The end of the pyramids?

[M. Demetrius]

Herodotus said they were conscripts, serving two year terms, and replaced regularly. After all, if they were building a monument for their deity, a short missionary venture shouldn't be a hardship.

[john m roberts]

Modern Egyptians may not prove as docile as ancient peasants. They may need encouragement. Besides, what foreman , given the opportunity, could resist the temptation to stand atop the block, snapping 20-ft. bullwhip over the laboring, sweating multitude, hauling on the ropes?

[Eleatic Guest]

"The Sphinx and Pyramids Must be Destroyed"

Murjan Salem al-Johari, one of Egyptian leaders of the Saudi-inspired Wahhabis, otherwise referred to as the "Salafis," said that it was the duty of all Muslims to destroy the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx just as the Taliban destroyed two ancient statues of the Buddha in Afghanistan in 2001.

"All statues in Egypt must be destroyed," al-Johrai declared in a TV interview. "Muslims must implement the rules of Sharia and we will destroy the statues of Sphinx and the Pyramids because they are idols."

[starman2012]

Modern Egyptians may not prove as docile as ancient peasants. They may need encouragement. Besides, what foreman , given the opportunity, could resist the temptation to stand atop the block, snapping 20-ft. bullwhip over the laboring, sweating multitude, hauling on the ropes?

On another board some Egyptians are calling Morsi "pharoah" for assuming greater powers, so maybe this isn't so far fetched. :grin:

[john m roberts]

I'm curious about how he interprets a tomb as an "idol". The Sphinx I can understand, as it is a representation of something, whereas a pyramid is a geometrical object that once contained a king's corpse. Of course, according to him, "idol" may just mean "anything un-Islamic," which would include most of the world's man-made objects.

[starman2012]

The Sphinx I can understand, as it is a representation of something,

And why single it out(?); there are all kinds of representational things from ancient Egypt.

[M. Demetrius]

None bigger or better-known than the Sphinx.

[starman2012]

Well, at least a lot of other stuff is easier to wreck.

[M. Demetrius]

Yep, if that's their intention, museums will be in trouble.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Not everything is going the MB's way.

[Condottiero Magno]

I'm curious about how he interprets a tomb as an "idol". The Sphinx I can understand, as it is a representation of something, whereas a pyramid is a geometrical object that once contained a king's corpse. Of course, according to him, "idol" may just mean "anything un-Islamic," which would include most of the world's man-made objects.

According to the Salafists, tombs are idols due to visitors leaving offerings, like flowers on a grave. Despite outrage from other Muslims, the Salafists destroyed the grave of the Prophet Muhammad's mother. Historical sites and even possibly items are also seen as idolatrous by them, due to tourism, so Salafists wouldn't have an issue tearing down the Tower of London, for instance.

[Eleatic Guest]

Does Saudi Arabia, the country of origin of Salafism, have anything in the way of pre-Islamic or "Un-Islamic" architecture? I don't think so. It makes you wonder how much Salafism as an ideology was shaped by the specific conditions prevailing in Saudi Arabia; there, they never needed to learn to coexist with the heritage of other (high) cultures.

[M. Demetrius]

they never needed to learn to coexist with the heritage of other (high) cultures.

Because there weren't any.

But paintings and frescoes, statuettes, and man-sized statues will disappear, unless there is a way to stop that thinking that their Allah commands them to destroy all idols. Clearly a painting of Osiris would be considered an idol.

[Condottiero Magno]

Does Saudi Arabia, the country of origin of Salafism, have anything in the way of pre-Islamic or "Un-Islamic" architecture? I don't think so. It makes you wonder how much Salafism as an ideology was shaped by the specific conditions prevailing in Saudi Arabia; there, they never needed to learn to coexist with the heritage of other (high) cultures.

The Arabian peninsula is dotted with pre-Islamic architecture, but most is covered by sand, due to neglect, and archaeology isn't as developed as in the surrounding areas.

From 2010: Pre-Islam Saudi treasures on show for first time

From 2012: Exploring Arabia’s Pre-Islamic Heritage

Saudi Arabia's Surprising Treasures

Uncovering the hidden bodies in Saudi art

Cultural kick-off

But the Saudi royal family has embraced the discoveries in the Arabian Peninsula and is vigorously promoting further research. And far from causing religious conflict, says Prince Sultan bin Salman, the ancient artefacts offer a new way of viewing Islam.

"Islam did not cancel the great civilisations of Arabia," he says.

"Islam came as a very proud religion, but it identified these ancient civilisations and did not demean them. We would be doing a disservice to Islam if we thought Islam came to a void, to a clean sheet of paper, to a people who had nothing else."

Prince Sultan is the president of the Saudi commission for tourism and antiquities. He hopes that interest in the past will encourage tourism in the future. He also wants Saudis themselves - especially young people - to better understand their heritage.

"This is a complete revolution in Saudi Arabia when it comes to elevating the culture and the history of the country to the level it deserves," he says.

"Within the next three years, Saudis will wake up to knowledge about their own country that has been missing throughout their lives."

Several new museums are being planned with "big budgets" according to the prince, and international teams of archaeologists are working alongside Saudi scientists and historians. But Prince Sultan says his country wants to maintain control over its own heritage.

"We didn't want to hand over our country to teams from all over the world without us being in the middle of the finding and discovering of Saudi Arabia. But we are now ready. The time is right," he says.

From the images, pre-Islamic Arabian temples were influenced by Ancient Egyptian and later Classical Greco-Roman cultures. The Saudi Royal Family is backing recent archaeological studies for cultural/national reasons and while there will be friction with the Salafists, but I seriously doubt they'll defy their sponsor. The Saudis also back the moderate in comparison Muslim Brotherhood and IIRC, they don't have a problem with historical sites and tend to be at loggerheads with the Salafists, as the latter consider the former to be sellouts.

Historical sites might still be erased, if not due to religious interpretation, then in the interests of modernization, but the latter is a problem all over the world. There used to be an Ottoman fortress in Mecca, the Ajyad, but it was replaced by the Abraj Al Bait, a hotel for pilgrims, with a clock tower taller than the Empire State Building.

[john m roberts]

Does Saudi Arabia, the country of origin of Salafism, have anything in the way of pre-Islamic or "Un-Islamic" architecture? I don't think so. It makes you wonder how much Salafism as an ideology was shaped by the specific conditions prevailing in Saudi Arabia; there, they never needed to learn to coexist with the heritage of other (high) cultures.

Ironically, the Ka'aba in Mecca, the holiest shrine of Islam, is itself pre-Islamic and was a site of pilgrimage long before the time of Mohammed.