swedish chef
At the Start
Lawmakers in Tehran have recently proposed a bill in parliament that would criminalize dog ownership, formally enshrining its punishment within the country's Islamic penal code. The bill warns 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."
The proposed legislation for the first time outlines specific punishments for "the walking and keeping" of "impure and dangerous animals," a definition that could feasibly include cats but for the time being seems targeted at dogs. The law would see the offending animal confiscated, the leveling of a $100-to-$500 fine on the owner, but leaves the fate of confiscated dogs uncertain. "Considering the several thousand dogs [that are kept] in Tehran alone, the problem arises as to what is going to happen to these animals," Hooman Malekpour, a veterinarian in Tehran, said to the BBC's Persian service. If passed, the law would ultimately energize police and volunteer militias to enforce the ban systematically.
In August 2010 a fatwa by Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi was issued against the dogs. The reason for the fatwa: Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi emphasized that under Shariah, dogs are indeed considered unclean. He said the uncleanliness of dogs is based upon riwayahs, reliable narrations handed down from the Prophet Muhammad (S) and his household (AS). He described the current Iranian inclination toward dogs as “blindly imitating the West”; something that he believes will result in “evil outcomes.”
The proposed legislation for the first time outlines specific punishments for "the walking and keeping" of "impure and dangerous animals," a definition that could feasibly include cats but for the time being seems targeted at dogs. The law would see the offending animal confiscated, the leveling of a $100-to-$500 fine on the owner, but leaves the fate of confiscated dogs uncertain. "Considering the several thousand dogs [that are kept] in Tehran alone, the problem arises as to what is going to happen to these animals," Hooman Malekpour, a veterinarian in Tehran, said to the BBC's Persian service. If passed, the law would ultimately energize police and volunteer militias to enforce the ban systematically.
In August 2010 a fatwa by Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi was issued against the dogs. The reason for the fatwa: Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi emphasized that under Shariah, dogs are indeed considered unclean. He said the uncleanliness of dogs is based upon riwayahs, reliable narrations handed down from the Prophet Muhammad (S) and his household (AS). He described the current Iranian inclination toward dogs as “blindly imitating the West”; something that he believes will result in “evil outcomes.”
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