You may be aware that many Muslims today consider dogs to be undesirable animals, signs of the decadence of Europe and America. The antidog
tradition goes back centuries, recalling that dogs in the ancient Middle East were loathsome street scavengers, despised by humans. (You see this in the Bible, where dogs are always mentioned disparagingly.) However,
Muhammad, the founder of
Islam, was fond of cats and had a pet
female cat named Muezza. According to legend, the cat was sleeping on the sleeve of his robe, and Muhammad cut off the sleeve rather than disturb the cat’s sleep.
