Today, someone by the name of Syed Azmi Alhabshi and his team of volunteers changed that. They organized the "I Want To Touch A Dog" gathering/event to encourage people (regardless of religion, though we know the main target was for Muslims) who are afraid of dogs or haven't touched a dog before to step up to expose themselves to these beautiful beings. I got to admit, when I heard about the event, I had my doubts. Don't get me wrong, it was the purest of intentions and I think it was a good start to something great, but asking Muslims to come out in the open to expose themselves to dogs, when all their lives they know it's forbidden and they might be criticized? There might a few couple, maybe tens?
So this morning came, and when I reached the park at 9am, surprised was an understatement for what I saw in the park.
According to the news reports, more than 1500 organizers, volunteers, dog owners and visitors flooded (and yes I meant that literally) the park, and to my surprise, I'd say more than 50% of them were Muslims. The turnout was so great, I was already looking forward to the next event!
As I strolled around the crowd, there was not one Muslim that was running away, or shying away as my Beagle Rei was walking inches away from their feet. They were learning from dog owners, what kind of breeds are there, how to approach a dog, what to do and not to do around a dog etc. There were rottweilers, retrievers, beagles (of course), dobermans, shepherds, mongrels, and of course the all time favorite, huskies.
And yes, there was a lot of touching.
Of course after the touching, there was a class to guide the Muslims on how to clean themselves. So far I've heard, Muslims are not allowed to touch a dog wherever it is wet, for example their nose and saliva. This means that if a dog is dry, they can touch the dog. But if it's wet, they can't. (If I am incorrect on this, please let me know). So after all the touching, they would go to a tent to clean themselves up.
And at 10am, the event came to a close. As far as I saw, all dogs behaved greatly, except for one or two dogs that their owner decided to get them off leash, this would have triggered a problem, luckily it didn't. Everyone had a great time, and I spoke to a few Muslims that said they learned a thing or two from today.
To say the least, I am extremely proud to be part of this event (though I'm not part of the organizer team nor the volunteers). The only contribution I did was to let the visitors touch Rei and give them some brief explanations on what a dog does and what to do & not do. I believe this would be the first step for more Muslim dog owners and this would be a great platform for us to move up to the next level as dog owners. Congratulations to the team for a wonderful and successful event!
Here are a couple more links if you'd like to get more info:
The Rakyat Post
The Malaysian Insider
Till next time, woof!
So this morning came, and when I reached the park at 9am, surprised was an understatement for what I saw in the park.
According to the news reports, more than 1500 organizers, volunteers, dog owners and visitors flooded (and yes I meant that literally) the park, and to my surprise, I'd say more than 50% of them were Muslims. The turnout was so great, I was already looking forward to the next event!
As I strolled around the crowd, there was not one Muslim that was running away, or shying away as my Beagle Rei was walking inches away from their feet. They were learning from dog owners, what kind of breeds are there, how to approach a dog, what to do and not to do around a dog etc. There were rottweilers, retrievers, beagles (of course), dobermans, shepherds, mongrels, and of course the all time favorite, huskies.
And yes, there was a lot of touching.
Of course after the touching, there was a class to guide the Muslims on how to clean themselves. So far I've heard, Muslims are not allowed to touch a dog wherever it is wet, for example their nose and saliva. This means that if a dog is dry, they can touch the dog. But if it's wet, they can't. (If I am incorrect on this, please let me know). So after all the touching, they would go to a tent to clean themselves up.
And at 10am, the event came to a close. As far as I saw, all dogs behaved greatly, except for one or two dogs that their owner decided to get them off leash, this would have triggered a problem, luckily it didn't. Everyone had a great time, and I spoke to a few Muslims that said they learned a thing or two from today.
To say the least, I am extremely proud to be part of this event (though I'm not part of the organizer team nor the volunteers). The only contribution I did was to let the visitors touch Rei and give them some brief explanations on what a dog does and what to do & not do. I believe this would be the first step for more Muslim dog owners and this would be a great platform for us to move up to the next level as dog owners. Congratulations to the team for a wonderful and successful event!
Here are a couple more links if you'd like to get more info:
The Rakyat Post
The Malaysian Insider
Till next time, woof!
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