As a CAIR spokesman says: “While most Muslims believe dogs can violate ritual purity, horses are seen as ‘regal animals.'” Problem solved, then? Not really: “there would [still] be concerns about bringing a horse into certain establishments and areas of worship as well.”
“Tiny horse trains as guide for blind Muslim woman,” by Ben Leubsdorf for the Chicago Tribune, April 10:
DEARBORN, Mich. – Mona Ramouni seems more nervous than Cali as they ride the rattling bus to work for the first time.
“You’re a good girl, you’re OK, you’re OK,” Ramouni says softly, stroking Cali — a 3-year-old former show horse that stands about 2 1/2 feet tall, weighs about 125 pounds and has trained since November to become Ramouni’s guide.
Ramouni lost her sight to retinopathy of prematurity shortly after birth. She relies on her family to guide her around the Detroit suburbs where she’s lived, studied and worked for all of her 28 years.
She wants more independence, but a traditional guide dog isn’t an option. Many Muslims consider dogs unclean, and Ramouni, an observant Sunni, respects her Jordanian-born parents’ aversion to having a dog in the home where she lives along with three of her six siblings.[…]
While most Muslims believe dogs can violate ritual purity, horses are seen as “regal animals,” says Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Michigan chapter.
Still, “there would be concerns about bringing a horse into certain establishments and areas of worship as well,” he says…