Clichés on the treatment Islam gives to animals are common among the ill-informed population. However, animal rights are an important part of its doctrine.
In Islam there are Awqaf (plural of Waqf, or funds destined to public-use goods) even for the fauna’s profit. It is an ancient Islamic tradition, which still lasts in Turkey. When snow covers everything, people go to the mountain peaks and distributes seeds and food to avoid the birds’ starvation in the cold seasons.
This action began with the Umayyad Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz (8th century) and it is told in several history books: “go and spread seeds in the mountain peaks, don’t let the birds starve in a Muslim country”. The act carried out by this Turkey imam of taking in the street cats and feeding them is part of this tradition.
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