Coffee - The Wine of Islam

For those that don't know, Khat is a leaf which releases an amphetamine like product when chewed. Traditionally scholars would consume it to help them stay up at night and pray or study however, like all good things, its beneficial uses gave way to its degenerative abuses.

Now Khat is considered Haram (banned from an Islam legal perspective), because its misuse over rides any benefit. Its sad to see some countries though (Yemen, Somalia) have not been able to overcome the addictive and economically lucrative product. Large swathes of Yemen for instance grow the product, which means large aquifiers are redirected primarily to this crop, depriving others from growing staples and other produce. This in turn contributes to a lack of food within the country, resulting in reduced health (particularly in young children). The other knock on effect is that once peopel start chewing it (around lunch time) the whole city shuts down. Someone should really do a case study on it.

Marijuana is also another interesting psychostimulant with a (tenuous) link to Islam. The original assassins (Hashashins), though considered an extreme sect with barely any resemblance to traditional Islamic orthodoxy, relied on Marijuana to produce what we know term assassins!