Sheikh Youssef al-Badri, an Islamic preacher, said that God created people to worship Him, but demons misled them to worship other creatures. He pointed out to the fact that the Prophet destroyed all the idols and statues that were around the Kaaba during the conquest of Mecca.
Talking to the Egyptian paper “Sada Al Balad”, al-Badri added that the demolition of monuments, idols and statues in Egypt is a religious duty so people won’t return to worshiping idols instead of Allah. He stressed that the Holy Prophet has demolished idols and statues for fear of their worship instead of Allah.
A Muslim Brotherhood leader, Dr. Sayed Askar, said that Islam is a religion of tolerance and that Allah has forbidden idolatry and that is why the prophet demolished the idols. Askar added that Egyptian statues and monuments, which existed since the time of the Pharaohs, have never been worshiped and wouldn’t cause any crisis or sedition so there’s no need for demolition.
Dr. Najeh Ibrahim, a leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, professed that there are differing ideas within the Islamic movements in regards to the ancient monuments. He stressed that some Islamists insist that the monuments should be destroyed as a religious duty.
Najeh Ibrahim said that the monuments are a source of national income and their destruction would deal a blow to the sovereignty of the state, the rule of law and the Egyptian economy. He called for people to stay away from destructive ideas.
The Minister of Antiquary in Egypt has said that some of the monuments have already been destroyed by those belonging to the political Islamists parties, adding that the incidents are isolated.
Translated by Coptic Solidarity; published in Watan, Oct. 22, 2012