Angels Tapping at the Wine-Shop's Door
History of Alcohol in the Islamic World
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Angels Tapping at the Wine-Shop's Door
History of Alcohol in the Islamic World
About this book
Islam is the only major world religion that resists the juggernaut of alcohol consumption. In many Islamic countries, alcohol is banned; in others, it plays little role in social life. Yet, Muslims throughout history did drink, often to excess—whether sultans and shahs in their palaces, or commoners in taverns run by Jews or Christians.
This evocative study delves into drinking's many historic, literary and social manifestations in Islam, going beyond references to 'hypocrisy' or the temptations of 'forbidden fruit'. Rudi Matthee argues that alcohol, through its 'absence' as much as its presence, takes us to the heart of Islam. Exploring the long history of this faith—from the eight-century Umayyad dynasty to Erdogan's Turkey, and from Islamic Spain to modern Pakistan—he unearths a tradition of diversity and multiplicity in which Muslims drank, and found myriad excuses to do so. They celebrated wine and used it as a poetic metaphor, even viewing alcohol as a gift from God—the key to unlocking eternal truth.
Drawing on a plethora of sources in multiple languages, Matthee presents Islam not as an austere and uncompromising faith, but as a set of beliefs and practices that embrace ambivalence, allowing for ambiguity and even contradiction.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Photos
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on Transliteration
- Introduction
- 1. Islam and Alcohol
- 2. Alcohol in the Premodern Islamic World (c. 600 to c. 1400)
- 3. Wine in Islamic Painting, Poetry, and Adab Literature
- 4. Alcohol in the Early Modern Islamic Empires: The Ottomans and the Mughals
- 5. Alcohol in the Early Modern Islamic Empires: The Safavids
- 6. Changing Drinking Habits in the Nineteenth Century— Part One: The Ottoman Empire and North Africa
- 7. Changing Drinking Habits in the Nineteenth Century— Part Two: Qajar Iran
- 8. Alcohol in the Modern Age: New Drinks and Drinking Customs—Part One: The Arab World
- 9. Alcohol in the Modern Age: New Drinks and Drinking Customs—Part Two: Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan
- Conclusion
- Image Credits
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- Back Cover