This book explores the significance of alcohol in the Middle East and Maghreb as a powerful catalyst of social and political division. It shows that the solidarities and polarities created by disputes over alcohol are built on arguments far more complex than oppositions on religion or consumption alone. In a region in which alcohol is banned by Islamic rules, yet allows its production and consumption, alcohol has always been contentious. However, this volume examines the different forms of social authority - religious, cultural and political - to offer a new understanding of drinking behaviours in the Middle East and North Africa. It suggests that alcohol, being at the same time an import and product of local industry, epitomises the tensions inherent to the conforming of Islamic societies to global trends, which seek to redefine political communities, social hierarchies and gender roles. The chapters challenge common misconceptions about alcohol in this region, arguing instead that medical discourses on alcohol dependency hide stances on national independence in an imperialist context; that the focus on religion also tends to conceal disputes on alcohol as a social struggle; and that disputes on inebriation are more about masculinity than judging private leisure. In doing so, the volume presents alcohol as a way of grasping the power relations that structure the societies of the Middle East and Maghreb.
| ISBN: | 9783030840006 |
| Publication date: | 12th January 2022 |
| Author: | Elife BiçerDeveci, Philippe Bourmaud |
| Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan an imprint of Springer International Publishing |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 218 pages |
| Series: | St Antony's Series |
| Genres: |
Asian history Social and cultural history History of religion African history History: specific events and topics Political science and theory History of medicine |
This book explores the significance of alcohol in the Middle East and Maghreb as a powerful catalyst of social and political division. It shows that the solidarities and polarities created by disputes over alcohol are built on arguments far more complex than oppositions on religion or consumption alone. In a region in which alcohol is banned by Islamic rules, yet allows its production and consumption, alcohol has always been contentious. However, this volume examines the different forms of social authority - religious, cultural and political - to offer a new understanding of drinking behaviours in the Middle East and North Africa. It suggests that alcohol, being at the same time an import and product of local industry, epitomises the tensions inherent to the conforming of Islamic societies to global trends, which seek to redefine political communities, social hierarchies and gender roles. The chapters challenge common misconceptions about alcohol in this region, arguing instead that medical discourses on alcohol dependency hide stances on national independence in an imperialist context; that the focus on religion also tends to conceal disputes on alcohol as a social struggle; and that disputes on inebriation are more about masculinity than judging private leisure. In doing so, the volume presents alcohol as a way of grasping the power relations that structure the societies of the Middle East and Maghreb.
Alcohol in the Maghreb and the Middle East Since the Nineteenth Century features in the following genres: Asian history, Social and cultural history, History of religion, African history, History: specific events and topics, Political science and theory, History of medicine
Alcohol in the Maghreb and the Middle East Since the Nineteenth Century is available in Hardback
Alcohol in the Maghreb and the Middle East Since the Nineteenth Century was written by Elife BiçerDeveci, Philippe Bourmaud and published by Palgrave Macmillan an imprint of Springer International Publishing
Alcohol in the Maghreb and the Middle East Since the Nineteenth Century has 218 pages
Yes it is part of St Antony's Series series
£116.99