I refer to the fuss the Minister for International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz made that sniffer dogs are haram.

Every Muslim child tutored in the rudiments of halal and haram (and sometimes losing out on all the grey areas) learns that it is not the animal per se that is classified as objectionable in certain Muslim schools.

So Rafidah's allegedly haram concerns on the dog is probably her hysteria in Australia.

An often told hadith I believe relates to the saliva of the dog licking an object used by humans for eating and the lesson from this story is about the uncleanliness of the plate or utensil (and related objects) which must be ritually cleansed before being used by humans.

Unfortunately, overzealous Muslims have used this lesson to propound all sorts of rules and regulations pertaining to the dog as haram.

I do see Muslims (adults included) today in my neighbourhood throwing stones at helpless dogs and puppies. This is cruelty not condoned by Islam.

Some Muslims have taken to ritually cleansing their body parts where dogs have sniffed at them (like one's leg). One wonders of course if these people intend to eat off the affected parts.

Dogs, according to the Hanafi school of thought (one of the four schools of the Sunni sect) for example, are perfectly halal to have to guard one's property.

So Rafidah should wise up to this and not put the entire Muslim population to ridicule by such trivialities. There are things like corruption for instance which should deserve top priority than sniffer dogs.