Dog Intolerance and the "New" Islam

Bear with me for a minute here-- this one wanders.

In this post in the Iconoclast, the blog of the New English Review, Ted Dalrymple argues that, to be tolerated itself, a culture or religion must tolerate others. Good point, interestingly argued, and worth reading. (it is not a simple- minded essay-- Dalrymple, a "softened" atheist to use his own formulation, remarks on the intolerance of some militant atheists-- a point some of our fellow Darwinists should remember).

But this is unremarkable if true and civilized stuff, and might not have caught my eye if not for this passage:

" I am also reminded of how hate-filled the Muslim teachings are concerning dogs. I thought I had seen hate before, but once when I passed a Muslim man walking my little dog, Beau, I saw a look I will never forget as long as I live. I think a religion that teaches hatred of God's creatures and other human beings is unworthy of the name. How can we understand God by filling our minds with hatred for his manifestation in material reality?"

This is a complicated matter. The hounds I run are for the most part "Moslem dogs". Their representative in Arabia, the saluki, is hallowed by tradition; there is a line in the Koran that specifically allows the hunter the meat taken by his hounds and hawks. To the traditional Arab the saluki is exempt from "dog" prohibitions-- indeed, the saluki, the Arabian horse, the Saker falcon, and the Arab of the desert are all "hurr" or noble.

Although Arabs believe that they have always had salukis, they probably came down some ancient precursor of the Silk Road from Central Asia (I have pictures of recognizable salukis or more properly "tazis" from western China older than any in the Middle East). My own Kazakh dogs descend from an unbroken line of hunting dogs dating back to prehistory. All these Turkic peoples are now Moslem too, though their Islam, often Sufi, overlying Shamanism and Animism, with its tales of warrior women and enthusiastic drinking, is ... well, at very least, far from Arabic. Needless to say, they love their dogs. And so do the Kurdish hunters I visited in Turkey (who, sadly, treated them better than they did their wives).

BUT: Dalrymple is right!-- at least, recently. With the rise of Saudi- sponsored madrassahs teaching purist Wahabbism, suddenly even salukis are verboten, and scenes like he describes are becoming more common in the Arab world, as I have heard from everyone from Arabic- speaking travelers to an Israeli veterinarian. Apparently this virulent form of Islam is so intolerant and puritanical that it rejects its own traditions. (Interestingly, in the liberal and relaxed Gulf Emirates, salukis are popular even as their quarry becomes extinct).

Let's just hope Wahabbists and AR terror groups never make common cause in the name of purity... stranger things have happened.