DOHA: A Muslim cleric delivering the Friday sermon in a suburban mosque here told the devout yesterday that now that it was known that pigs had been identified as the basic source of the swine flu virus, it should be appreciated that Islam had forbidden breeding of pigs and eating pork.

Worshippers listened with awe as the imam of the main mosque in Al Gharrafa reminded fellow Muslims why Allah had asked people not to breed pigs, eat pork or indulge in adultery and homosexuality, which were known to be the cause of another killer disease (a reference to AIDS).

The imam referred to a prominent Arabic TV channel which reported that a major Muslim country had farms breeding some 350,000 pigs and the government there was mulling culling these animals as a precautionary measure. Criticizing the channel, the cleric said it should have mentioned that Islam prohibits breeding this animal and eating its meat.