Libya: Muslim shrines destroyed by radical Islamists
Islamist fundamentalists destroyed the mausoleum of a Muslim saint in Tripoli with shovels and desecrated his grave in the aftermath of the destruction in the west of Libya's largest mausoleum of the country on Saturday
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Libya-Muslim-sh...
Saturday morning, radical Islamists used a shovel and a jackhammer to demolish the mausoleum of Al-Shaab Al-Dahmani, near the centre of the Libyan capital, and desecrated the tomb of the wise, a place of pilgrimage for some Muslims, particularly Sufis according to the Algerian daily newspaper El Watan.
Yesterday, dozens of fundamentalists blew up the mausoleum of Sheikh Abdessalem al-Asmar, a Sufi theologian of the sixteenth century, Zliten, 160 kilometers east of Tripoli, clashes since Thursday evening, according to a video posted on social networks.
In this video you can see the explosion of the mausoleum, the largest in Libya, amid cries proclaiming "God is greatest".
A library and a university on behalf of Sheikh al-Asmar also been the target of acts of destruction and looting, according to local security sources.
In July this year islamist Ansar Dine Jihadis destroyed shrines in Timbuktu which were UNESCO World Heritage
sites. In Afghanistan the Taleban destroyed historic statues of Buddaha .
In addition, witnesses told AFP on Saturday that another tomb, that of Ahmed al-Sheikh Zarrouk, was destroyed in Misrata, 200 km east of Tripoli.
Fundamentalists oppose these shrines honouring saints because they are subject to a "reverence" which, according to them, is contrary to the oneness of God, precept of the founder of Islam.
On Twitter, the Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Chagour, described the destruction of the mausoleums of "crimes" which the authors "will be held accountable."
In another tweet, he assured to have "yesterday asked the Ministries of Defence and Interior to intervene but they have not done their duty to protect these sites."
Dar Al-Ifta, the highest religious authority in Libya, said in a statement that the desecration of graves of Muslims or non-Muslims was contrary to Islam, but did not explicitly expressed in the destruction of the mausoleums.
A prominent member of the Sufi community in Libya, Osama Bwera, denounced on his side the "ignorance of the Body Snatchers who call themselves Salafis."
"These attacks were not aimed in particular Sufism but culture and Islamic civilization in Libya in general," he told AFP.
Contacted by AFP, the director of the Department of Antiquities of Libya, condemned the "isolated incidents", but said that his department was not involved in this, insofar as mausoleums are not registered as national archaeological heritage.
Yesterday, dozens of fundamentalists blew up the mausoleum of Sheikh Abdessalem al-Asmar, a Sufi theologian of the sixteenth century, Zliten, 160 kilometers east of Tripoli, clashes since Thursday evening, according to a video posted on social networks.
In this video you can see the explosion of the mausoleum, the largest in Libya, amid cries proclaiming "God is greatest".
A library and a university on behalf of Sheikh al-Asmar also been the target of acts of destruction and looting, according to local security sources.
In July this year islamist Ansar Dine Jihadis destroyed shrines in Timbuktu which were UNESCO World Heritage
sites. In Afghanistan the Taleban destroyed historic statues of Buddaha .
In addition, witnesses told AFP on Saturday that another tomb, that of Ahmed al-Sheikh Zarrouk, was destroyed in Misrata, 200 km east of Tripoli.
Fundamentalists oppose these shrines honouring saints because they are subject to a "reverence" which, according to them, is contrary to the oneness of God, precept of the founder of Islam.
On Twitter, the Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Chagour, described the destruction of the mausoleums of "crimes" which the authors "will be held accountable."
In another tweet, he assured to have "yesterday asked the Ministries of Defence and Interior to intervene but they have not done their duty to protect these sites."
Dar Al-Ifta, the highest religious authority in Libya, said in a statement that the desecration of graves of Muslims or non-Muslims was contrary to Islam, but did not explicitly expressed in the destruction of the mausoleums.
A prominent member of the Sufi community in Libya, Osama Bwera, denounced on his side the "ignorance of the Body Snatchers who call themselves Salafis."
"These attacks were not aimed in particular Sufism but culture and Islamic civilization in Libya in general," he told AFP.
Contacted by AFP, the director of the Department of Antiquities of Libya, condemned the "isolated incidents", but said that his department was not involved in this, insofar as mausoleums are not registered as national archaeological heritage.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Libya-Muslim-sh...