Why in many cultures dogs were considered unclean animals

It is known that a dog is an intelligent and loyal animal, a true friend. We can safely declare this out loud and nothing will happen to you for it. But this is now and here. In many cultures, the attitude towards dogs has been and remains not so positive. These animals are classified as unclean or even cursed. Where did this attitude to the smartest animals tamed by humans in prehistoric times come from?

At different times, representatives of different religions attributed snakes, bats, rodents, nocturnal birds and even cats to devilish creatures. If you try hard enough, then the reason for dislike and fear can be found for each of the listed cases. But how did dogs end up among the rogue creatures? Moreover, they even lead the list of people's dislike.

Muslims are the most biased towards dogs. They call them "najis", which means "serpent". Sharia law imposes many restrictions on interaction with these animals. They cannot be sold, bought, donated or used as payment for goods and services.

The orthodox in general are advised by the canons of Islam to stay away from dogs, unless there is a special need for them. Justify the maintenance of a dog by a person for its use on hunting, on pasture, for the protection of property or as a guide.  At the same time, Muslims consider all objects touched by one or another part of the dog's body to be unclean. If a Muslim has touched a dog on purpose or accidentally, then he needs to perform ablution at least seven times.

About the same way, if not worse, dogs are treated in Judaism. There, their stay near a person is also allowed only for practical reasons. Let dogs in The tabernacle, that is, the temple, was strictly forbidden. If the dog was sold, then the money earned from the transaction was considered dirty and unhappy. The sacrificial animal purchased on them was not suitable for festive rituals. Like Muslims, Jews consider the word "dog" to be a terrible insult.

Christians are more loyal to dogs. Nevertheless, in the old days they were not allowed to be kept in the dwelling. The entrance to the temple to these human friends is closed even now, unlike cats. The church did not allow dogs to be given human names. Some currents of Christianity are even more categorical. Their adherents are strictly forbidden to let animals into the house so that they do not desecrate it.

The most orthodox believers believe that a person who keeps a dog in a room with icons commits a sin. Such people can even be deprived of church communion. We are not talking about medieval orders now, but about the rules in force in some religious communities in Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Russian Siberia. .

The life of Muslims is subject to the strict rules of their faith. All of them are mandatory, and violators face severe religious penalties and even corporal punishment. One of the rules says:

It is this point that they explain their attitude to cute and useful animals. And Muslims also believe that once a dog dared to bite the Prophet himself, for which it was cursed. An additional role was played by the fact that in the East dogs are considered unclean animals. They eat from the ground, are very promiscuous and do not even disdain their own excrement.

The Jews have another reason for dislike. They rely on that part of the Law of Moses, which divides all living things on Earth into pure and unclean creatures. If clean animals can be kept at home, sacrificed and eaten, then it is generally worth staying as far away from unclean ones as possible. The Book of Leviticus refers dogs to unclean creatures, along with rodents and reptiles.

In Christian culture, the dog appears to be a real receptacle of sin. It is believed that the first dog breeder in the world was Cain, who killed his brother Abel. It turns out that the biblical negative hero had a dog. He appeared at the villain after the murder of his brother. Banished from the society of people, Cain prayed to God that he would send him a companion. In response, God took pity and gave him a dog.

But representatives of official science have their own opinion about the dislike of dogs. Scientists believe that religion only reflects the processes taking place in human society. They see the origins of the problem with dogs among Muslims in the long-standing confrontation between adherents of Islam and Zoroastrians. In the latter, the dog is a sacred animal. Muslims did not want to have anything to do with pagan fire worshippers and declared dogs unclean.

The Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians for many centuries. The inhabitants of ancient Egypt worshipped many animals, including dogs. Of course, they were not as revered in the Nile Valley as cats, but they also enjoyed a certain authority. The scheme is the same as that of Muslims with Zoroastrians. The Jews did not want to resemble their oppressors in anything and disliked dogs with all their soul.

The Christian religion has borrowed a lot from Judaism, including a dislike of dogs. And besides, the animal violates the rules of ethics and hygiene. Dogs live a promiscuous sexual life, are not too neat and are almost omnivorous. The dog will happily wallow in the mud and then try to enter the house. Cleaning in this case cannot be avoided, and if there are some shrines in the room, then this raises the disorder caused to the degree of blasphemy. Despite this, Christians had a saint with a dog's head.

Even in ancient times, people knew that dogs carry infections. It was also well known that rabies, from which there was no salvation in the old days, most often infects a person with a dog. Nowadays, most believers ignore the "dog" rules established by their religions. Unfortunately, this does not happen everywhere, and in some countries of the Middle East and Central Asia, you can kill or injure an animal with complete impunity.