Iranian Cleric: Dogs Too ‘Unclean’ To Be Pets

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Man’s best friend is too filthy to be kept in Iran.

That’s the verdict from cleric Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, who issued a religious ruling (a fatwa, in the Islamic faith) decrying the practice of keeping dogs as pets.

“Friendship with dogs is a blind imitation of the West,” Shirazi said, according to a Reuters report. “There are lots of people in the West who love their dogs more than their wives and children.”

Iranians face fines for bringing dogs out in cars or playing with them in public parks. Shirazi says Islamic tradition teaches that dogs are “unclean.” (Reuters, via Calgary Herald)