November 14-2014
A group of Majlis deputies has introduced legislation that falls one step short of criminalizing the ownership of dogs. It would also punish anyone walking a dog with up to 74 lashes.
The draft bill allows a family to keep a dog as a pet in its household unless a “neighbor” complains—in which case the family must get rid of the dog.
The legislation does not define neighbor, so it is isn’t clear if the complainant would have to live on a property physically adjoining that of the household with a dog or would just have to live on the same block or perhaps within a kilometer.
Clearly, the broader the definition of “neighbor” the more likely it is that Iranians would have to abandon dogs as pets.
The legislation also bars any dog owner from taking a dog off his or her property, in effect criminalizing dog walking.
National Police Chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam banned dogs from the public streets and from cars a few years ago. The draft legislation would put that ban into the statute books and provide punishment for violations—up to 74 lashes or a fine of 10 to 100 million rials ($300 to $3,000). In addition, dogs found outside private homes are to be confiscated. The bill says those dogs will be sent to a zoo or abandoned in the desert.
The legislation was introduced last week with 32 deputies or more than 11 percent of the Majlis membership sponsoring it. It is not supported just by flakey deputies from the far right. Among the prominent conservatives who have signed onto the bill are Fatemeh Alia, Elias Naderan and Esmail Kowsari.
Iranians have historically kept cats as pets, but not dogs, which are generally viewed as unclean in Islamic tradition. However, over the last decade or two, more and more Iranians in the wealthier neighbors have started keeping dogs as pets. This is commonly viewed as a way of expressing opposition to the regime.
Therefore, legislation against dogs is not only an effort to enforce Islamic norms but also a way to stick it to those seen as disloyal to the revolution.
The bill lumps monkeys in with dogs as discouraged pets.
By way of explanation, the bill states: “Walking and playing with animals such as dogs and monkeys in public places is harmful to the health and peace of others, especially children and women, and is against our Islamic culture.”
The bill also makes a political point by saying that dog ownership “is blind imitation of decadent Western culture.”
Exempted from the bill’s provisions are the police (who use dogs to search out drugs), licensed hunters, farmers and shepherds.
The draft says a further list of animals—beyond dogs and monkeys—deemed “dirty,” “dangerous” or “harmful to public health” is to be issued by the Health Ministry three months after enactment of the legislation.
A few years ago, a group of Iranian dog lovers started the Vafa Animal Shelter for abandoned dogs in Hashtgerd, west of Karaj. It continues to operate without interference from the authorities.
When the issue of dogs and Muslim treatment of them arose in the United States a few years ago, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the Prophet Mohammad himself allowed the use of dogs for protection and for hunting. It said there are also several hadith—oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Prophet—in which individuals were rewarded by God for protecting animals and punished for mistreating them.
Historian Montgomery Watt said Mohammad’s kindness to animals was remarkable for his time and social context. In “Prophet and Statesman,” Watt cited an instance when Mohammad reputedly posted guards to ensure that a female dog with newborn puppies was not disturbed.
In one of the more curious stories involving dogs in Iran, back in 2005 a stray dog wandered into the most sacred precincts of the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad and was hailed by many as a holy creature.
Even the ultra-right daily Jomhuri Eslami spoke adoringly of the nameless canine for conducting itself worshipfully at the tomb of Imam Reza, the eighth of Shia Islam’s 12 imams and the only one buried in Iran.
Postcard sellers outside the shrine have hawked photos of the dog that the faithful can post in their homes.
A three-minute video taken by a worshipper shows the dog in the women’s section of the shrine. It lay down just a few feet from the tomb and emitted a mournful howl. Some news reports said the dog shed tears at the tomb.
The dog was eventually picked up and taken outside. A guard said the animal was treated kindly because, “like many of those who come here on pilgrimage, it was called by Imam Reza and is seeking refuge.” He said, “I saw the way the dog behaved and it was like watching a miracle.”
Not everyone was enamored by the story. Jomhuri Eslami reported that two guards at the shrine were fired for not preventing the dog from entering.