Western Islam

[carlton_bach]

As I raised in a more recent one of these threads, the Ashkenazim used "Schmaltz" for cooking, which was either rendered duck or chicken fat. Given Chicken are about as easy to raise as pigs, I don't see why this wouldn't be a valid replacement for lard in cooking for Northern European Muslims.

Quantity. You can get fat out of a lot of domestic animals (sheep are very good, if you have the right breed), but pigs give you the best output. You can't raise chickens on beechnuts and acorns, or herd them in the forest, so poultry fat will always be in somewhat limited supply compared to pig fat.

In Central Asia people used fat-tailed sheep to produce animal fat which was abourt equally important in cooking as pig fat in Northern Europe, so it's doable, but it would require a big shift in agricultural patterns. The problem isn't that you can't do it, it's that at this point a system has emerged in Europe that has pig-raising as a core source of animal protein and fat. These things take a long time to change. And you have to keep in mind that these European Muslims aren't going to be caricature Wahhabis chopping off your head if you so much as taste bacon. I suspect the idseaof eating less meat to reduce the ecological footprint is a reasonable enough analogy - how long till it makes a dent in America's cattle industry?

 

[Analytical Engine]

IIRC, muslims *are* alowed to eat pork if their lives depend on it.

Mind you, there are Turkish muslims that eat pork anyway, so there might be some wiggle room for the North Europeans...

 

[George Carty]

What is "canonical Islamic architecture?"

I was thinking mainly Arabic and Persian styles (not Ottoman or Mughal, as there is too much Byzantine and Hindu influence respectively).

 

[Niko Malaka]

I was thinking mainly Arabic and Persian styles (not Ottoman or Mughal, as there is too much Byzantine and Hindu influence respectively).

The great mosque of Cordobe, speaking about western islam, is inspiresd in the roman aqueduct known as Acueducto de los Milagros, in Mérida. The "horseshoe" arc was a visigothic invention, or at least they taught that to me. Andalusi architecure in general, specially the domestic one, was not too different from previous and ulterior architecture in Spain. Furthermore, muslim architectural styles were succesful even after the end of the "Reconquista", and you can find their influences not only in the 16th and 17th century spanish architecture, including the Americas, but also in the romantic and historicist architectural currents in the 19th century. In sume, from my limited understanding of the muslim world, their architecture seems really eclectic and adapted to local influences and needs. I guess it would have been pretty similar in other european territories.

EDIT: And regarding the issue about the wine, though it was largelly commented in the past and with better knowledge than mine, if Al-andalus is still a good example for westerm islam, wine continued being one of the main iberian productions and exports after the muslim conquest, to the despair of Almoravids and specially the Almohads. There is also evidencies about the breeding of porks, though they were probably breeded by and for christians (mozárabes). Otherwise the survival of the iberian pork would be difficult to understand, as would be some (though marginal) references in muslim sources related to the pork's breeding.

Cheers.