'They hate our puppies.'

'Everyone in the bureau, Iraqis and foreigners, seem well-disposed to Brad Pitt and Ofti – but with Fox it is a different matter. After pigs, which are explicitly forbidden to be eaten in the Koran, dogs are commonly regarded as the second most unclean animal in the Muslim world. Many of our local staff not only will not touch Fox. If one of us foreigners has been petting Fox then shakes their hand or touches them in any way they will feel unclean and will wash themselves before their next prayer session. Dogs are not taboo as such – there are many dogs living in the alleyways of Baghdad and most Middle Eastern cities. Nor do I see Iraqis being unduly cruel to dogs - but people keep their distance. Fox does rather better for himself – he gets above-average affection because he serves as vicarious dog-figure for all of us foreigners who have our own dogs at home.

What is interesting is why so many Muslims regard dogs as unclean. There is nothing negative about dogs in the Koran, which mentions dogs just five times. The first reference in the 7th sura is about a dog panting if you chase it away, the other four references are all in the 18th sura and refer to a dog stretched out at the mouth of a cave in front of righteous people as they sleep.

There is a hadith – one of the multitude of sayings attributed to the Prophet - that says an angel will not enter the same room as a dog. But Islamic scholars often debate the authenticity of various hadith, which do not have the same standing as the Koran. It is a hotly debated topic in online chat rooms - some people wonder if a blind man with a guide dog could be refused entry to a taxi driven by a religiously conservative driver. Some say that if a dog licks a plate it must be washed 3 times, once with dirt and twice with water, before can be called clean.'

CATS AND DOGS