>>>>>But Leviticus probably has some pretty fierce stuff in case we need it ...
>>>>
>>>>No doubt. I've posted it here recently in fact.... :o) Thank goodness our constitution and laws are not based on nor derived from the Bible.
>>>
>>>I don't know - I had a lot of friends back in San Francisco who used to say, "Hey, the Bible *says* I should be stoned" <g>
>>
>>If seen in that vein, isn't it preferable to get stoned for Qu'ran reasons ?
>
>Well, since they have a prohibition against alcohol, I guess there isn't much choice <g> I was stoned in Afghanistan on a couple of occasions but I didn't go whining to Human Rights Watch.

>I do remember drinking some god-awful date wine with some Kurds in what might have been Turkey or might have been Syria ( to the Kurds it was neither ) and their explaining to me it was technically *grapes* that were haram

So selling things distilled from berries might be a touch more dangerous than cidre ?
And as the tiny bit of alcohol in kefir is no problem, you did not start on the spot
trying to talk about the benefits of grain based drinks like beer ?
later branching out into korn, whiskey, vodka and rum
while making it clear the distinction from haram cognac, grappa et al?

Come to think of it, I remember drinking beer in england with some Abu Dhabi
rich kids - feeling glad that I had not tried to compete with some swedes,
who were deeply into hard spirits.
But that choice had been influenced by some hopes of zina as well -
the chicks in the swedish group were also too heavily plastered for my taste,
and a couple of the arab daughters were without chaperone...