Rabat - A fatwa issued in 2012 from a Qatari-owned online portal, Islam Web, saying that it is a “religious duty” to destroy ancient monuments to the pharaohs has created a buzz on social media this week.
The Fatwa (religious edict) was picked up by several independent Egyptian news outlets and TV shows causing a controversy.
A question posted on the website reads, “I heard a fatwa from a Salafist Sheikh that calls for the demolition of the pyramids and the Sphinx on the grounds that they are idols. Is that true?”
The administrator of the portal said that the demolition of statues is a “religious duty,” but only the Egyptian Muslim scholars have the right to decide on that.
Despite the fact that the fatwa was issued in 2012, the 10 p.m. Talk Show hosted by Wael al-Ibrashi, dedicated an episode to discussing the implications of such edict.
The show displayed scenes from the video posted on the Internet on February 26, which shows ISIS ‘jihadists” demolishing statues dating back to about 100 B.C. to 100 A.D. in the Mosul Museum in Iraq.
Since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohammad Mursi in 2013, relations between Qatar and Egypt have been tense.
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