Dogs are considered "unclean" under Islamic tradition but, while relatively rare in Iran, some people do keep them as pets.
By issuing a fatwa - a religious ruling - Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi has sent a clear message that this trend must stop.
"Friendship with dogs is a blind imitation of the West," he said. "There are lots of people in the West who love their dogs more than their wives and children."
Guard dogs and sheep dogs are considered acceptable under Islamic law but Iranians who carry dogs in their cars or take them to public parks can be stopped by police and fined.
The Koran does not explicitly prohibit contact with dogs, Shirazi said, but Islamic tradition showed it to be so. "We have lots of narrations in Islam that say dogs are unclean."
6 comments:
no doubt this will cause alot of stray dogs on the streets iran
Seriously. I doubt they have pounds and even if they did, who would own up to owning a dog?
"There are lots of people in the West who love their dogs more than their wives and children."
That's a pretty ignorant statement. How does he know?
The Koran does not explicitly prohibit contact with dogs, Shirazi said, but Islamic tradition showed it to be so.
So... they're not following the Koran when they're making these laws? Isn't that frowned upon?
Dogs have been around longer than islam who cares about a man's opinion.
Dogs were the first domesticated animal. I can't imagine living in a culture that considered dogs unclean. That is more foreign to me than religious fanatacism--after all we have plenty of those here.
Sadly, a country that cares about fatwas isn't going to start worrying about canine welfare and start to set up pounds.
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