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 un
