Many British Muslim school children hate Britain!

Today, in The Sunday Times, there is an astonishing article written by a head teacher of a British school in England. Essentially, the article states that many Muslim British schoolchildren hate Britain; the country in which they now live; in which they have been raised. That is the strong inference.

I asked a class of 13-year-olds to raise their hands if they hated Britain. Thirty hands shot up with immediate, absolute certainty. - Head teacher of a British school where the majority of the students are Muslims

The head teacher concerned wished to remain anonymous. The reason? There is a lot of tension at British schools along the dividing line of British values versus Muslim values and some teachers lives have been badly affected as a result.

RELATED: Do Muslims have to feed their cats halal food?

Why do many Muslim school kids in British schools hate Britain? There are obviously many or several factors and the list below provides some of them.

They have seen countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq bombed and shelled by Western forces. They might have relatives in those countries.

They are taught history which contains a lot of information about British colonisation in India and other Western countries' colonisation of other parts of the world such as the Spanish colonisation of the Americas and the Portuguese colonisation of Africa.

They see the Western countries as colonising, country grabbing, land grabbing and abusing imperialist countries exploiting poor countries many years ago. And this is taught to them indirectly through the history curriculum. The past colonisation by Great Britain of countries including India is now regarded as a bad thing despite the fact that India has probably benefited to this day in various ways including the English language being widely spoken in India. This is useful as English is the world's universal language.

And even a minority according to this head teacher support the Taliban. And many schoolchildren from Afghanistan or other Muslim countries believe that women have less rights. Girls have less rights. It's a misogynistic society. Perhaps they been taught this at home.

But quite a few of them agree with the Afghan attitude of stopping girls from going to school from the age of 11. They think it's fair. Well, at least one child stood up and said that.

Another reason might be because they see Britain as disparaging immigrants. They don't like Brexit or they don't like the way the illegal immigrants coming across the channel are being treated. They don't like the program to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda. 

They don't seem to think about the underlying problems. They are not aware of the underlying problems of illegal immigration and what it costs the country and the pressure it places on institutions like schooling. They do say it is unfair and develop a very negative view of Britain.

And I suspect that many Muslim kids are taught ideas at home and in their community which might be derogatory towards the UK. In Britain, Muslims tend to live in their own environment, their own communities and they don't integrate that much. This helps to foster anti-Western and anti-British ideas and values.

I suspect that the Hamas versus Israel war is by detrimental to Muslim kids' views of the West because America supports Israel and Israel is doing a lot of damage to Gaza in terms of infrastructure damage and killing tens of thousands of Palestinians.

There is a very strong anti-Western sentiment, it appears to me, among many British schoolkids. How does this affect family life concerning animal welfare?

Well, we don't really know but British values are intertwined with animal welfare. The British are known to be concerned about animal welfare and they have very advanced and sophisticated laws to protect animals. 

A rejection of the British way of life is a rejection, I would argue of British laws, British culture and a culture which is sensitive towards the needs of animals.

And it is a known fact that the Islamic faith operates speciesism concerning dogs. Dogs are unclean while cats are good. Speciesism, correct?! 😊😢. The British could chip away at that problem is Muslim kids allowed it.

I'm not saying that Muslim kids are anti-animal or abuse animals. Far from it. I'm just saying that a Muslim child in a British school with a very anti-British attitude is less likely to become imbued with the need to think about animal welfare.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Do Muslims have to feed their cat with halal cat food?

The answer to the question in the title is probably the one you'd image: NO. As a Muslim there are no laws or rules to demand that you must feed your cat with halal pet food. The reason? All religions, including the Islamic faith, are human concepts. Animals don't worship a God. They have no knowledge whatsoever of any religion.

Not obligatory for Muslims. Image: DALLE

Non-halal meat is haram or forbidden. The only reason why is because of Islamic law. Making halal meat does not make it more acceptable in terms of taste etc. from a domestic cat's standpoint! In short halal meat is all about the Islamic faith which in turn is all about humans and a widespread belief by many hundreds of millions that there is a higher power.

You will find some Muslims in the UK running halal pet food businesses (such as Aihtsham Rashid in Leeds) and claiming that it is obligatory for Muslims to feed their cats and dogs with halal meat. I guess they would promote that idea but it is wrong. If you think I am wrong please comment and provide me with chapter and verse as to why. I need to see hard evidence please! 💕😎

What is halal meat?

Islamic Law (Sharia): Halal is an Arabic term that means “permissible.” Halal food adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Quran. It encompasses various aspects of life, including dietary guidelines. Muslims believe in what they see as the ethical treatment of animals, and halal practices align with this philosophy by promoting kindness, compassion, and humane treatment throughout the entire lifecycle of the animal.

