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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Al Q on rampage destroying grave of Muslim saint in Mali |
| 2012-05-06 |
| Members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have desecrated a Muslim saint's tomb in the fabled city of Timbuktu, an official said on Saturday. "Members of AQIM, supported by (the armed Islamist group) Ansar Dine, have destroyed the tomb of Saint Sidi (Mahmoud Ben) Amar. They set fire to the tomb," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that they had pledged to destroy others too. Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site and cradle of Islamic learning, has been under the control of AQIM and Ansar Dine [Army of the Faith or Defenders of the Faith] since the groups took advantage of a March 22 coup to take control of northern Mali. "They promised to destroy other tombs, Timbuktu is in shock they shouldn't be the Wahabis have been destroying historical buildings for years in Arabia Now they want to take and control other tombs and manuscripts," the official said. |
| Posted by:lord garth |
| #4 This isn't actually about ideological enemies because the graves of some members of Mohammud's own family have been similarly destroyed in Medina beginning in the early 19th century. The issue is that Wahabis believe that preserving historic sites connected with Moslems, even great Muslim saints, scholars and warriors, leads inevitably to veneration of the site which, in turn means that something other than Allah is being worshiped. This is based on a hadith in which a dying Mohammud declares that the reason (or a reason) to curse the Jews and Christians is their practice of building places to worship at the site of the graves of saints and scholars. |
| Posted by: Lord Garth 2012-05-06 18:34 |
| #3 They'll eliminate the moderate Muslims just like the Jews, Christians and Buddhists. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2012-05-06 16:35 |
| #2 AQIM has the weapons, the backing, and the fanatics. Therein lies the problem. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-05-06 15:35 |
| #1 Pising off the Other Muslims is the sure way to disappear from history permanently, Go for it assholes. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2012-05-06 12:00 |