Statue attack fuels fears of Egypt as a Sharia state

In accord with the Grand Mufti's recent fatwa. "Statue attack fuels fears of an Islamist Egypt," from The Telegraph, with thanks to all who sent this in:

A religiously motivated attack on statues at a museum in Cairo has sparked outcry in Egypt and fuelled fears that the country is veering towards an Islamic state.
The attack on three artworks, by a black-clad and veiled woman screaming, "Infidels, infidels!" followed a fatwa issued by the Grand Mufti of Cairo, Ali Gomaa, which banned all decorative statues of living beings.

It led to furious criticism of the mufti from Egyptian liberals. In a televised debate with the mufti after the attack, one poet raged that "the prevalent religious discourse in the country encourages terror".

Although the ancient treasures of Egypt have been protected under Islam so far, an increasing extremism in the country could make statues such as the quartzite head of Nefertiti, the colossus of Amenhotep, and the golden death mask of Tutankhamen possible targets in future.

At the scene of the attack, in the villa and museum of the Egyptian sculptor, Hassan Heshmat, guards said they had been woken in the middle of the night by the woman's shouts and the sounds of destruction.

"It was a fully covered, religious woman," said Raisa Intesar, who looks after both the museum and Mr Heshmat, who is now 86. "She had jumped over the wall. We rushed out to stop her but by the time we had overpowered her, she had destroyed three statues."

The damaged works included Motherhood, a piece featuring three delicately carved heads, all of which had been snapped off. Also damaged was a smaller piece, The Victory Leap, Heshmat's tribute to Egyptian troops in the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

But the patriotic sentiment of the work was lost on the attacker, who was intent on following a religious imperative. "She had been listening to the mufti, and was following his orders," Ms Intesar said.

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17 Comments

ummahnewslinks | June 18, 2006 7:49 PM

Will Karzai allow this to happen?

Thailand offers to rebuild Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan

President Karzai welcomed the suggestion but said he would need to bring it up for discussion with his government.

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ummahnewslinks | June 18, 2006 7:55 PM

More fatwa declaring by the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa.

Egypt: Mufti Endorses Abortion for 'CHILDREN OF SIN'

Ummah News Links

Alarmed Pig Farmer | June 18, 2006 7:57 PM

The attack on three artworks, by a black-clad and veiled woman screaming, "Infidels, infidels!"

I wonder if she shaved off all her body hair before destroying these precious art works. I sure hope so.

These Moslems are one pushy outfit. Not only do they choose to follow an awful belief system, they insist that you maintain fidelity with their awful belief system.

Alarmed Pig Farmer | June 18, 2006 9:08 PM

There is no humor in Islam.
--- Ayatollah Khomeini

There is no art in Islam.

jsla | June 18, 2006 9:13 PM

Poor Sphinx. It's not politically correct to say, but we should be guiltlessly liberating humanity's treasures to save them for the future. The Pyramids can take care of themselves, largely being, well, too large to move. I think they'll weather even Islam.

Pelayo | June 18, 2006 10:30 PM

There is no art in Islam. Posted by: Alarmed Pig Farmer

There is no compassion, sanity, or forgiveness either.

Hugh | June 18, 2006 10:40 PM

If Hamid Karzai does not permit the rebuilding of the Bamiyan Buddhas, then the Americans will have a clear sign of what this "new" Afghanistan is all about. But they needn't wait. They need ony read about the rogues's gallery of assorted bullies, former Taliban members who have decided to be slightly less Talibanish, drug lords and those who profit from the drug trade, and of course those battening on American and other Infidel aid, and now making out like gangs, or gangbusters.

And if Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, two of the three countries (the third was the U.A.E.) that recognized and supported the Taliban regime, do not offer to relieve Thailand of the payment, even though it was apparently Saudi and Pakstani engineers who made the destruction possible, then that too will tell us something.

Google the article at this site "Fitzgerald: But who will save the monuments?" for more on what has happened to non-Muslim artifacts and monuments and religious sites around the world. And don't be surprised to read tomorrow of irreversible damage done to Temple Mount from what the "Palestinians" have been doing with their digging inside.

Surely archeaologists and art historians must never return to any Muslim country any artifacts were acquired. In fact, the more of historic and esthetic value that is removed from such countries, the better.

Which brings us to Western Europe. What is going to happen, what has already been happening but under-reported, even in newspapers of the very places whre the damage is bieng done, when Muslims start to destroy that fresco in Bologna, or the madonnas in museums, or what is in Assisi or in the Louvre, or the Rijksmuseum (starting perhaps with one of Rembrandt's rabbis), or in all the other museums, large and small, from the National Gallery to the Ashmolean and the Fitzwilliam, from the Louvre to the Musee Guimet and the Musee Nissim Camondo, in every country where Muslims, taught what Muslims are taught about sculpture and paintings (see Al-Bukhari, and read closely), take their Islam seriously.

