15 - 21 March 2001
Issue No.525
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 15 - 21 March 2001 Issue No.525 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Ozymandias in flames
When Islam entered Egypt, no monuments were damaged even though some of the Islamic governments that reigned were extremely strict. This alone bears testimony to the fact that nothing in Islamic law prompts anybody to destroy any monuments. In fact, the Qur'an states that Muslims are expected to heed the lessons embodied in the ruins of nations that preceded them.
The destruction of monuments in Afghanistan may well elicit concern, but the fuss the West has made about it is somewhat surprising, considering that neither UNESCO nor any other international organisation batted an eyelash when a five-century-old mosque in Kashmir was destroyed; the same is true of Ottoman mosques and madrasas in the former Yugoslavia.
What is even more disturbing is that the destruction of statues made of stone should arouse more outrage than the cold-blooded murder of human beings in Palestine -- which nobody has done anything about. In Iraq, and Afghanistan itself, children are dying because of the economic embargo. In Chechnya, too, it is the abuse of human beings that stands out the most.
One thing must be stated frankly: before talking about monuments, we must talk about people. This in no way implies that we are against monuments. But stones can never be deemed more valuable than humanity itself.
* This week's soapbox speaker is deputy supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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