drinking anecdotes from Al-Tanukhi, the judge in 10th century Baghdad. 

The thing about drinking in the countries that had been the old Persian Empire, is that ritualized group drinking and drinking as a "sign" of royalty pre-dated the Muslims - images from Babylonia and Mesopotamia are remarkably similar to images in Sassanian platters, of kings sitting drinking surrounded by dancing girls and musicians and courtiers. Check out, "Medieval Islamic Symbolism and the Paintings in the Cefalu Cathedral," by Miriam Gelfer-Jorgensen, which has a rich array of photos of objects from the region. Seeing them all together, you're struck by the consistency of the portrayals, from ancient to early medieval. Specifically, in this book, check out the chapter, "The Interpretation of the Goblet Motif in the Pre-Islamic Oriental."

With thousands of years of drinking as a sign of the gods' favor and kingship, it's no wonder why that even with the strictures of Islam against drinking, the tradition of the grape would not quite be suppressed in this region.

YIS,
Adelisa de Salernum