Police apologise for 'offensive to Muslims' puppy dog advert » Communities » 24dash.com

A police force apologised today after complaints that an advert featuring a German shepherd puppy could be offensive to members of the local Muslim community.

Tayside Police used a picture of 29-week-old black puppy Rebel on postcards promoting the force's new non-emergency telephone number.

But the choice of the image, which shows Rebel sitting in a police officer's hat, was questioned by a Dundee councillor who said it would "not be welcomed" by some communities.

Mohammed Asif, a member of the Tayside Joint Police Board, brought the issue up at a meeting yesterday after concerns were raised with him.

Dogs are considered impure or unclean in Islamic culture. Muslims may keep the animals as guard dogs but not usually as pets.

And Mr Asif said some shopkeepers would not display the postcard as a result.

The Labour councillor for Coldside told the Courier newspaper: "My concern was that it's not welcomed by all communities, with the dog on the cards.

"It was probably a waste of resources going to these communities.

"People who have shops just won't put up the postcard. But the police have said to me that it was simply an oversight and they did not seek to offend or upset."

Tayside Police said they chose the image of Rebel in light of the puppy's popularity with both the local and online community, where his blog has attracted thousands of visitors.

A force spokesman said: "Trainee police dog Rebel has proved extremely popular with children and adults since being introduced to the public, aged six weeks old, as Tayside Police's newest canine recruit.

"His incredible worldwide popularity - he has attracted record visitor numbers to our website - led us to believe Rebel could play a starring role in the promotion of our non-emergency number.

"We did not seek advice from the force's diversity adviser prior to publishing and distributing the postcards.

"That was an oversight and we apologise for any offence caused."

Osama Saeed, of the Scottish Islamic Foundation, said Muslims traditionally regarded dogs differently from people brought up in Western culture.

He said: "This seems to be a complaint based on culture rather than religion. There isn't any Islamic basis for taking issue with a simple picture of a little puppy.

"It does not appear to me that Councillor Mohammed Asif has mentioned anywhere that Muslims as a faith group would find this offensive."