Ad Featuring Popular Police Pup Sparks Anger in Scottish Muslim Communities
July 1st, 2008 • Related • Filed Under
Muslims in the Scottish district of Tayside are outraged by the appearance of a wide-eyed, 6-week-old puppy on postcards distributed by the local police force, according to the Daily Mail.
Postcards showing police dog-in-training Rebel, a German shepherd born in early December, are causing a furor among the region’s Muslims who believe dogs are “ritually unclean,” the Daily Mail reports.
The cute cards were meant to notify locals of a new telephone number for non-emergency phone calls but instead have become a flashpoint for a clash of cultures. Shopkeepers are refusing to display the offending ad and a Dundee city councilor is calling for an investigation.
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Comment by curiousdwk on 16 July 2008:
As we become more and more of a globalized society, it seems that we are subjected to more and more cultural conflicts. Although I have seen several cases like this where there is cultural conflict, I haven’t seen much dialogue in how to resolve cultural conflict. What are the reconciliation tools at our disposal for cultural conflict? What are the fundamentals which can be used as a starting point in dealing with cultural conflict? Are there differences between cultural and religious needs? What are the rights of the different cultures/religions? the rights of society to override the cultures/religions? What are the responsibilities of society? And of the cultures/religions? All of these would make good dialogue questions. But I never see them being discussed as such. It seems people only will react to specific scenarios - and not usually objectively.