Portland, Maine schools consider banning dogs after Muslim official complains they're 'impure' in Islam

Per WGME, the move to make changes to the pet policy comes after an effort by Ocean Avenue Elementary to foster dogs, which students could interact with. At-Large School Board Member Maya Lena said, “Students, at certain times, are offered an opportunity to come and come into the play pen and sit and read with the dog.”

During a school committee meeting earlier in October, Abdullahi Ahmed, the Assistant Superintendent for Student, Family, and Community Partnerships, noted how dogs are negatively viewed in the Islamic faith. Abdullahi was born and raised in Somalia.

“The Muslim community members do not oppose or hold hostility against animals,” he said. “With that being said, there are some ritual kind of purity that Islamic traditions, you know, state and Muslims exercise.”

“So, for example, the dog saliva is considered impure,” he said, adding that some people have had “negative” interactions with dogs in the past.

He noted that service dogs were there own category, and “there’s no question on that because that’s, you know, the need comes first.” But, he said, “if there is a dog or any other animal for as a you know class pet or the for the school, students and staff should not be required to interact.”

He said that students and staff “generally must not be asked or required to interact with, or to be with close proximity, the dogs should not be in the common areas where they can prevent from access some of the students, and parents should be informed in advance where the dogs will be present.”

He said she spoke with “community elders or imams” before the meeting on the policy, and said that there should be an opt-in approach rather than an opt-out approach. He said dogs could “restrict the students’ access to education.”

A draft policy regarding animals in school from the committee states that the principal must give parents notice that there would be an animal in the classroom, and parents must notify the school if they do not want their child to be in the presence of those animals.