Ayatollah Says No to Pet Dogs
Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi has issued a “fatwa” — or religious ruling — saying that keeping dogs as pets is not to be tolerated.
“Friendship with dogs is a blind imitation of the West,” he was quoted as saying in Javan daily. “There are lots of people in the West who love their dogs more than their wives and children.”
Guard dogs and sheep dogs are considered OK under Islamic law but Iranians who carry dogs in their cars or take them to public parks can be stopped by police and fined.