Is Cupid an infidel?

Happy Valentine's Day, my beloved flock. As I was being chauffeured to the mosque this morning, I heard a local radio host say that Muslims do not celebrate Valentine's Day. He cited as evidence a cleric in Indonesia who declared that it is forbidden to celebrate the holiday. Why this host would make such a blanket statement based on the pronouncement of one man, I do not know. Some Christians like to dance with poisonous snakes, yet I do not attribute such behavior to all of them. (However, on a side note, I am pleased to announce that Pug Life Ministries' new Christian Fundamentalist Serpent Handlers wing will conduct its first service on Feb. 25.)

If this radio host had been a regular reader of my blog, he would have seen the romantic poem I posted last year for the many Valentines in my harem. You see, it is true that Valentine's Day is not sanctioned in the Quran. But neither is it expressly forbidden.

What is the harm in celebrating this holiday? Clearly, there is none. As the Beatles once sang, "All you need is love." This is not true, of course, as love does not build lavish Dogloo-shaped religious shrines or gold-plated statues of a steed-mounted ayatollah. But love is certainly not a bad thing. I am a pug of great passion. I love the ladies of my harem. I love treats, which go paw in paw with Valentine's Day. And I even love an occasional flower, which -- in a pinch -- can be every bit as tasty as a treat.