Method of Slaughter: The Islamic form of slaughtering animals or poultry is called dhabiha. It involves killing through a precise cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery, and windpipe. During this process animals must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter. All blood is drained from the carcass. A Muslim recites a dedication known as tasmiya or shahada during the slaughter.

On this definition, halal meat is about promoting kindness to animals and yet British veterinarians say that conventional abattoir animal slaughter which starts by stunning the animal is more humane that slitting the animal's throat without stunning the animal first. 

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Are black cats: lucky, unlucky, haram, affectionate, rare or hypoallergenic?

Yes, yes, no, yes, no and no!

Black Peterbald cat. Pic is in the public domain.

Black cats have a special place in the cat world as they are the subject of continuing and detrimental superstition going all the way back to the Middle Ages many hundreds of years ago. It is this illogical superstition unsupported by science and good sense but supported by fear of the unknown which leads to the great spectrum of beliefs that black cats bring good or bad luck in equal measure!

Lucky or unlucky?

It depends where you live and your particular beliefs. Take your pick. In general, black cats crossing your path brings bad luck but in some countries, it is good luck! Mad right?

RELATED: 15 facts about black cats bringing good luck.

Haram?

Haram means forbidden and black cats under the rules of the Koran are not haram. In short, if you are a Muslim you can own a black cat. Although some Islam teachers tell their followers that black cats can carry 'jinn' or bad spirits which can disrupt family life. I am afraid that this is more superstition and a variation on the devil lives inside black cats from the Middle Ages. It is rubbish.

I have a full article on this topic: CLICK HERE TO READ IT.

Affectionate?

Yes, black cats are affectionate like all domestic cats provided they are well socialised to people and are treated with kindness and respect.

Rare?

No, black cat are not rare. In fact, they are commonplace among the pantheon of cat coat colours and patterns. FYI - grey cats are black cats carrying the dilution gene.

Hypoallergenic?

No, all domestic cats have the allergen called Fel D1 which is mainly in their saliva and which they deposit on their coat when grooming. It dries and flies off around the home. Don't believe the stories on the internet that some cat breeds e.g. the Siberian, are hypoallergenic meaning that they won't cause an allergic reaction. They will.

A dry cat food called Purina LiveClear is pretty effective in containing the allergen and preventing it causing an allergic reaction in people allergic to cats. Try it and tell me how it went in a comment please!

Abuherrira's Cat

Abuherrira's Cat is a legendary cat, a pet belonging to one of the companions of the Prophet Mohammad, Abu Hurairah. He loved cats and was known as "the father of the little cat". Abu Hurairah, was one of the sahabah (companions) of Muhammad and, according to Sunni Islam, the most prolific narrator of hadith.

For illustration purposes only. Photo in public domain.

The Favoured Beasts is a poem by Goethe. His favourite cat was one of the four animals admitted to the Muslim paradise: "Abuherrira's Cat, too, here purrs around his master blessed, for holy mast the beast appear the Prophet has caressed."

Another version of that poem reads:

Abuherrira's cat appears,

Purrs around the Lord and flatters:

For since the Prophet stroked his ears

He's wholly where it matters.

Goethe noted that the name Abuherrira means "father of the cats". He knew that cats were considered as pets in the Islamic world as opposed to dogs who were considered unclean. The Prophet, as we all know, loved the cat greatly and it was believed that it would enter paradise.

P.S. It seems that the cat should have been referred to as "Abu Hurairah's cat" but has become distorted or have I got this wrong? Also I have seen Abu Hurairah spelled "Abu Huraira".

Muslim terrorists are part of Islamic Faith - President of Muslim Association of Britain

A few minutes ago, on BBC News, the President of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), Omer El-Hamdoon, said that the Muslim terrorists were on the fringes of the Islamic Faith. This means they are part of the faith, the religion of Islam, and not external to it.

We have heard many politicians, including the Prime Minister, imply that the Muslim terrorists are not part of the Islamic faith but a perversion or distortion of it.

But as they are part of Islam then surely we have to discuss all of the Islam faith and therefore all Muslims when we discuss the terrorists. Many Muslims say that the terrorists/extremists are not true Muslims but the President of MAB implies very clearly that they are true Muslims but on the fringes of Islamic beliefs.

I believe this is significant, which is why I am referring to it here on a predominantly cat website! It puts pressure on all Muslims in Britain to quench the rise of fundamentalist terrorist Muslims in the country. The Muslim leaders in the UK need to do much more. Speaking out against it is not enough

Note: I deplore the deaths of innocent lives in Pakistan by US drone attacks. The US needs to be criticised strongly for this. However, they would not be there if there were no terrorists there.