General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAn Imam in Istanbul has opened up his mosque as a warm home to the city's stray cats
Mustafa Efe is the Imam at Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque in Istanbul's historic Üsküdar neighbourhood.
Efe is well known in the city for his "good humour and diligence", the Daily Sabah reports - but a video Efe took of a mother cat taking her kittens from the street into the safety of the mosque has given his everyday acts of compassion a global audience.
Efe described the cats as "our mosques Friday guests", but he actually lets the city's many strays shelter in the building throughout the winter months.
links
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/an-imam-in-istanbul-has-opened-up-his-mosque-as-a-warm-home-to-the-citys-stray-cats--by7V4SWiYne
http://www.dailysabah.com/istanbul/2016/01/15/istanbuls-cat-friendly-imam-wins-the-hearts-of-social-media-users
2nd one has a few different cat pics
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)and the tour guide said the city is famous for the stray/independent cats that are seemingly everywhere, especially around the touristy places. I certainly saw cats around the grounds of the Topkapi Palace.
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)3catwoman3
(23,812 posts)What a good man.
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)... especially Angoras. There is a legend that their revered Ataturk would at some point be reborn as a cat, as noted here...
http://www.erkr.de/etl.htm
It is dogs that have a harder time finding good homes in Turkey than cats, being regarded more as "unclean" there than others regard them. But in Istanbul, there's a company that tries to help keep stray dogs fed there through some creative machines they put in the streets there.
http://bigthink.com/design-for-good/recylce-bin-turns-bottles-into-food-for-stray-animals-and-provokes-our-humanity
I think this company deserves a lot of pats on the back for defying local cultural trends to help stray dogs when they don't often get treated as well.
rpannier
(24,304 posts)I agree with you about Pugedon helping the dogs
It takes a while to change attitudes but every little bit moves people in the right direction
Hopefully, attitudes will change
I live in a country that hasn't historically been cat friendly.
But those attitudes have been changing
Cats have become more accepted among younger Koreans and those in the Jeolla provinces
bullwinkle428
(20,626 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)They have long fur that dries out quickly, and they are huge kitties!
Aerows
(39,961 posts)rpannier
(24,304 posts)Straight upstairs to their room
Wonder if they lost their supper
on serious note
It is a cute video
Aerows
(39,961 posts)The highlight, I think is when the calico faced one poke out under mama's belly
Too cute for words
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)Omaha Steve
(99,055 posts)K&R!
OS
Archae
(46,260 posts)The founder of Islam.
It is said that he cut the sleeve of his robe off, rather than disturb his sleeping cat when he was going to pray.
The Bible does mention big cats. Lions.
But house cats? No mention.
There is however one old Jewish story, the Devil turned himself into a mouse to chew holes in the Ark. Noah saw the mouse, and threw a glove at it. It turned into a cat that killed the mouse.
That is why to this day cats have a little bit of the Devil in them.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)but it was in Egypt before Islam had ever taken hold.
Cats were revered because they kept the grain safe from rats and other vermin after it had been endangered by the pests if stored en masse.
Being able to stockpile grain without having an infestation of vermin allowed armys to march.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/how-humans-created-cats/282391/
a la izquierda
(11,784 posts)Of ferals and strays. Then, the bank next door got a new manager, and he had all the cats caught on the bank property euthanized.
The people at the mosque and so many others were rightly furious.