According to an AP report yesterday, the Egyptian government has ordered the slaughter of all the nation's 300,000 pigs in an effort to stem the spread of swine flu in a country where no case has appeared so far. The pigs truly are infidels, or at least they belong to infidels since Muslims regard the animal as unclean. Coptic Christians make up about 10% of Egypt's population and they are the main owners and consumers of pork in the country.
Still, the slaughter seems to have more political motivations than religious ones since it was condoned both by the local Christian leadership and, so we've been told, that other medical expert, the Pope. Christian pig farmers, whose livelihoods will be adversely affected, had a slightly different take on the situation; as did UN health officials who pointed out that the swine flu virus is not transmitted by pigs!.jpg)
Who, me?
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