Saudi Arabia bans sale of dogs, cats in capital
By DONNA ABU-NASR
August 1, 2008

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Every single man knows: Walking a dog in
the park is a sure babe magnet. Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious
police, in their zeal to keep the sexes apart, want to make sure the
technique doesn't catch on here.

The solution: Ban selling dogs and cats as pets, as well as walking
them in public.

The prohibition went into effect Wednesday in the capital, Riyadh, and
authorities in the city say they will strictly enforce it — unlike
previous bans in the cities of Mecca and Jiddah, which have been
ignored and failed to stop pet sales.

Violators found outside with their pets will have their beloved
poodles and other furry companions confiscated by agents of the
Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the
official name of the religious police, tasked with enforcing Saudi
Arabia's strict Islamic code.
The commission's general manager, Othman al-Othman, said the ban was
ordered because of what he called "the rising of phenomenon of men
using cats and dogs to make passes at women and pester families" as
well as "violating proper behavior in public squares and malls."

"If a man is caught with a pet, the pet will be immediately
confiscated and the man will be forced to sign a document pledging not
to repeat the act," al-Othman told the Al-Hayat newspaper. "If he
does, he will be referred to authorities." The ban does not address
women.

The Saudi-owned Al-Hayat announced the ban in its Wednesday edition,
saying it was ordered by the acting governor of Riyadh province,
Prince Sattam, based on an edit from the Council of Senior Islamic
Scholars and several religious police reports of pet owners harassing
women and families.

Commission authorities often do not formally announce to the public
new rules that they intend to implement. Officials from the commission
and Riyadh city government could not be reached for comment Thursday,
which is a weekend day in Saudi Arabia. The English-language Arab News
reported on the ban Thursday.

So far, the prohibition did not appear to have any effect in Riyadh.
It's extremely rare, anyway, to see anyone in the capital walking a
dog — much less carrying a cat in public — despite the authorities'
claims of flirtatious young men luring girls with their pets in malls.

Salesmen at a couple of Riyadh pet stores said Thursday they did not
receive any orders from the commission banning the sale of pets. Cats
and dogs were still on display.

"I didn't hear of the ban," said Yasser al-Abdullah, a 28-year-old
Saudi nurse, who was at one pet store with his 3-month-old collie,
Joe.

Al-Abdullah, who also owns an 8-month-old Labrador, said a couple of
Western friends had been told to get off the streets by the religious
police for walking their dogs.

"I won't allow the commission to take my dogs from me," he said.

The religious police prowl streets and malls throughout the kingdom,
ensuring unmarried men and women do not mix, confronting women they
feel are not properly covered or urging men to go to prayers.

They also often make attempts to plug the few holes in the strict
gender segregation that innovations bring. In 2004, for example, they
tried to ban cameras on cell phones, fearing that men and women would
exchange pictures of each other — though the prohibition was quickly
revoked.

There was no word whether commission authorities intend to expand the
dog and cat ban beyond the capital.

The prohibition may be more of an attempt to curb the owning of pets,
which conservative Saudis view as a sign of corrupting Western
influence, like the fast food, shorts, jeans and pop music that have
become more common in the kingdom.

Although it has never been common to own pets in the Arab world, it's
becoming increasingly fashionable among the upper class in Saudi
Arabia and other countries such as Egypt.
In Islamic tradition, dogs are shunned as unclean and dangerous,
though they are kept for hunting and guarding. In large cities around
the Middle East, stray dogs are considered pests.
The ban on cats is more puzzling, since there's no similar disdain for
them in Islamic tradition.

One of the Prophet Muhammad's closest companions was given the name
Abu Huraira, Arabic for "the father of the kitten," because he always
carried a kitten with him and a number of traditional stories of the
prophet show Muhammad encouraging people to treat cats well.

http://www.truthandgrace.com/muslimmadness.htm

On Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:16:44 -0700, infidel wrote:

> Saudi Arabia bans sale of dogs, cats in capital

As usual, 'infidel' deliberately mis-titles an article to support a 
pathetic hatred of Islam and Muslims.

The article doesn't describe a Muslim hatred of pets, but the stance of 
the Saudis regarding the sale of pets. For very good reason, as described 
in the article: viz. in order to stamp out irresponsible ownership and 
exploitation of the animals.

Which is about as ludicrous as blaming the Mayor of Venice's stance on 
pigeons as 'CATHOLIC HATRED OF BIRDS'.


-- 
Facts are sacred ... but comment is free

infidel  wrote in news:35157213-5b98-49e9-8153-
4fc4c7c4c2a3@v1g2000pra.googlegroups.com:

> Saudi Arabia bans sale of dogs, cats in capital
> By DONNA ABU-NASR
> August 1, 2008
> 
> RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Every single man knows: Walking a dog in
> the park is a sure babe magnet. Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious
> police, in their zeal to keep the sexes apart, want to make sure the
> technique doesn't catch on here.
> 
> The solution: Ban selling dogs and cats as pets, as well as walking
> them in public.
> 



Asians eat puppies - cute, adorable little puppies.  


This includes the Asian Christians.  


can you imagine - Christians - eating - puppies?

"basho007"  wrote in message
news:Xns9AEF842A14F8basho@69.16.176.253...
> infidel  wrote in
news:35157213-5b98-49e9-8153-
> 4fc4c7c4c2a3@v1g2000pra.googlegroups.com:
>
> > Saudi Arabia bans sale of dogs, cats in capital
> > By DONNA ABU-NASR
> > August 1, 2008
> >
> > RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Every single man knows: Walking a dog in
> > the park is a sure babe magnet. Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious
> > police, in their zeal to keep the sexes apart, want to make sure the
> > technique doesn't catch on here.
> >
> > The solution: Ban selling dogs and cats as pets, as well as walking
> > them in public.
> >
>
>
>
> Asians eat puppies - cute, adorable little puppies.
>
>
> This includes the Asian Christians.
>
>
> can you imagine - Christians - eating - puppies?

The Bible says it's okay.

On Aug 2, 10:38 am, Robin T Cox  wrote:
> On Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:16:44 -0700, infidel wrote:
> > Saudi Arabia bans sale of dogs, cats in capital
>
> As usual, 'infidel' deliberately mis-titles an article to support a
> pathetic hatred of Islam and Muslims.
>
> The article doesn't describe a Muslim hatred of pets, but the stance of
> the Saudis regarding the sale of pets. For very good reason, as described
> in the article: viz. in order to stamp out irresponsible ownership and
> exploitation of the animals.
>
> Which is about as ludicrous as blaming the Mayor of Venice's stance on
> pigeons as 'CATHOLIC HATRED OF BIRDS'.
>
> --
> Facts are sacred ... but comment is free

Hey MO-HAM-MAD, why don't you use your real name?

http://www.truthandgrace.com/muslimmadness.htm