More Ridiculous Islamic Behavior...

So, to follow-up on yesterday’s diatribe about the ridiculous behavior coming out of the Saudi polity...how about more news of “tolerant” behavior from another Muslim country. This time we only have to look a little North and East of Saudi Arabia to find Iran. Iran, home of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the great president of Iran…without a doubt one of the most insane leaders of a Muslim country; the very man who called the Holocaust a lie and has repeatedly called for the annihilation of Israel. With leadership like that you know this is going to be good.

So, earlier this year the esteemed president of Iran bought four “guard” dogs from Germany for a ridiculous sum of US$100,000 (or more) per dog. In doing so he pissed off some of the ayatollahs in the country. You see many Muslims (note I did not say all) believe that dogs are “unclean” animals and should not be kept by Muslims. Now, where does this belief come from that says dogs are unclean? That is a good question and one that must be further explored. Let’s look at the Qur’an; which any good Muslim will tell you is the “law” that all Muslims should follow and it is the basis for Sharia or Islamic law. The assumption would be that the Qu’ran must say that dogs are unclean and therefore Muslims can’t keep dogs, right? Wrong, the Qur’an does not say that dogs are unclean and in fact many Surahs show dog with humans as their companions without saying anything negative about the dogs. Just look at Surah 18; which mentions dogs as companions numerous times and never says anything about them being unclean. So, then why are dogs unclean? Who knows just as no one knows why some Muslims blow themselves up thinking that by becoming a martyr they will please their holy allah and that they will be rewarded with virgins in heaven.

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Canada was asked about dogs being kept as pets. In his response he went on and on about dogs…that they were OK if you were going to use them for hunting, or as a guide dog, or as a guard dog…but, as a pet…no sir. Suddenly as a pet it is unclean and can’t be kept. Why…because the saliva of a dog is dirty and supposedly the prophet (Muhammad) warned Muslims about the saliva. So, if dogs are unclean because of their saliva, how can a hunting dog that surely holds its’ prey in its’ mouth be acceptable. Wouldn’t the prey (which is going to be eaten by Muslims) be unclean because it has surely touched some dog saliva? These are the great questions that go unanswered in Islam and no one dares to ask the great “clerics” if they could be wrong and surely no one points out the hypocrisy and illogical nature of many of their teachings.

However, that is the great thing about being an American, being free, and not being a Muslim. I can call “bull shit” when I see it or hear it. I am calling “bull shit” on this one. So, this leads me to believe that most Muslim teachers (sheikhs, clerics, ayatollahs, etc.) are deathly afraid of anything that brings happiness to a Muslim other than the Qur’an; because if they can be happy with something other than the Qur’an then in their opinion Islam is probably being threatened. Clerics, ayatollahs, sheikhs and Muslim leaders are only concerned about exerting control over their “followers” and they do so any way they can and they don’t need a reason and they certainly aren’t going to explain anything to anyone and that is the problem. So, this leads us back to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his dogs. So, some ayatollahs issued a fatwa (Islamic ruling) saying that it was all right for the president to have his dogs. Yet, others issued a fatwa saying he couldn’t. Are you seeing the contradictory nature of Islam and the hypocrisy of Muslim leaders within the same country? Heck, they can’t even agree on something as simple as four dogs. So, the president…being the president…said “whatever” and decided to keep his dogs. The president makes his decision while it is still illegal for the average Iranian citizen to have a dog as a pet. In fact, it is illegal for an Iranian citizen to walk their “illegal” dogs in public. Can you believe that? I can’t.

I open foxnews.com this morning and see an article about a man who was arrested and is going to spend some time in jail and receive lashes for taking his dog for a walk. So this old guy (who is 70 years old) has been sentenced to four months in jail and will receive 30 lashes for walking his dog. Can you imagine this? I can’t even begin to understand the thinking behind this one. Since, this poor guy lives in Iran he certainly can’t defend himself in court adequately. If he did so he would in essence have to challenge the Sharia, the ayatollahs and their interpretation of the Qur’an. If he did that I am sure he would be sentenced to death for much greater crimes against Sharia.

It is this kind of thinking and these sorts of actions that represent Islam to the world. Independent of what the moderate Muslims out there say, when people think of Islam they think of ridiculous stuff like this. Unfortunately, the ridiculous actions of countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran will forever cast Islam in a negative light and rightfully so. For if this is the kind of Islam that Muslims want to spread around the world…I think most people will tell them to shove it where the sun don’t shine.

So, to add to my list of Muslim countries that are in trouble or heading for trouble; I gleefully add Iran. Surely, the people of Iran will not stand for this kind of behavior, leadership, and law for long. That means Iran is headed for another revolution and this one will be led by people who are tired of being oppressed by a religious system that crushes rather than uplifts. You can’t lash an old man for walking his dog, plain and simple.