Many Danish pigs suffer from inhumane treatment (see here and here), but nonetheless I originally thought this was a joke.
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A new Muslim organization is coming out with a highly untraditional campaign, demanding better care for Danish hogs, which according to the organization suffer unnecessarily from grueling transports and castration without anesthesia.
Imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen [ed. one of Denmark's more radical imams], who heads the organization "Muslims for rights of Danish pigs", together with four other Muslims says that it's a disgrace for our whole nation that something like this takes place.
Muslims are forbidden to eat pork due to a specific ban in the Koran, but that does not mean that Muslims can't fight for the rights of impure animals, thinks Pedersen. He says that even hogs who are going to the slaughter are part of God's creation and require a humanistic - not hoggish - treatment and therefore they will now express their great indignation about such outrage in reader letters in newspapers.
Pedersen doesn't fear the anger of Muslims worldwide who can't see the reason for championing an impure animal. He says that there might be several who react, but he declares that even if Muslims don't eat pork, they want to show that Muslim can discuss things other than veils and Islamization, and that they are also concerned about completely normal problems on Earth such as global warming and animal welfare.
The Islamic Society doesn't understand why it's necessary to protect hog rights, but stress that it doesn't contradict Islamic law. Bilal Assaad, the society's spokesperson, says that even if pig are impure, according to Islam they should be treated the same way as a cow, and now suffer during transport and such things. However, they think this is more of an issue for animal rights organizations than for Muslims.
Pedersen says that the campaign might be followed by more such campaigns. He hopes that Muslims back this campaign, and says that in such a case it is not unthinkable that they will continue on with demonstrations or happenings. Maybe we will soon see young Muslims with pig snouts next to the Copenhagen city hall.
Source: Nyhedsavisen (Danish)
