I live in Southern Thailand and there is a rather large muslim population here. There seems to be an opinion that dogs are something that Muslims hate and while that might be true in some particular sects of Islam that I am not aware of, that is not the case here.
I spoke to some Muslims who were helping us feed stray dogs one time because I too was under the impression that they are forbidden from being around dogs at all and I was educated a bit that day.
I'm by no means an expert, nor am I a Muslim, but I am just trying to shed a little light on this or at least what the situation is with the Muslims in Southern Thailand.
I was previously told that Muslims are not so much as allowed to touch dogs or be around them but as it turns out this is not true. There are a lot of different forms of Islam around the world so I am not trying to say that this is true everywhere nor am I trying to insult anyone so please, take it easy as I am merely repeating what I have been told.
With the Muslims here in Southern Thailand and perhaps other places in the world, it is permissible to be around dogs or even to have them as pets as long as they are serving a practical purpose such as protecting property, serving as some sort of warning system for intruders, and even for services for the disabled such as seeing eye dogs.
From what I have been told, keeping dogs as pets just "because you want one" or "because they are cute" is generally not considered OK in Islam, although there is some confusion about what the rules are for the most part. Keeping dogs inside the home, especially in any part of the home where prayers are held, is not permissible.
I rent a house from a Muslim family and if they were extremely opposed to people living with dogs, they likely would take great issue with the fact that I have 3 of them, and they are regularly inside of my house that they own.
A question that is asked frequently is "why are dogs considered impure by Muslims" and the reason for that has something to do with their saliva. Despite this, Muslims (at least here in S Thailand) can have dogs as work animals but there is some issue of confusion or debate about the dog cannot be touched if it is wet, especially if it is wet from panting and thus it is wet by its own saliva.
Allowing a dog to lick you in affection or giving kisses to doggies like I frequently do, would be seriously frowned upon in the Muslim world.
Generally speaking, the Muslim community here in Thailand sticks to a compassionate stance towards dogs and other stray animals and it would be forbidden by their religion to harm them and we frequently receive donations of food as well as monetary help to feed and keep the dogs of Krabi as healthy and well-fed as possible.
I do not know of any Muslim that has a pet dog, but I do know several who live in the countryside that keep dogs as work dogs to protect the property and serve as an early warning system for potential intruders.
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Of course, just like any religion, things vary greatly depending on geography, so I am not trying to pain everyone with the same brush. I did, however, notice when I was seeing videos and pictures of other Islamic places in the world, that there were an awful lot of stray dogs in those images and videos, so I am thinking that there is some level of allowance in those countries as well.
Why am I talking about this? Well, it was brought up in conversation the other day when a visitor to Southern Thailand suggested that dogs in this area would all be poisoned by the Muslims that live here and while it may have happened a couple of times, the religion specifically prohibits cruelty to animals... but then again so does Buddhism. Somebody is breaking their religious rules when this happens, that much is for certain, but it isn't fair to single out this group when they do seem just as concerned about the suffering of stray animals as any other group.
I looked up a couple of websites to confirm what was being told to me and it seems to confirm what I am saying. You can check it out here if you want to
If you would like to see how you can help out or simply spread the word, please visit our website at
http://krabianimalwelfare.org
Krabi Animal Welfare is a charity run entirely by volunteers and are a registered non-profit organization in Thailand and the U.K.. We aim to relieve the pain and suffering of dogs and cats within Krabi Province.
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