Why, after all, would you expect them to do anything less? At least, at that moment when they feel they are powerful enough to act on their beliefs?

What is done with art will and is being done with the laws, customs, understandings, settled life, of the Infidels. It is happening in classrooms and in courts, in police forces and in the security services, in the press and radio and television, in government offices, wherever Muslims can make their views known and intimidate, by their presence or by making known that they are watching, the apparently helpless Infidels.

skald | June 18, 2006 10:51 PM

No Humor in Islam? No Art in Islam? Hell, there isn't humanity in Islam!!!

I hope Egypt pulls itself together and maintains its status quo. And I hope Egypt rebuilds those Buddha statues...

arjun.sevak | June 18, 2006 11:55 PM

If Humanity does not step in to save its collective heritage, there is not going to be any left in Egypt. The islam virus that spread was held in check from destroying solely by the tourist dollars. Observe the comment of the curator "She had been listening to the mufti, and was following his orders," Ms Intesar said." Very clinical, un-attached. When this woman lives with history. And I, thousands of kilometres away, have tears in my eyes merely from reading about destruction of history.

Jack | June 19, 2006 12:07 AM

This fatwad has something to do with art and something else that seems to be very popular in Islmaic circles.

Question: What kind of pictures are Haram to hang up.
Answer:
It is forbidden to hang pictures of all creatures that have spirits, such as a human being, etc. unless we remove the head.

profitsbeard | June 19, 2006 12:11 AM

"Statue Attack...".

And I was hoping it was finally an appearance by The Golem.

But, amusing that the idiotic, iconoclastic dolls destroyed a modern, pathetically pro-Egyptian piece.

I wish some mullah would issue as fatwa against the usage of anything ever invented by infidels.

Let's see... motors, antibiotics, cameras, computers, television, semtex, machine guns, poison gas, atomic bombs...

Hmmmm...

-how long does it take to become a mullah?

And when can you start fatwa-ing?

AndyA | June 19, 2006 6:22 AM

It's not just Muzzies, of course: we in the UK have seen art threatened by Christians and Sikhs recently. There have been numerous protests over the staging of Jerry Springer: The Opera, which is touring at the moment; and in December (I think) 2004 rampaging Sikh nutters threw stones through a theatre's windows in Birmingham because a play called Bezhti being staged there had the action set in a gurdwara (Sikh temple). The play was closed down, and the writer (herself a Sikh) threatened with death. Out of fear for her life, she forbade the play to be continued.

More recently, an exhibition of paintings was closed down in London because of Hindu threats over the fact that some of their deities were being portrayed in the altogether.

If those who subscribe to these superstitions don't like the freedoms we have faught for and established in Britain and other parts of Europe, they can always piss off to somewhere whose narrower views they share. No racism there: I'm talking religion (and most of the Christians I refer to have been white).

alShaytan | June 19, 2006 6:41 AM

When I take over Egypt I will restore the Sphynx.

FIVEOFNINE | June 19, 2006 10:15 AM

The remark by AndyA is a typical left wing response.

Reaction against religious porn is legitimate.
Just because it is called art does not make something worthwhile and beyond reproach.

IceDragon | June 19, 2006 12:46 PM

Take all the relics out of Egypt now until civilisation returns once more. Then leave them to wallow in the cesspit of their own making.

jsla | June 19, 2006 2:17 PM

"If those who subscribe to these superstitions don't like the freedoms we have faught for and established in Britain and other parts of Europe, they can always piss off to somewhere whose narrower views they share."

Another brilliant sermon from the Church of CZBS. (Crazed Zealots and Bigots of Secularism.)

Dude, a shutdown by Sikhs to close a play (while odious) , or indignancy from Christians for objecting to flagrant hateful desecration of their religions hardly rise to the level of Muslims smashing masterpieces for Islam, or chopping off heads for Muhammad, or waging a global Jihad to stop, even you, from worshipping your rabid anti-Godhead.

When the Sikhs begins bombing you on behalf of Granth Sahib, or when the Christians begins beheading you in memory of Christ, come back and tell us about it. 'Til then, your rabid anti-religiosity fuels the pretexts of the Muslim Zealots, confuses and obscures the menace they pose, and to provides them with cover ( "It's not just Muzzies" -- no bigotry there, munchkinhead! ) for their concocted claims of "racism" and "bigotry" and decadense. Your idiotic conflations are no help whatsoever, so please keep your pie hole shut for it spews only idiocy.

jsla | June 19, 2006 2:20 PM

decadense -- the html didn't work -- my lame attempt to make a pun out of AndyA's unhinged backwardness and foolishness.

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