Dog Prison Built in Iran To Cease "Unislamic Behavior"

City officials have stated that the primary target of the crackdown was on young women and men who were said to be dressed inappropriately, however many dog owners are now coming under scrutiny and greater pressure.

Dog Ownership And Islam

Owning dogs is a highly controversial topic throughout Islam. Many people state that dog ownership is dirty and demeaning to the values of the Islamic religion. In fact many clerics have gone so far as to say that dog ownership is "morally depraved".

Dog Ownership On The Rise

Despite locking up the dog, fines and harassment from city officials, dog ownership in Iran continues to rise, especially among the younger generation. Twenty three year old Banafshe, was walking her dog, when Iranian police confiscated the dog and locked the dog up for an unspecified amount of time. Banafshe's crime was walking the dog in public.

She told Radio Farda, an American Government funded station that broadcasts to Central Asia and the Middle East: "They said, 'We want to get rid of Western culture,'" Banafshe stated. "They said, 'You live in an Islamic country, it's not right to have dogs. Are you not Islamic? Why does your family allow you to own a dog?' They insulted me, they even told me that they hope my dog will die. But there was nothing I could do but cry. You can't imagine how badly I was insulted."

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