Islamic PETA attorney leads D.C. demonstration

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2006:

WASHINGTON, D.C.–PETA attorney Bina Ahmed in early May 2006
won extensive exposure for pro-animal Islamic teachings in Arab News,
an internationally distributed print and electronic newspaper based
in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by staging a protest in Washington D.C.
against Austral-ian live exports of sheep and cattle for slaughter in
the Middle East.
Ahmed told Barbara Ferguson of Arab News that she became involved in
animal rights “because of lessons we are taught in Islam about
kindness to people and animals and all living things.”

“It is un-Islamic,” Ahmed said, “to drag animals off the
transport ships by their ears, kick them in the face, and stab them
in the eyes,” as was recently captured on video by Lyn White of
Animals Australia, “and then slit their throats several times and
let them slowly bleed to death in front of other sheep. Halal
slaughter is based on trying to make slaughter as painless as
possible, so that includes not only feeding and watering the animal
properly, but also not killing them in front of other animals,
because it terrifies them,” she said.
Mohammed specifically spoke against slaughtering animals in
front of each other.
The Council of American Islamic Relations endorsed Ahmed’s
position. “I think that Muslims have to support all efforts to
ensure humane and proper treatment of animals before their slaughter,
and they should care about the well-being of the animals in the same
way they should pay attention and care of the well being of human
beings,” CAIR executive director Nihad Awad told Ferguson.