Are Alcohol and Cinema really forbidden in Islam?
One of the greatest delusions that people have about Islam is that Muslims can’t have fun. Most non-Muslim people believe that “having fun” is against Islam. On the other hand, Muslims, too, need to examine their understanding of the meaning of being a Muslim.
Islam sets certain standards for Muslims to practice their daily activities. These standards don’t have to be burdens upon us. They shouldn’t force us stay at home while our acquaintances are out having fun. We should understand that Islam is based on moderation and on enjoying all things but within the proper Islamic limits.
In the course of the summer season, we can have fun like everyone else. However, we should still maintain the good behavior and manners that Almighty Allah requires of us. All of these instructions that Islam sets for us are for our own good. We should put into consideration that Allah knows us better than we know ourselves. Islam is not against fun. It asks you to control your own behaviors and desires. You can have fun as you wish, but in consideration to the set of behavior allowed in Islam which specifies not be extreme in your attitudes.
When we talk about something like alcohol, we cannot consider it fun. From my point of view, any normal person will never want to get drunk and will loath alcohol in general. Alcohol has many undesirable influences on the body and it causes loss of control over actions and behavior and weakens the brain functions. Why do you think that alcohol is fun? I think it’s because our current art, music, cinema and literature encourages that attitude. Any normal person won’t find any fun about being with people who drink nor will find fun in actually drinking.
As for cinema, Islam is not against the art. There’s nothing wrong with going out to cinema and enjoying yourself. However, you shouldn’t make cinema the most important thing in your life. Turkey, Syria, Egypt and many other Muslim countries were of the earliest film makers in the world and continue a massive film industry till present showing the readiness and approval of this media by most Muslim communities. The issue with film isn’t whether we should watch it or not, but rather it is what should we watch. For example if there is too much sexual content in a movie it may not be one that a Muslim would want to watch. Movies can move us sensitively, thus, we have to be careful not to let the emotional influence of a movie convince us into accepting bad things as being tolerable.
