The dog delusion
Zurairi AR, The Malay Mail
A week has passed since the “I Want to Touch a Dog” event, which predictably turned controversial as it involved the second most taboo animal among Muslims: man’s best friend the dog — which comes only second to the pig. The conversation on the issue, however, has yet to die down.
An interesting thread to follow would be the many questions asking why the organiser Syed Azmi Alhabshi did the event, despite his clear explanation that it was to dispel negative stigma surrounding dogs.
The conservatives have since accused Syed Azmi and the organisers of deliberately provoking the Malay-Muslim community with the event, which they say has no place in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
Facebook page “Rakyat Malaysia Tolak Konsert Liar” (Malaysians Against Wild Concerts) — recently in the spotlight for sparking the campaign against the annual Oktoberfest — for example, lamented that there have been too many “weird occurrences” happening lately, singling out “beer festival, nude festival, and dog festival.”
What happened next would delight lecturers teaching logic who are looking for examples of “slippery slope” arguments: some Muslim leaders freaked out over what will come next. Pork-eating festivals? Sex festivals promoting safe sex?
As if to prove them right, just a few days afterwards women rights’ group Awam announced its fundraising, part of it daring men to don high heels as a symbolic gesture of solidarity in the battle to end violence against women. Surely that was a hidden agenda to get men to cross-dress?
Meanwhile, in an article published by Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), lawyer Muhammad Akmal Abdul Ghani claimed that the events were meant to test the boundaries and sensitivities of Muslims nationwide, which will pave the way to more challenging events in the future.
