In April of this year Shaikh Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt and the country’s most senior Islamic jurist, issued a religious edict forbidding the display of statues. He ruled that the exhibition of statues in homes is prohibited and based his opinion on the hadith (the sayings of Prophet Muhammad).
Ali Gomaa says that sculpting is sinful. Gomaa had pointed to a passage from the hadith that stated: “Sculptors would be tormented most on Judgment Day.” He said the text left no doubt that sculpting the living form was sinful and using statues for decorating homes forbidden.
In Islam, representations of the human form and potential idolatry are particularly sensitive topics and helped to fuel the riots over the depiction of the Prophet earlier this year.
Intellectuals and artists argue that the decree represents a setback for art – a mainstay of the multi-billion-dollar tourist industry – and would damage the country’s fledgling sculpture industry.
Now 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 Gomaa’s fatwa.
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.
“Over the next few years political Islam will grow and grow,” said Nabil Abdel Fatah, from the Al Ahram centre for Political and Strategic studies in Cairo. “The duality between secular and religious is very dangerous and will lead to a very serious conflict in Egyptian society. We are already seeing terror attacks. And we will see new radical groups who will want to change the state in the most basic way – by suicide bombs and assassination.”
“I understand that an Islamic Egypt scares the West. But the secular government has failed the people. Now our group will spread the glory of Islam,” said Sheikh Askar, one of 88 members of parliament for the Muslim Brotherhood (whose offshoots include Hamas) and which seeks to impose Sharia law throughout Egypt.
“The message of the (Islamic) Revolution is global, and is not restricted to specific place or time. It is a human message, and it will move forward. Have no doubt… Allah willing, Islam will conquer what? It will conquer all the mountain tops of the world,” said Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently.
Muslim scriptures tell them that they have a responsibility to conquer the world for Allah. The current Jihad now had a base of operations and the oil wealth to support its grand design or what they call the “Great Caliphate”. This design calls for the replacement of all secular leadership in any country with Muslim majorities. This would include, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, all the Emirates, Sudan, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and finally what they call the “occupied territory” Israel. By then, they hope, the U.S. will withdraw from the region just as it did in Southeast Asia, following Vietnam. Then thay can finally use nuclear weapons or other WMDs to annihilate Israel.
World War III has already started.
Gomaa, statue, hadith, Islam, Cairo, Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood, Ahmadinejad
