Angels Tapping at the Wine-Shop's Door: A History of Alcohol in the Islamic World (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780197694718)

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, 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.


Author: Rudi Matthee
ISBN-10: 0197694713
ISBN-13: 9780197694718
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 06/01/2023
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 8.57h x 5.83w x 1.48d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2024