Woof, woof: Who's offended now?

Spoof, or reality show?

A police force [in Scotland–I’d said England: sorry!] has apologised to Islamic leaders for the “offensive” postcard advertising a new non-emergency telephone number, which shows a six-month-old trainee police dog named Rebel.

But some Muslims in the Dundee area have reportedly been upset by the image because they consider dogs to be “ritually unclean”, while shopkeepers have refused to display the advert.

Believe it: the Telegraph has the whole sorry story here.

My favorite bit:

[S]ome Islamic scholars believe that dogs are impure and therefore ‘haraam’ – or forbidden – except for use in hunting or farming, and that it is not hygienic to keep a dog in the house.

They say that the “impurity of dogs is the greatest of animal impurities”, and anyone who touches one must wash the body part that has come into contact with the animal seven times.

Clearly, what we need is MORE DOGS. Lots of ’em. Pigs, too, of course , not to mention bottles beer, wine, and whiskey. If I were running the police force in Tayside, the first thing I would do–after dispensing with the services of the force’s “diversity adviser”–is stock up on doggies: at least one for every officer. And if the paynim foe is offended? What I say is: Woof, woof, i.e., tough luck, Mohammad. Don’t get your burqa in a twist. You aren’t more offended by fido than I am by you.