This is one of those posts where I sit here not quite sure of what I wanna blog about, but just wanna write something just so my blog doesn't feel neglected. My exams start next week, with my first TWO papers on the same day on Thursday. Plus I have a lab report due on Monday. Fortunately, I'm almost done with my lab report, my first two papers are my 'easy' subjects' and I have no taekwondo classes this weekend coz' of our wonderful agong's birthday. So I've been happily procrastinating on the net, just doing nothing. So lemme think about what interesting topic I have to talk about.
Well, I went for lunch with a couple of my uni buddies today, and over lunch we were talking about a bunch of stuff, including the fashion disasters created by some fellow coursemates (actually, it was more like they were talking about it and i was listening, coz' I wasn't too observant on how my coursemates dress. Plus, I realise they were kinda gossiping, and I didn't particularly want to add to it). We also somehow got round to talking about dogs, and how we were all fortunate enough to live in generally non-Muslim areas so nobody complained about our dogs. But in some places, like in Shah Alam, which is highly populated with Muslims, apparently you would need your neighbours' permission before you can keep a dog. And in other areas, your dog could be taken away from you if the neighbours complained about it. I know this happens, but I don't know to what extent it actually does. Anyhow, this kind of rule pretty much pisses me off, coz' even if a dog hasn't done so much a bark a peep, it can still be taken away if the neighbours decide to be bitchy. And I've heard of so many stories of neighbours being bitchy, and even resorting to throwing things at people's dogs. I've really got nothing against the Muslim people (well, maybe something against the teaching of the Muslims, but not the people), but the bunch who do these sort of things deserve a kick in the @ss. Sure, you wanna believe you can't touch dogs because they're filthy animals or something like that, go ahead (though I can bet that my dog is just about as clean as most people, if not more). But gosh, some Muslims behave like if they're anywhere near a dog, they're gonna get contaminated and die or something. And even if they don't want to be near dogs, does that give them any right to throw things at other people's dogs? I even read in the papers of one case where some officials forcefully entered a family's home, dragged the dog out and killed it right before the family's eyes. For goodness sake, that family could've been treating that dog like part of the family and loved it to bits, and those sickos go and do something like that without the family even being given notice? If they had done that to my dog, I'd sue every last one of those sickos for every cent in their bank account AND try to get them sent to jail. And that would be the least of what I'd wanna do to them.
The best part is that I've checked it out on the net, and apparently it doesn't mention ANYWHERE in the Quran that dogs are dirty or should be avoided like the plague. In fact, some passages of the Quran even mention that dogs can be kept as companions! Only the hadith mentions that the prophet Muhammad ordered the killing of dogs, and that they could not be kept except for hunting and guarding cattle. But it is generally accepted now that many stories in the hadith were fabricated, and especially since these teachings about dogs contradict what the Quran says, it seems likely that these teachings were fabricated too. Plus, the hadith even seems to contradict itself, coz while some verses say Muslims should not enter a house where there are dogs and dogs should be killed, one verse says that a prostitute was forgiven because she helped give water to a dying dog. Doesn't really make sense that a person's sins can be forgiven by showing mercy to an animal you're supposed to be killing in the first place. Hello? The hadith was also written like two centuries after Prophet Muhammad died, and was supposedly a record of all the miracles he performed. Interesting, considering the Quran does not mention any miracles performed by the prophet, and even records that he himself said he can't do miracles! Which really casts doubt on the trustworthiness of the hadith, especially since two hundred years after the prophet's death, who would've still been alive to have witnessed those supposed miracles???
Again, I'm not trying to incite any negative feelings against the Muslim people and I hope I have not offended any Muslims who read this.... but the sad fact is that so many Muslims just blindly accept what the Hadith says without really thinking about it's relevancy, or comparing it's teachings to the Quran, which was written by Muhammad himself and therefore should be more 'reliable'. Even the Bible mentions in the Old Testament that several animals are considered unclean and should not be eaten, including pigs. But then in the New Testament, Jesus changes this by saying nothing that goes into the body makes a person unclean, it's what comes out (of the mouth). If Christians were to just blindly follow what the OT said about not eating some animals, we wouldn't be able to enjoy such wonderful meats like pork (NooooooooOOooooo!!!!!!). But thanks to Jesus' work on the cross, we know that we are no longer bound by the ritualistic and ridiculous laws of the OT times, and we are free to eat whatever we want. Woo hoo, pork!
Fortunately, some Muslims DO realise the errancy of these teachings and keep dogs as pets. But unfortunately, they're ostracised by most other Muslims. I know there're plenty of Muslims out there with intelligence... if you do actually take time out to mull over your holy books and still come to the conclusion that what the Hadith teaches about dogs is all accurate, then fine. But please don't throw your grey matter out the window and just blindly believe what other Muslims teach you. And whatever conclusion you come to, be a bit considerate and leave our doggies alone!
Ok, that wasn't so much of a random post.
No comments:
Post a Comment