Not wanting to start a thread about the merits of the movie, 13th Warrior, but did want to know if this holds water.
Banderas’ character, who is Muslim, refuses drink because to quote him “I cannot taste neither the fermentation of grape, nor of wheat.”
After a pitched battle, his viking buddy offers him a horn of mead and hearing this laughs and explains that it is a honey based drink.
This little technicality hold water? What’s the straight dope?
-rainy
There are some Muslims that do or did hold this belief. Certainly not a majority beleif today, but some few may still hold that view.
Note also, in the privacy of their homes, or in very privatte clubs, it is hardly unheard of for some Muslim men to drink.
Do a Google search on “mead ingredients”. It’s basically honey, water, and yeast.
Feh. Mis-read the question. Dunno about the loophole in the beliefs…I thought you were asking if mead is really made from honey…
Sorry.
Highly doubtful or Budweiser would be popular in Mulsim countries as it’s made from rice.
It’s a bit of a fuzzy memory but I think all forms of alcohol are banned in Saudi Arabia, even methanol. It was from an article in Model Airplane News where the author said that only diesel model engines were used there since normal alcohol based glow fuel couldn’t be imported. I’m pretty curious what the Koran says on that and how it is most commonly interpreted.
A Turk by the name of Haroun
Ate whisky by means of a spoon
To one who asked why
This turk made reply:
“To drink is forbidden, you loon.”
I love it!
I believe its an injunction against drunkenness - you can’t get drunk if you don’t have to moderate it.
Living in a country with a significant Turkish minority I can confirm that this interpretation is not that uncommon. Of course it is not universal and only relevant for those who care about the rules about alcohol at all.
Nitpick: Budweiser is made with rice, as well as barley.
AFAIK malted barley is an ingredient in every beer. Please note that barley != wheat.
Well…not only in the privacy of their homes. A couple hours ago, I was in a kabyl-owned bar and I believe all the patrons except me where muslims (at least they all seemed to be of north-african descent, parenthesis added to take care of nitpickers), and I was the only one not drinking alcohol (minted tea, parenthesis added for the curious. That’s why I entered the bar at the first place).
I asked about this in an old GD thread. IIRC- The Q’uran gives the injunction against consuming intoxicants several times. Each time, it is worded differently. While fermented grapes or fermented grain (IIRC Antonio says “grain” rather than “wheat”) are clearly forbidden, mead is not specifically mentioned.
And in a great many areas, they don’t bother much with the secrecy…
For the record, IANAM… but I did take an Islamic Law course.
Based on what I learned, I do not think that you can get around the prohibition of alcohol by drinking mead. (Even though, as DocCathode notes, mead is not strictly prohibited).
The Qu’ran states:
What’s more - there is a Hadith (which is a statement of the Prophet) that says “He who drinks wine, whip him.”
I would interpret this as meaning that drinking anything which can intoxicate you so that you cannot focus on God is forbidden. Also, as anecdotal evidence - in Islamic societies such as Saudi Arabia - I have never heard that there are booming mead sales.
Actually, in that case most beers would qualify, as classically they contain: malted barley, hops, yeast, and water. As their name would imply, wheat beers contain wheat, but the vast majority of beers are not wheat beers.
Even wheat beers contain some barley.
In the Qu’ran, there is no unified prohhibition. It starts off saying Don’t Pray Drunk and gets stricter as more is revealed. There’s a hadith that has somebody asking what exactly is okay, and the answer given is that if a gallon will cloud the mind, then a drop is forbidden, so the official answer is no alcohol and no recreational drugs. It is important to note that there are exceptions for medically necessary treatments such as anaesthesia.
Yes, but my point was that with the quote “I cannot taste neither the fermentation of grape, nor of wheat,” the speaker in question can drink a majority of brewed beers, not just Budweiser. I didn’t say wheat beers are exclusively made from wheat, simply that they “contain” wheat.