Until today it never occurred to me that guide dogs were banned from mosques. Apparently this acts as a barrier which prevents blind Muslims owning a dog.
However British Muslims are leading the way according to Third Sector Magazine:
Dogs will be allowed to enter mosques for the first time tomorrow following a charity campaign.
The Islamic Shari'ah Council has issued a fatwa - a legal verdict - allowing guide dogs to accompany blind Muslims to mosques.
This follows campaigning from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and The Muslim Council of Britain.Vargo will become the first dog allowed inside when he accompanies his 18-year-old owner, Mahomed-Abraar Khatri, to a mosque in Leicester.
However, Vargo will only go as far as the shoe rack. Hygiene concerns mean he will not be allowed into the prayer hall.
I mention this because too often Christians make the assumption that Islam is incapable of change and yet here we have an example of Islam responding and adapting to British practice.
1 comments:
Of course, Islam is capable of change but its core beliefs are immutable. If they changed it would cease to be Islam. The same goes for any other religion. The question is whether those core beliefs are such that Islam can become a peaceful faith living alongside other faiths in freedom for all, not just in the UK or the USA, for example, but also in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq etc.
The evidence is not good. Iran is in the process of passing law that people converting from Islam will incur the death penalty. I could cite many other examples, but I will refer you to the excellent Barnabas Fund website.
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