Alcohol

In Islam, alcoholic beverages—or any intoxicant—is generally forbidden. Intoxicants were forbidden in the Qur'an through several separate verses revealed at different times over a period of years. At first, it was forbidden for Muslims to attend to prayers while intoxicated (4:43). Then a later verse was revealed which said that alcohol contains some good and some evil, but the evil is greater than the good (In Surah Al-Baqarah: 219, it states "They ask Thee concerning Wine and Gambling, Say: In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit."). This was the next step in turning people away from consumption of it. Finally, "intoxicants and games of chance" were called "abominations of Satan's handiwork," intended to turn people away from God and forget about prayer, and Muslims were ordered to abstain (5:90-91). In addition to this, observant Muslims refrain from consuming food products that contain pure vanilla extract or soy sauce if these food products contain alcohol.

However, there are no prohibitions on using alcohol for scientific, industrial or automotive use (either as a biofuel, solvent or a coolant, for instance).

In Turkey, which has an official Muslim population of 99%, alcohol is not seen as taboo as it is in other Muslim countries. The sale of alcohol is legal and it is not uncommon to see Turkish Muslims drinking. However Turks who usually enjoy alcoholic beverages will refrain from them during the holy month of Ramadan.