ALCOHOL—the mother of all evils
Sayed Abdullah S. M.
Konkani Shanti Publications (Goa)
Pages: 40
Price: Rs 60
Year: 2013
Reviewed by MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN
The author in his book, “ALCOHOL—the mother of all evils” has outlined the historical description of alcohol through the ages along with pattern and trends of alcoholism, its causes and effect, measures and mechanism to tackle the roots of alcoholism, and how it was prohibited by different religions and what methods were applied or followed to discourage the consumption of alcohol.
The author has categorised various aspects of alcoholism that even a layman can easily understand its aftermath effect on an individual, society and economy and why the governments have not made any serious efforts to curb it even after knowing how harmful it is.
The author has classified his entire book in VI chapters, namely, A Glimpse through history, The Patterns and trends of Alcoholism, Causes of Alcoholism, Harmful Effects of Alcoholism-A Fact Sheet, Tackling Alcoholism, and religion and Alcoholism. These chapters have been further divided in sub-heads to effect more clarify and to simplify the subject in the best possible manner in order to give more insight and to present every minute details in every aspect.
In the beginning, the author has explored the historical connotation and has outlined a brief historical introduction. The word ‘alcohol’, which is derived from the Arabic word kuhl or kohl, meaning “very fine powder”, is called by different names. It was in the 19th century that for the first time the word Alcohol gained acceptance. The term Alcohol was first used by a Swedish physician, Mr. Agnus Huss. The historical description covers prehistoric period, reference of religious script of various religions, and the narratives put forward by various scholars and thinkers of different ages and from different places. In the early period drinking wine was acceptable and was used among others by the followers of all religions in various capacities. According to some authors offering wine to gods and goddesses was an accepted religious practice in India. Alcohol consumption enjoyed religious sanction in India and in almost all the religious scriptures there is no dearth of references to alcoholic beverages. It was widely used during religious festivities and till today it is consumed during festivals or during celebration time. But in (Manusmriti 11:55) it is clearly said that drinking liquor is a major crime.
Alcohol was widely used and consumed by Muslims before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). According to well-known Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi there were about one hundred names of liquor and it is more than enough to gauge its popularity and intake among the Muslims until it was completely prohibited. The Islamic connotation of wine is based upon a hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) which defined any substance that intoxicate is khamr (wine) and every khamr is haraam (forbidden).
In the second chapter, the emphasis is on production of Alcohol in India and about drinking age. Although India is widely known as a land of religions since ages, yet it has one of the largest alcohol beverages industries in the world and it is the highest producer of alcohol in South East Asia. As per a World Health Organisation report about 2 billion people consume alcohol worldwide. India is the third largest market of alcoholic beverages in the world. According to GMC Goa sources, about 41 per cent men 22 per cent women consume alcohol and among them 40 to 50 per cent men suffer alcohol-induced problems. Further, about 60 million people in India are alcoholics; the figure is equal to the population of France. The author has also described the age pattern of drinking and specifically it has mentioned drinking pattern in Kerala from 1990 to 2006 from below 21 years to above 51 years.
In the third chapter, the author has made an attempt to ascertain Alcoholic behaviour and its major causes. The first and the foremost behavioural aspect is that in its worst form, alcoholic behaviour deforms and depraves human soul beyond limits. It is even believed by many that the use of alcohol can guarantee escape from worldly problems and therefore these people seek solace in alcohol. But the reality is entirely different as suggested by K.A. Meninger, a psychoanalyst that alcohol addiction is self-destruction.
The best possible means to seek solace would be to surrender to the will of Almighty and utilise the opportunity to reform oneself and become a better human being. Some professionals, belonging to IT industry or film industry get easily swayed by western influence, their lifestyle is changed and they adapt themselves to match their western counterparts. In this process, their ethos, values and social perspectives get westernised and as a result live-in relationship, drinking, lesbianism, and other social problems become inevitable. But the real concern remains that both the central and state governments are equally responsible for promoting alcoholism. Surprisingly, instead of taking any concrete step, to abolish alcoholism, as a constitutional obligation under Article 47, both the governments are doing all that can help them generate revenues. The worst part of it is that the government has so far made no attempt to prepare a data base to ascertain the details of social cost of alcoholism. It must be made clear that the social cost, if measured, would be at any way higher than the revenue generated from alcohol.
In the fourth chapter, the writer has described through various data and figures about the harmful effects of alcohol. There is a wrong presumption that alcohol is a stimulant but the fact is that it is not a stimulant but a depressant that slows down the activity of the brain. Its intake directly affects overall activities in the stomach, liver, and heart. In other words, it harms most of the organs in our body and takes its toll on the overall well-being in one way or the other. The social and economic cost is more than expected. As a result the fallout out of alcohol intake includes: Alcohol is responsible for 15 to 20 per cent traumatic brain injuries, 34 per cent cases of attempted suicides, 30 per cent road accident, 44 per cent fire injuries, 34 per cent of falls, 12 per cent suicides, and 10 per cent industrial accidents. There are also many other data and figures to portray its harmful effects in India and abroad.
In the fifth chapter, emphasis has been laid on how to tackle alcoholism and who are responsible to do and how effective prohibition attempts are made in the past and how it has worked. Government, NGO, civil society and religious leaders can play an instrumental role in curbing the menace of alcoholism. The author based on his understanding and knowledge has suggested some measures by which he feels that the harmful effects could be minimised.
Of all other previous attempts made to curb alcoholism, it was only Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) who is known for his efforts in the entire history to have been successfully enforced in Madinah where the whole society followed the prohibition and became an alcohol-free society. Attempts were made in India and the rest of the world by different faiths and religions and by others but the problem remains. Different countries and their religious heads suggested different means for prohibition but were successful partially. Prohibitions were imposed by religious heads in Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam and its impact were different from one another. The author has reproduced 11 verses from the Manusmriti which says that drinking is a major crime and 74 verses from the Christian scriptures that warn about the dreaded consequences of alcohol in this world and in the hereafter.
Remarkably, in Islam, when verse An Nisa-43 was revealed declaring all intoxicants as haram, (prohibited) and apart from this divine revelation, Prophet Muhammad himself condemned alcohol, it had a miraculous impact on the minds of the people at that point of time. People after hearing the commandments of prohibition smashed all the vessels of alcohol. The streets in Madinah were inundated with alcohol. Another person, who was about to drink as the cup was on his lips, on hearing the commandments, refrained from drinking even a single drop. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) had then called alcohol the “mother of all evils.”