I would like to point out a popular misconception in Islam with regard to dogs.

In his letter, [#1] Why non-Muslims fear Islam [/#] (Feb 6), SeeKayEs, a non-Muslim, seemed surprised that many Arabs and Bedouins keep dogs. Dina Zaman, a Muslim, in her RentakKini article [#2] Canine capers and religious dogma [/#] (Feb 2), also appeared to have misunderstood Islam's ruling on dogs.

First of all, one must understand the difference between haram and najis . Najis refers to unclean things. Dogs are considered unclean and there are procedures to follow when handling them. These procedures differ, depending on the mazhab , or school of thought one follows.

But nowhere is it stated that it is forbidden to keep the animal. Thus, although it is discouraged because of the hassles involved in cleansing oneself after handling them, a Muslim is not at all prohibited from keeping dogs.