As an Iranian, but not a Muslim, I’ve always been intrigued with the concept of dogs as “najes” (religiously “unclean”) in Islam. And by intrigued, I mean really annoyed. The way I see it, next to the horse, the domesticated dog is one of the most useful creatures to man, and a great facilitator of the advancement of civilization. Putting aside the emotional role of dogs as pets and companions, they are just amazingly versatile and helpful creatures. They sniff out explosives or drugs, track down missing kids or escaped convicts, find dead bodies, herd sheep and cattle, defend homes, keep away coyotes and wolves, help the blind to navigate, provide transportation in the arctic, help humans hunt for food, and dozens of other feats.
Yet in Islam (and by extension, countries that have had their culture shaped by Islam) dogs are the lowest of the low, to be avoided, despised, and at worst, abused. It’s utterly ridiculous.
By the way, I’ve been enjoying Zahra’s Paradise so far, and I look forward to this current storyline (although I suspect as a dog lover, that I’m going to have my heartstrings tugged at). Keep up the great work.
Maryam commented on Zahra’s Paradise I love your taxi driver. He is COOL.
I remember the one time I was in Iran in the last 22+ years getting in a taxi to go somewhere and within seconds he asked where I lived "obviously not in Iran". He then praised my luck...
Sadly he is right, I am lucky that I have no country and live in foreign lands. It has done my life an unbelievable amount of good. Reply to This Comment
zahra commented on Zahra’s Paradise سلام عزیزان دور از وطن ... خواهشمندم این قسمت و قسمتهای بعدی رو هم به فارسی ترجمه کنید ... ما بی صبرانه منتظر کمیکهای بعدی هستیم Reply to This Comment
Desme commented on Zahra’s Paradise As usual, you two have me googling...I found watermelon juice, one recipe with added salt and pepper, sounds delicious. I have never experienced it...but now perhaps I will. Reply to This Comment
Desme commented on Zahra’s Paradise Dear Amir & Khalil, the college instructor wrote, "found Zahra's Paradise quite interesting and is considering incorporating it into his 1st year English 1111 class." That is pretty decent, eh? If that happens, it could reach so many more people. I will keep recommending :0) Reply to This Comment
Sarah commented on Zahra’s Paradise I would like to use 2 panels (2010-08-09-en & 2010-08-09-fa) in an upcoming exhibit on graphic novels at our Library. The resolution on the website is insufficient to print them at an appropriate size. Would you be able to share higher-resolutions images of those two panels for our exhibition? Reply to This Comment
English
thanke you so much for great work , it is so simple and clear ,,,,,,, keep going
As an Iranian, but not a Muslim, I’ve always been intrigued with the concept of dogs as “najes” (religiously “unclean”) in Islam. And by intrigued, I mean really annoyed. The way I see it, next to the horse, the domesticated dog is one of the most useful creatures to man, and a great facilitator of the advancement of civilization. Putting aside the emotional role of dogs as pets and companions, they are just amazingly versatile and helpful creatures. They sniff out explosives or drugs, track down missing kids or escaped convicts, find dead bodies, herd sheep and cattle, defend homes, keep away coyotes and wolves, help the blind to navigate, provide transportation in the arctic, help humans hunt for food, and dozens of other feats.
Yet in Islam (and by extension, countries that have had their culture shaped by Islam) dogs are the lowest of the low, to be avoided, despised, and at worst, abused. It’s utterly ridiculous.
By the way, I’ve been enjoying Zahra’s Paradise so far, and I look forward to this current storyline (although I suspect as a dog lover, that I’m going to have my heartstrings tugged at). Keep up the great work.