Iranians and Dogs

I always thought that the U.S. political process spent a ridiculous amount of time with inane issues. Well the Iranians appear to have us beat.

Doggies, they’re worried about doggies being kept as pets. We’re not talking about Pit Bulls, Dobermans or other potentially dangerous breeds either. We’re talking about your average, run of the mill pet dog.

Apparently, according to the Iranian mullahs, the keeping of pet dogs is a particularly depraved and un-Islamic vice.

Up until now the practice has been tolerated although government radio and TV lectures Iranians about the diseases spread by canines. Now it looks like the end is in site for Iran’s pet dogs. Lawmakers in Tehran have proposed a bill in parliament that would criminalize dog ownership and formally define its punishment within the country's Islamic penal code. The bill warns that that in addition to posing public health hazards, the popularity of dog ownership "also poses a cultural problem, a blind imitation of the vulgar culture of the West."

Now what was it Mitt Romney said a few years ago about “freedom needing religion?” Like I said then, freedom is undoubtedly far better off without religion. Show me a theocracy that is free.

Dogs are un-Islamic? That’s because by custom dogs are considered “najis or “unclean.” Muslims who come in contact with “najis” things are put into a state of ritual impurity and must undergo purification (that’s washing up to you and me) before performing any religious duty such as saying daily prayers.

Clearly the whole “najis” and purification business is a primitive attempt at addressing the problem of bacteria. Primitive peoples may not have known about germ theory but they could observe cause and effect and, over time, mitigation actions would emerge. I suppose that tying these actions to religion helped insure compliance. I guess if you don’t have an answer to the question of “why,” and they probably didn’t, saying “because God said so and you’ll burn in hell if you don’t listen” worked as a pretty good substitute.

Hey, I’m all for cleanliness. Washing your hands after any number of activities, and certainly before handling food, is usually a pretty good idea. But to attribute the necessity to some imaginary Sky Daddy is just silly in this day and age. Outlawing dogs, when any diseases they might spread just by being around are easily handled by run of the mill hygiene, is utterly ridiculous.

Tell me again why religion hasn’t outlived its usefulness?