Iranian Studies Book Launch: A History of Alcohol in the Islamic World

The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies and the Canadian Society for Iranian and Persian Studies jointly present: Angels Tapping at the Wine-Shop’s Door: A History of Alcohol in the Islamic World on Friday, September 20, 2024 1 pm Eastern Time (Canada & US).

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.

Rudi Matthee is the John A. Munroe and Dorothy L. Munroe Chair of History at the University of Delaware. He is the author of four prize-winning monographs on Iranian history, and the editor or co-editor of another six books. He is currently President of the Persian Heritage Foundation.

• Location for In-Person Attendance: Rm 200B, 4 Bancroft Ave, Toronto
• Zoom Registration Link for Virtual Attendance:
  https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqc–orzMjGtVQVD3PSfme63KpVlpvv5Y8
  * After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.