All pre-Islamic material is in the traditional Islamic view so much worthless trash — manifestations of jahiliyya, the society of unbelievers. By Fredrik Dahl and Reza Derakhshi-Salmasi for Reuters (thanks to all who sent this in):
PASARGADAE, Iran — For the people protesting against it, a new dam near these sun-drenched ruins may be more than an environmental upheaval: In it they see an affront to the country’s pre-Islamic identity.
For 2,500 years, the tomb of Cyrus the Great has stood on the plain at Pasargadae, in southern Iran, a simple but dignified monument to a king revered as the founder of the mighty Persian empire. But some fear the dam and reservoir pose a threat to the ancient structure.
They say the project may increase humidity in the arid area near the city of Shiraz, which they believe could damage the limestone mausoleum.
That may seem far-fetched — officials dismiss it — but the feud highlights deep cultural fault lines in attitudes toward the Islamic Republic’s wealth of pre-Islamic relics.
“This is an illegal project which will harm our historical heritage,” said Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a lawyer campaigning against the Sivand Dam.
He accuses the authorities of not paying enough attention to sites dating from before the Arab Muslim invasion of what is now Iran in the seventh century: “They don’t care about pre-Islamic history.”
There is no reason, given the stance of Islam toward pre-Islamic history, why anyone should expect that they would care about it.