The EconomistAugust 29th 2020 Middle East & Africa 352
A
mongthemanycontroversiesthat
divideMuslimthinkers, the status of
dogsisa minorone.Butevery now and
thenthedebateisrenewed.Earlier this
monthEgypt’sgrandmufti,Shawki
Allam,weighedinontheside of man’s
bestfriend.Whereassomeinterpreta-
tionsofIslamdeemdogsimpure, Mr
Allamsays:“Itispossibleto coexist with
a dogandstillworshipGod.” Citing the
MalikischoolofIslam, heclaims that
everylivinganimalispure.
Conservativeclericsarenot rolling
over,though.Theycitecertain hadith
(sayingsoftheProphetMuhammad) to
supporttheirdogmaticallyanti-dog
position.Angelswillnotenter a house if
thereisa dogpresent,saysone. Another
warnsthata Muslimkeeping a dog will
loseoutonsomeofthespiritual rewards
fromhisgooddeeds.Yetthere are cave-
ats.Angelsdon’tseemtomind if the dog
isoutside.Anddogsusedfor herding,
hunting,farmingandguarding appear to
beexemptfromtherules.
Perhapsthemostcontentious issue is
a dog’ssaliva.“Cleanseyour vase which
thedoglickedbywashingit seven times
andthefirstiswithearth(soil),” goes
anotherhadith. ButMrAllam says that if
youperformwudu(ablution) and a dog
licksyou,thereisnoneedto rewash
beforepraying.Whataboutdog fur?
Manyscholarsthinkit isclean and,
therefore,pettingisokay.But fierce
debateensuesif thefuriswet.
TheKoranitselfsayslittle about dogs.
ScholarsclaimthattheProphet prayed
amongcanines.A fewyearsago Osamaal-Azhari,a religiousadvisertoEgypt’s
president, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, was
photographed shaking the paw of a dog.
Conservatives growled. But Mr Azhari
pointed to the story of the Seven Sleep-
ers: a group of young men who hide in a
cave to escape religious persecution.
They take a 300-year nap while their dog,
stretched out at the entrance of the cave,
keeps watch. (Conservatives note that
the animal was not in the cave.)
The current debate in Egypt may be
more about power than pups. Mr Sisi
wants to assert more control over Islam
via Dar al-Ifta, the state’s Islamic adviso-
ry body led by Mr Allam, and at the ex-
pense of al-Azhar, a conservative seat of
learning. Lately Dar al-Ifta has espoused
relatively progressive views in order to
win over the public. Mr Allam’s ruling on
dogs was preceded by a condemnation of
sexual harassment. In general, Mr Allam
says he wants to make it easier for Mus-
lims to practise their faith.
Islam is hardly the only religion to
feature confusing and contradictory
texts—or to have mixed feelings about
canines. Dogs are often used as a symbol
of evil in the Bible. They are also por-
trayed negatively in the Talmud. To many
Muslims, the whole debate is a mastiff
waste of time. Last year Iran tried to ban
people from walking dogs in public. But
the restriction had little bite, and many
Iranians ignored it. More and more
Egyptians appear to be keeping dogs as
pets. Cats are also popular companions.
Admired in Islam for their cleanliness,
there is no debate about them.Bone of contention
Islam and dogsArepuppiesacceptable pets? Muslim scholars chew on a tough questionEvery dogma has its dayrity barrier that surrounds most of the ter-
ritory. On the other side of the fence,
friends and family members who live in Is-
rael or unofficial tour operators are waiting
to whisk them to the beach.
Israel appears to be trying to ease some
of the hardship for the Palestinians, who
have had a rough year. Unemployment in
the West Bank, already high, spiked as co-
vid-19 forced the Palestinian Authority (pa)
to lock down the economy. The virus also
led Israel to issue fewer travel permits for
the Eid holidays. Then came the news this
month that the United Arab Emirates (uae)
had agreed to establish full diplomatic re-
lations with Israel, becoming only the third
Arab country to do so. Hanan Ashrawi, a
prominent politician, echoed the feelings
of many Palestinians when she said it was
like being “sold out by your friends”.
The Palestinians look increasingly iso-
lated. They cut ties with America in 2017,
after President Donald Trump recognised
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; the Palestin-
ians want to share it as the capital of a fu-
ture state of their own. They recalled their
ambassador to the uaethis month. Earlier
in the year the pasaid it would stop co-or-
dinating with Israel because of its plans to
annex parts of the West Bank, which Isra-
el’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu,
says are “still on the table”. But the truth is
that the paneeds Israel’s help to fight co-
vid-19 and keep Hamas, the violent Islamist
movement that runs Gaza, at bay. So co-op-
eration continues behind the scenes.
Gaza has beaches, but precious little
else. The territory has been under blockade
by Israel and Egypt since 2007, when Ha-
mas seized power. The situation seemed
about to improve earlier this year, when Is-
rael lifted some restrictions and some in-
frastructure projects were planned. But the
progress quickly stalled.
Lately Gaza has been stuck in a vicious
cycle. It begins with Palestinian militants
attacking Israeli towns along the border
with rockets or balloons carrying incendi-
ary devices. Israel hits back with air strikes
on Hamas positions. The cycle ends when
Israel allows an emissary from Qatar to en-
ter Gaza with suitcases full of cash that is
meant to alleviate the suffering. Now there
are also growing fears of a coronavirus out-
break in the territory.
Israel is hoping that frustration in the
West Bank does not similarly boil over;
hence the lax border controls. But there are
risks. Would-be attackers could exploit the
lack of security checks. Busloads of beach-
goers might spread coronavirus. And a day
at the beach may not soothe everyone’s
frustrations. “I used to work here renovat-
ing houses,” says Marwan Halawa, a Pales-
tinian from Hebron. “Tel Aviv has changed
a lot.” His friend Issa is less wistful: “This is
a Palestinian beach, no matter what they
say in Abu Dhabi.” 7