As'salamu Alaikum dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
There is a spike in anti-Islam videos regarding this topic. Now after studying this carefully, I think we have a good argument for why Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, at one point ordered the
killing of all dogs, except for the ones kept as hunting and/or guard ones in Medina. This was obviously and epidemic that needed to be cured. And here in the West and throughout the world, they still do this practice. If a dog is not adopted from the animal shelter, it will eventually
get euthanized.
Not only that, but think about the situation during Prophet Muhammad's days, when the dogs were walking stray in the streets. They obviously joined packs, and hunted in packs. So one can easily picture the dangers that those dogs imposed upon the society. Here are some quotes from scientific websites regarding this:
Packs Hunters:Having your society being infested with stray dogs living in packs? Very dangerous. Here are some quotes from some of the scientific websites that talk about this subject:
1- From
https://dogbitelaw.com/parents/a-dog-attack-danger-scale-to-keep-you-and-your-kids-safe:
• The pack mentality. Three dogs are worse than 2, 4 are worse than 3, etc. Docile dogs often become uncharacteristically violent and vicious when they are in a pack. In 2013, 15 of the 37 canine homicides were caused by two or more dogs. (Kenneth M. Phillips, Canine Homicides: July 2006 to the Present, accessed 5/25/2013).
• Male. Male dogs are several times more dangerous than female dogs. Unneutered male dogs are the worst. (K.A. Houpt and M.B. Willis, The Genetics of the Dog (2001), pp. 393-394.)
• Newness. A new dog in the house is dangerous for the first 60 days, and a person who is new to a household where a dog resides is in danger of attack for the first 60 days. In 2012, roughly one-third of all dog bite fatality victims were either visiting or living temporarily with the dog's owner when the attack occurred, and 75% of deaths under these circumstances were children ages 8-years and younger. (Colleen Lynn, DogsBite.org Releases 2012 Dog Bite Fatality Statistics, January 11, 2013.)
2- From
https://www.quora.com/Why-can-dogs-be-dangerous- Well in the first place they are bred from dangerous predators that can (in a pack) take down a moose.
- So if your dog, which is a subspecies of wolf, does not regard you as a packmate, you can be in big trouble.
- Dogs can be dangerous when they are large and strong enough to overpower you and aggressive enough to attack you. Some have bites that are very hard to break, which is a problem if they’re able to knock you off your feet and worry at your throat. They can also form packs, which can multiply the danger.
Other Reasons & Research:1- Diseases spread by dogs: (Google search)
https://www.google.com/search?ei=_aLYWuHoDaGijwSQ06LIAw&q=diseases+spread+by+dogs&oq=diseases+spread+by+dogsKeep in mind that people were primitive back then, and a society that is plagued with stray animals suffered a lot of diseases. So killing of all dogs, except for keeping ones as guard and/or hunting dogs was not a bad idea after all.
2- Dog attacks on humans: (Google search)
https://www.google.com/search?ei=-KLYWqKYI8y7jwTUg6DIDQ&q=dog+attacks+on+humans&oq=dog+attacks+on+humans3- More rebuttals:
www.answering-christianity.com/animals_rebuttal.htm
www.answering-christianity.com/dogs_rebuttal.htm
Take care,
Osama Abdallah