Muslims are taught through the Quran that all animals should be treated with respect and be well cared for. No animal fighting allowed. No ill treatment tolerated. The permitted guidelines (Halal) for slaughter is to do so in such a way that it limits the amount of pain the animal will endure. In other words, Islam teaches that all animals are sentient beings. This is why wandering cats are widely accepted as part of the culture here—although I find their homelessness to be sad and distracting.
I learned these things as I was researching the very large feral cat population in Istanbul. You'll see kitties lounging around every cobblestone corner, seemingly content (albeit a bit scruffy and sometimes thin) to scrounge among the throngs of merchants and tourists.
Cute examples:
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| Tabby napping on a hotel stoop. |
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| Tuxedo watching over a carpet merchant's wares. |
At the top of my to-do list is calling a veterinary clinic in a nearby province that will hopefully help me trap the young kitties outside our apartment so they can be vetted and sterilized and returned to our neighborhood. They are wild but sweet natured, and I'd like to keep their number at ~half a dozen versus the 20 or 30 we could otherwise be seeing by the spring!
Apparently, thanks to Muhammad, it's permissible to keep cats but it is not permissible to buy or sell them; they may be given as gifts or given away. That's because of the hadith: "I asked Jaabir about the price of dogs and cats. He said, ‘The Prophet forbade that.’"
ha·dith [hah-deeth]
noun
A traditional account of things said or done
by Muhammad or his companions.
One legend tells of a cat that saved the Prophet from almost certain death from a snake bite. Another tells of a cat, Muezza, that lived with Muhammad in Damascus. Muhammad was off to prayer and saw that Muezza had fallen asleep on the flowing sleeve of his garment. Out of respect for Muezza, Muhammad cut away the sleeve rather than disturb his sleeping companion.
Because of that story, cats are allowed to enter all mosques freely—or so I've read. I'm going to look into that. Stories such as this were brought from the Holy Land to Europe by crusaders from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Britain. The cat became associated with Islam, and this is one reason why the Catholic Church was so successful in its efforts to equate cat ownership with heresy, and later with evil. Ugh. Stupid religion villainizing kitties—how dare they!
Because of that story, cats are allowed to enter all mosques freely—or so I've read. I'm going to look into that. Stories such as this were brought from the Holy Land to Europe by crusaders from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Britain. The cat became associated with Islam, and this is one reason why the Catholic Church was so successful in its efforts to equate cat ownership with heresy, and later with evil. Ugh. Stupid religion villainizing kitties—how dare they!
Here's hoping I'm successful in my spay/neuter intervention with Callie and Cattail and the rest of the İstinye felines. If not me, then who?! xx
I had no doubt you would find some kitties to love on! :)
ReplyDeleteAre you still in Istanbul? We came back Saturday after a week there. Stayed at a hotel near the Blue Mosque, and we fell in love with five kittens and their mother, living between the kebap place and the orange public toilets across the Hippodrome (just below the fountains). If you're in the area, could you check on the kittens please? They are very lovely, but one of them is quite a coward, the puny little thing. A bit smaller than the others, and sadly he's too shy to grab his share of food. We chose to feed him, and he lit up, chasing his bigger sisters and brothers around, playing wildly with chestnuts and so on. Feel free to give him a bite to eat if you could - or just leave a comment on how they're doing. They are always hanging around the lawn next to the kebap place, maybe hiding from stray dogs behind the newly installed public toilets (left of the museum for islamic and turkish art, as you face the blue mosque). The mother is brown/grey with darker stripes (very clean and nice fur), one kitten is black and white, one is a small copy of the mother and the other three have also the same pattern as the mum, but with various white areas aswell. (We understand that you probably won't be able to check up on these cats, but we don't know any other way of getting any news on how especially the smallest one is doing.)
ReplyDeleteDear A&M: we are here, but sadly, we are nowhere near that area of town. As it is, I fret over the stray kitties in my own neighborhood in a more northern part of the city. They are heart breakers, right!? There are just so many ... Thank you for caring enough to write. And, of course, if I'm down that way and see them I will write you again.
DeleteOk, well thanks for your reply! :-)
DeleteThese five bundles of joy with each their own personality made such and impression, as we were able to stop by and watch them play twice or thrice every day. Just hope they'll be allright.
The kitties are beautiful (test message)
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