Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Pigeon Handling

People sure do look at you funny when you're carrying a pigeon down 6th avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. Regular readers of my blog know my bizarre connection to pigeons (totem animal?). This morning I found a hurt pigeon on the side of the road with a car about to run over her. I'm assuming she's a her because she was all grey, with no spots of color, but I don't really know. Anyways, I scooped her up and held her close to my body as I carried her to the spot where I met Jimmy feeding the pigeons up above the parking garage. Jimmy had told me that there was one lady who took the hurt pigeons home to mend, and I was hoping she would show up. I stood there with her in my arms for a while, but she was obviously scared of me, chest all puffed up, so I set her under a bush where I'm hoping she can hide from predators for a bit. One lady who helps feed the pigeons, Therese, showed up, but she only feeds them. She said that she had the lady's phone number who knows more about what to do when they are hurt and would try to call her. We tried to get the hurt pigeon to eat some seeds, but no luck. We left some for her. There was another pigeon with a big piece of bread with a whole in the middle stuck around it's neck, but it was still able to fly and wouldn't let us get close enough to remove it. The life of a pigeon is apparently not that safe. Pigeons are so dependent on humans. There are only pigeons where humans are. So do we treat them as dirty pests to be at best ignored, or do we show them kindness and charity? Even the Koran offers a suggestion:
"He who takes pity on a sparrow and spares his life, Allah (God) will be merciful to him on the day of judgement. Do you not see how Allah is praised by those in heaven and earth? The very birds praise Him as they wing their flight"- The Koran (24.36):

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Many people talk about the need to reform Islam. Now you can stop talking and start helping.

With the help of our readers we went through the Koran and removed every verse that we believe did not come from Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. However, it is possible that we missed something, and we could use your help. If you find verses in the reformed version of the Koran that promote violence, divisiveness, religious or gender superiority, bigotry, or discrimination, please let us know the number of the verse and the reason why it should be removed. Please email your suggestions to koran-AT-reformislam.org.

When we finish editing process, we would like to publish Reform Koran in as many languages as possible. If you could help with translation or distribution of the Reform Koran, please email us at koran-AT-reformislam.org. If you could provide financial support, please visit our support page.

In Memoriam of Aqsa Parvez

http://www.reformislam.org/reform.php