SHAH ALAM, 20 Oct: The Selangor Mufti, Datuk Mohd Tamyes Abd Wahid, agrees with the dog touching event if it complies with the three purposes of rearing the animal according to Islam.
“If the aim of the event was to know that Islam does encourage keeping dogs with the three purposes, this I agree with,” he told Selangor Kini.
He was referring the leeway in making dogs as a trained animal to hunt, guard homes or detect illegal items such as drugs.
“This means the method to make the dog tame, bred and trained. (Or) can follow the instructions of its master. This I agree.
“But if it is just to introduce dogs as an animal that can be kept like cats; I do not agree,” he said.
Questioning the aim of the event which he deems to not be clear, Tamyes said that the event failed to let go of the Muslim community’s negative perception towards dogs.
Instead, he reckons that there will be transference of excrement to the animal holders in such events.
“If the dogs taken are small, no one would be afraid. But if they are big and fierce, one wrong move would cause a person to be bitten or barked at. This invites fear.
“Those taken were merely to introduce them to keep dogs like keeping other animals such as cats.
“If this is the aim, then it has deviated from making dogs as pets,” he said.
Hundreds Muslims visited the ‘I Want to Touch a Dog’ event in Central Park, Bandar Utama, which aimed to overcome negative perceptions towards dogs.
NS
