The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has sent its report to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for action to be taken against dog trainer Maznah Yusof (pix) over her Hari Raya video.
Jakim director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said the department and the state religious authority also planned to call the woman to explain her action and to advise her.
"If action is taken against her, it is to serve as a lesson to her, in particular, and society as a whole, not to do it again," he said in a statement here.
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Othman said what Maznah did could be regarded an insult to Islam as it touched on the question of "ibadah" (to express humbleness, obedience before Allah's demands and following the divine rulings in everyday life).
"Jakim also views the issue as something which should not happen because in a Malaysian environment where Islam is the religion of the federation, and in a multi-racial society with majority of them Muslims, the people are urged to respect one another's religion, customs and race," he added.
Othman said the video gave the impression that it was allowed in Islam.
"In Islam, all animals are the same, except in terms of the purification where the concept differs, and what is demonstrated by Maznah is wrong and seen as intentional, what more when it is recorded on video for public viewing," he said.
"Although some quarters see the views by Jakim as petty and inappropriate, the fact is that it has stirred anxiety among the public," noted Othman.
Maznah, also known as Chetz, is believed to have uploaded the video of her celebrating Hari Raya with the dogs on YouTube about three years ago.
The one minute, 44-second video recording, showed an individual walking her three dogs near a mosque with the 'Raya Takbir' as background music.
The video also showed the individual taking the ablution before serving Raya cookies to the dogs. It also had the caption, 'Celebrate Aidilfitri together, regardless of species, colour, origin'.
