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November 24, 2005
Iran: Canine Respect At Muslim Shrine
From today's Telegraph the strange tale of how a stray dog (pictured) has gained a place in the country's affections. The creature, of a local breed employed to herd livestock and guard homes, appeared one day outside the tomb of Imam Reza, the eighth imam, in the town of Mashad, near the Afghan border.
Its arrival on November 15 was feted in the national press this weekend, and now visitors to the shrine can buy their own pictures of the hound. What made the dog so special was its apparent respect for Shia custom.
It had managed to find its way through the labyrinthine layout of Ostan-e Qods-e Razavi, the complex which houses the shrine of Iman Reza. It found its way to the tomb of Reza, and lay down, where it gave out a mournful howl. Additional rumour has it that the dog also "shed tears", and also carefully avoided treading on the carpets surrounding the tomb.
For a while the dog was allowed to remain in the shrine, which is out of bounds for non-Muslims, where it calmly lay looking up at the mausoleum before being lifted on to a canvas sling and taken away.One guard at the complex said the dog would be treated kindly because "like many of those who come on pilgrimage here it has been called by Imam Reza and is seeking refuge."
Taking a photograph from his breast pocket, he said in a voice full of emotion: "I saw the way the dog behaved and it was like watching a miracle."
A charming story, and surprising in a country which, being Muslim, regards dogs generally as "najess" or "unholy". But many dogs, being descended from wolves, will howl when they hear singing, or howling. A customary occurrence at the Ostan-e Qods-e Razavi complex is for pilgrims to howl and wail as they approach the tomb. Maybe the dog was following its natural instincts and wanted to join in.
Hawkers outside the complex are now doing good business, selling DVD footage of the miraculous event. If it means softening people's prejudices against dogs, man's most noble animal ally, then it can only be a good thing. The Zoroastrians of Persia, who thrived in Iran before the arrival of Islam thought so highly of dogs that severe penalties were enacted upon anyone who harmed a dog, particularly a pregnant dog.
For those that can read Arabic (or is it Farzi?), an Iranian site, Entekhab has more on this story, and shows a picture (above) of the poor dog looking rather tired of the attention being paid to him. An English-language account can be found in the archives of the Iranian Republic of Iran Broadcasting News, which is reproduced here:
This story is not directly related, but while digging around for more information on the poor dog, (whose eyes in the colour photograph look so red it may have a form of conjunctival problem, which would explain the tears) I came across an allegorical tale printed on the Arts and Culture page of the October 9 edition of Iran Daily. By a strange and mystical coincidence (or just the wonders of Google), the same page carries an announcement about a culture festival in December to commemorate Imam Reza. The story is by Attar Neishabouri. I reproduce it because I like it:Weeping dog in pilgrimage journey
Tehran, Nov 20 - Unprecedented enough, a mourning shepherd dog made its way into the holy shrine of Imam Reza (A.S.), in the northeastern city of Mashad, the Iranian daily Entekhab reported Sunday on its website.
The dog picked its way through the tomb's pilgrims to come close to the reticulated sepulture of the eighth infallible successor of Islam's prophet.
It was then that the sheep dog began to stun the pilgrims by laying head on the ground 3 meters away from the sepulture and weeping in weird tone.
Witnesses said the newcomer was first intercepted by a gate-keeper who saw a dog trying to calmly creep into the complex.
'I couldn't believe my eyes. I tried to keep it away. I mouthed the gesture 'go away' in a calm manner and it obeyed', the gatekeeper told Entekhab.
The dog then tried the shrine's special parking lot and succeeded to enter the premises. Security cameras monitored a dog which hid itself besides a stone-loaded truck and slunk into Azadi courtyard, the holy shrine's main corridor.
The dog was courteous enough not to step on the tomb's carpets. Its movement caught no attention until it arrived two to three meters away from the sepulture. Witness pilgrims were interrupted to watch the dog crouching in the vicinity and sheding tears.
A movie record of the dog's journey will be released soon.
The Shaykh And The Dog
An unclean dog sat himself down beside a Shaykh who made no move to draw in the skirt of his robe. A puzzled passer by who had noticed his behavior said: "O you who are distinguished for the purity of your life, why do you not protect yourself against the defilement of this dog?" "This dog", replied the Shaykh, "is outwardly unclean, but what is outside him is inside him is inside me. That un-cleanliness which is clearly manifested outwardly on him, is hidden within my inmost self. Since my inward part is like the exterior of the dog, why should I have an aversion to him, seeing that he and I are alike in that? Whether inward filth is slight or great, the outcome is the same. If straws impede you or a mountain, where is the difference if you have to stop?"
Hafiz Magazine
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 24, 2005 4:57 PM
Comments
resad adami be jaii ke be joz khoda nabinad...
Posted by: aminasgarifar at December 5, 2005 1:40 AM
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