The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

s: OPINION -YOUR MUSLIM NEIGHBOUR AND DOGS 8 OUR PATIENCE AND = COMPASSION WILL = G0 ALONG WAY FOR = THE NEWCOMERS TO OVERCOME THEIR § FEAR AND 3 « HESITANCY, WRITE ALIHA BATOOL AND SARAH SHAFIQ Islamisa religion of: Jove and peace for all living be ings on this planet. It teach. es compassion toward not only humans, but also to- Tradition speaks of the Prophet Mo- “A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a hu- Dy a ALIHA BATOOL Column SARAH SHAFIQ Column man being, while an act of cruelty to is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being." However, despite such beautiful teachings, there is a perception in the wider community that Muslims hate dogs. The Muslim com- munity is very diverse and while there are those who like dogs, there are many that avoid them. Why, you would ask? Most of the Muslims re- siding in the region have migrated from developing countries, where stray dogs are fairly common and pose both animal welfare and public health problems. They account for 99 per cent of cases of rabies transmis- sion (WHO, 2004) and are as- sociated with many other zoonotic diseases. Accord- ingtoRabu's ehgal, Asia di- Welfare NGO: "It's impossible to go jogging in the morning where I live in Ahmedabad ecause you could be bitten by a street dog at 6 mothers take with them to keep dogs away.” newcomers have either been bitten or at- tacked themselves or know someone who has been at- tacked. In ‘ircum- stances, their fear of dogs is understandable. It is in this context of stray dogs and ra- bid do; ing more com- the time of youth in the cave (also Bibli- cal story present in the Old Testament), there is specific mention of the pious youth with their dog, showcasing the strong bond of humans and their dogs. Canada’ ent and Canadian love for th their dogs as their own family member provides a new re- ality to those coming ae there are teachings to clean the container which a dog Hicks and that dogs should be allowed to come in- side the house. Many Mus- lims also adhere to an un- derstanding that the ritual prayer cannot be performed after being touched by dog saliva or any animal feces etc. At the same time, in the Quranic story of the pious isnot to ‘the ew real, ity takes immense courage from the newcomers, the larger community has to weary of those who eave weaponized the toward physical S bact with dogs to spread Islamo- phobia. Dogs have been used, to intimidate and at- tack Muslims, especially Mustin women. Misunder- @ standings and assumptions can only be solved through dialogue. Our patience and compassion regarding origins of the discomfort will go a long way for the newcomers to overcome their fear and hesitancy. Aliha Batool is an opin- ionated civil engineer, new town She is a volunteer with the Coalition of Muslim Wom- en, witha firm beliefand de- termination to make this world a better place for all women. Sarah Shafig is the director of Research, Ad- Youth Program- ming with the Coalition of Muslim Women of KW and is a bee keeper. Hosting an event online or in the community? Post the details for free in our calendar. PURAIR INDOOR AIR QUALITY EXPERTS Furnace and Air Duct Cleaning Special Duct Cleaning could be the Healthiest Home Improvement You WILL Ever Make. Why clean your HVAC System? * The furnace & air ducts should be cleaned every 2-3 years On average, we spend 90% of our time indoors and the indoor air is often more polluted than the air outside © The furnace & air ducts are the lungs of the home -You are breathing what your filter isn’t stopping * We remove 2 - 3 pounds of dust, debris, dust mites, etc. from the average residential home * Aclean furnace, works better and runs more efficiently - Saving you money, up to 10% annually in energy bills! Call us today for a free estimate 1-800-996-3878 $20 ‘2 complete Furnace and air Buck Cicening Package waterloochronicle.ca e “TM Trademarks of ARMILES Intemational Train BV, Used under icense by LayalyOne, Ic and Modern Puri OUR TIRES GO THE EXTRA MILE. $0 DO WE. VY A/T" OPEN COU! ON-/OFF-ROAD ALL-TERRAIN TIRE The Open Country A/T ill all-terrain tire delivers gripping with responsive and predictable on-road handling. ance, durability and treadwear life, Toyo introduces guist rie with excoptional stability. The Opon Country here and gi back home, regardless of terrain or esther Available in LT-Metric, P/Euro-Metric and Flotation sizes Sn annersite SAMIR sain Honestly driven. www.oktireelmira.com