i Want to Touch a Dog.. Or Maybe Not

Again, after the Octoberfest issue, Malaysians are shook with another religion/cultural sensitive issue.

To be honest, when i saw the promo for "i Want to Touch a Dog" event, i was tempted.

Because to be honest, i like them dogs, especially the ones that looks like fox. Siberian husky is it? And another one is Shiba Inu. So fluffy, so cute, so loyal and so friendly (at least that's how they look on tvs). Cats are not really my thing because.. well, after living with them for years, i found that they're boring. At least you can play fetch with a dog, take them for walks, and (again from tvs) they understand you when you talk to them. And they sit by your grave when you die (blame the tv). Cats just meow and ask for more food.

So there you have it. A confession for me. Yes, i like dogs. 

As much as i love this wonderful creature, i'm also a Muslim. Not only Muslim by name, i'm practicing Muslim. Part of being a Muslim is questioning and understanding why certain things are restricted/limited/forbidden in Islam. And being a Muslim, of course i refrain myself from getting near dogs.

So back to the "i Want to Touch a Dog" event. i'm sure whoever organized the event has a good intention at heart. The objective was something like to overcome people's fear of dogs, to show that dogs are not haraam, and to create awareness about samak/sertu. 

When i heard about that, i thought it was somewhat good idea and i also thought "Boy, this will be controversial"

i decided not to go anyway. Because..

1) i was unclear of  what the hukum is for us to pet dogs without reason (anjing sakit ke, nak kasi makan ke ape memang diharuskan..) 

2) if Afif likes them dogs, dah satu hal plak everytime nampak anjing dia nak pet. Besides, he's still so little he doesn't understand right from wrong. Kang tak pasal-pasal mintak anjing dengan alasan "dulu Mama tak ingat ke kite sayang anjing tewww"

3) i already love dogs. Takyah gi kempen segala to nurture my love for dogs

4) malas nak bangon pagi baahaha

On the day of the event,i was shocked to see people, especially Muslims, posting pictures of them not only touching/petting, but hugging and carrying the adorable dogs. My thought was "leceh nyaaa kene samak baju segala.." 

True enough, the event received mixed review. Ada yang sokong tapi banyaknya memang bash la those Muslims yang bangga bergambar peluk anjing. Lain objective, lain yang jadi. Hakak-hakak yang pelok anjing tu naik sheikh agaknya bergambar tak ingat siap ada caption bangga.

Answering my question on hukum memegang anjing untuk suka-suka, here's a fatwa by Jakim:

http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/10/20/unnecessarily-touching-dogs-haram-says-jakim/

i love UAI's take on this:

Haa.. Moh peluk biawak!

In the end, i think that the event brings more harm than good. Ko nak pegang anjing ke peluk ke, sila lah. Tak perlu buat kempen camni. Ade je anak-anak dato', tan sri bela anjing. Lantak dia la. Tak ajak orang maka orang pon tak la bising. 

Benda camni menimbulkan pergaduhan. Last-last Muslim sama Muslim gak bergaduh and non-Muslims akan pandang serong kat Islam 'itu tak boleh ini tak boleh' katanya. Apa pon takbley..

Let's just live in peace and respect each other's belief.



p/s: bak kata kawan aku, benda yang dilarang la orang nak buat. Tapi bagi aku, sendiri kena ingat pada pegangan. Contohnya aku teringin nak ada tattoo. Tapi dah benda tu haram, kene la ikot hukum hoii. Sama la kisah pegang anjing ni. Tak payah nak liberal sangat la.