User:Tave0111/History of coffee

Coffee in Islam: From Haram to Halal
As opposed to how its viewed in more modern centuries, coffee often became the subject of debate for some. When the fatwa came into effect in 1532/1533, coffee and its consumption was established as haram. This decision most likely came from the idea that like alcohol, coffee had an effect on areas regarding things such as cognition albeit a different and more mild effect altogether. It is possible that this verdict was implemented in an attempt to regulate consumption of other recreational substances such as tobacco and alcohol in the Ottoman and Safavid Empires. Drinking coffee in public places was also heavily looked down upon. Not only was public consumption seen as taboo, but many people would often drink out of a communal bowl in a similar fashion to drinking wine. This most likely added on to the already existent negative conceptions regarding coffee in that a similar style of consumption once again linked it and compared it to alcohol.

An effort was made to prevent the spread of coffee’s growing popularity. While Suleiman I was still in power, taxes were being imposed in an attempt to prevent both members of the bureaucracy and those who were unemployed. Further attempts occurred during both the reigns of sultan Selim II in 1567 as well as sultan Murad III in 1583 whenever those who of more modest means began to drink coffee which included those whose professions ranged from craftsmen to shopkeepers to local soldiers. Despite such an attempt to bar people from drinking coffee, the fatwa ultimately failed as coffee had little to no effect compared to the effects of alcohol. That coffee was ever seen as a mind-altering substance like alcohol meant that the prohibition was more of a misunderstanding of the substance or an attempt to control consumption based on Orthodox beliefs. This back-and-forth scenario falls within the debate of whether coffee is halal or haram. While it certainly proved controversial, coffee continued to be sought out by many.

Within the Ottoman Empire, shops known as taḥmīskhāne in Ottoman Turkish were used to create coffee using the traditional method of roasting and crushing coffee beans in mortars. Coffee houses located in areas such as Mecca were visited by those from all over: Muslims from mosques, those coming from afar to trade and sell, or simple travelers making their way through.

Additionally, despite the controversy behind coffee, it was one of the keys to the economy around the Red Sea from the mid-15th century to the mid-17th century. Those of Islam were the primary consumers, ingraining it into the culture of the people within the Muslim faith. From Islam, the rest of the world would go on to experience something that holds influence over the world today. In the past, the Oromo tribe in Ethiopia created foods from coffee plants such as bunna qela comprised of butter, salt, and roasted beans. Such a concoction would be used as a basis and altered over time. A more modern beverage version known as qishr in Arabic is comprised of recycled dried cherry skins that would have normally been discarded after being used to create the beverage buna. These cherry skins would then be used to brew a sort of fruit tea. Qishr or cascara in Spanish is sold by coffee farmers even today.