Food in Islam

Food in Islam is an engaging collection of essays, thanks to the inclusion of different voices from around the world and their individual approaches to faith and food. The edition encapsulates Islamic theological beliefs, rituals, festive foods, migrant experiences, and mindful poetic incantations on food. Food in Islam includes explorations of Sufi poetry, which approaches drinking wine metaphysically, and intoxication as a metaphor for submission to God. Here food is approached via fasting and feasting and spiritual satiety. A personal favorite is Shanon Shah’s “Muslim Veggies,” an essay that touches upon the controversy of whether vegetarianism implies heterodoxy, the Islamic notions of halal (permissible) and tayyib (wholesome), and the theory among some Muslim scholars that the Prophet was largely vegetarian, and whether the method of slaughter is religiously mandated.