What Would You Do for a Drink?
Since 1979, Iran has banned alcohol and flogged those who sell or drink it. Additionally, the government recently increased the punishment from 74 lashes to 74 lashes, a fine, and three months to a year in prison, which is twice the previous maximum sentence. However, there’s no shortage of alcohol in Iran with many risking the punishments for the opportunity to drink.
Iran’s stuck in a rather odd situation. While the Koran says that alcohol is sinful, drinking has been integral to Persian culture for thousands of years. (Interestingly, the small Christian and Jewish community is exempted from these laws.) In fact, the earliest evidence of Persian wine is from 5400 BC, whereas the oldest in France is from a young 500 BC. Also, the famous Australian Shiraz grape comes from Iran.
Evidence of widespread Persian drinking is obvious, too, considering the government relented and allowed the sale of grain alcohol (methanol) in 1997. A government official anonymously said that they made the change to limit deaths and casualties caused by moonshine and cheaper “alternatives” like opium.
Anyway, I suppose the point of this is it’s difficult to suprress human nature, even with religious backing. With Brew Year’s Eve coming up (April 6), it’s easy for us to remember the lessons from Prohibition that allowing alcohol only led to more problems and criminalizing something that’s basic to human life.
