The owners of middle eastern and Asian sighthounds such as salukis, Afghan hounds, and other related breeds have long been part of the same oral tradition as the forefathers of the breeds themselves. Stories as to the origins of these breeds have been passed from native owner to western breeder in the same way that they were handed down from one generation to the next in their native lands.

Part of this tradition has been the belief that sighthounds are somehow something special and that they were not thought of or treated in the same way as dogs in general, especially in Muslim countries were dogs have been considered unclean. Early writings on these breeds would include the native language to differentiate between sighthounds, commonly referred to as "tazi" in Arabic and similar languages such as Pushtu, the language of the Afghan people, and other dogs which were called "kelb". The word tazi simply means greyhound or sighthound and the native people did not worry themselves with specific names for their own version of the tazi - which we would call a breed. It was believed that the tazi was a gift from Allah and therefore was not considered unclean.

The AKC Complete Dog Book says of the saluki "Though the Mohammedan religion classes the dog as unclean, the Moslems declared the Saluki sacred and called him 'The Noble One' given them by Allah for their amusement and benefit" and similar statements are recounted when talking of Afghan Hounds.

Researching the origin of this proves difficult as this belief is shared by Muslims all across the middle east and Asia - but nowhere is it written. 

Finding dictionary definitions as we know them is impossible, but those who live in the middle east do refer to an ordinary dog of indeterminate 

ancestry as "kelb" and these are considered to be scavengers.

What we can do is examine the background to these beliefs and this took me into some very interesting territory. There is a growing movement within Islam to question the prohibition of keeping pets and the attitudes of past generations to dogs in general. According to writings on the website "trueislam" dogs are mentioned in the Quran (Koran) several times and nowhere are they called dirty or unclean. In fact in Sura 18 there is a story of men in a cave and it says "..they were in fact asleep. We turned them to the right side and the left side, while their dog stretched his arms in their midst", indicating that dogs were very much part of the community.

Apparently, there were many fabricated "hadiths" which contradict the Quran, many of which were narrated by Abu Hurayra, who hated both dogs and women. This is similar to the way some of the teachings ascribed to the Christian Bible were in fact written by misogynistic members of the Church in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The value of sighthounds is acknowledged in Quran 5:4 "....lawful for you are all good things, including what trained dogs and falcons catch for you. You train them according to God's teachings. You may eat what they catch for you, and mention God's name thereupon".

When using a dog for hunting the hunter must always say "Bismillah" (In the name of Allah) before releasing it to catch its prey. Some prohibitions had a very simple and justifiable cause - stray dogs running in packs can be not only a nuisance but a health hazard. According to Abdul-Hamid Sidiqqi, the Prophet ordered the killing of dogs in Medina for good reason - it was due to an outbreak of rabies, and the prophet later rescinded the order. Siddiqi also said that not all dogs were to be killed - only those that posed a threat.

The Muslim religion actually requires that dogs and all animals be treated kindly because they too are communities which worship Allah! The Prophet went so far as to tell Imam Ali "Mutilate not even a rabid dog".

Muslims have never kept pets - dogs must have a purpose, herding dogs, hunting dogs, guard dogs, but modern Muslims accept the validity of 

companion animals such as seeing eye dogs, hearing ear dogs and assistance dogs for the handicapped and elderly, since they have do a purpose - they work!

A final quote from "trueislam":

"Scientific studies have shown that just petting a dog can lower a person's blood pressure. So their simple companionship is a gift from God."

I think that says it all.

STEPHANIE HUNT-CROWLEY

© 2002

First published online on "The Dog Place" in 2002