According to Raymond Ibrahim, calls are starting among a more radical fringe of Islamists to destroy the Pyramids:
According to several reports in the Arabic media, prominent Muslim clerics have begun to call for the demolition of Egypt’s Great Pyramids—or, in the words of Saudi Sheikh Ali bin Said al-Rabi’i, those “symbols of paganism,” which Egypt’s Salafi party has long planned to cover with wax. Most recently, Bahrain’s “Sheikh of Sunni Sheikhs” and President of National Unity, Abd al-Latif al-Mahmoud, called on Egypt’s new president, Muhammad Morsi, to “destroy the Pyramids and accomplish what [Muslim conqueror of Egypt] Amr bin al-As could not.”
The calls to destroy the Pyramids are certainly fringe, and do not represent the vast majority of the Egyptian public or the Egyptian leadership, even amongst the Muslim Brotherhood. Still, that such a fringe and wacky idea gains any voice in Arabic media or on Islamist websites should be cause for concern, given precedent.
In March 2001, the Taliban dynamited the great Buddhas at Bamian, a UNESCO world heritage site. Their destruction came after repeated assurances that no such action would be taken. The destruction of the 1,500-year-old Buddhas came six years after the Clinton administration began its initiative to diplomatically engage the Taliban to bring the group into the community of nations. There were even calls within the State Department to recognize the Taliban who, diplomats reasoned, were no worse than the Saudis and controlled 90 percent of Afghan territory. Fortunately, George W. Bush put a stop to that.
Currently, Islamists in northern Mali are destroying historic Sufi shrines in Timbuktu, sites I was fortunate enough to visit a decade ago as a tourist. The logic of the Islamists is the same. Embracing a radical interpretation of Islam promoted on the back of Saudi petrodollars, the Islamists claim that the shrines which have stood for centuries during periods when even the most religious Muslims understood tolerance, somehow contradict the tenets of Islam by promoting worship of saints.
It is this same logic that has led Saudi architect and archaeologist Sami Angawi to bury and hide archaeological sites he has excavated from the time and, indeed, life of the Prophet Muhammad as Saudi authorities have destroyed 95 percent of Mecca’s ancient and historical buildings.
So, under such circumstances, what should the United States do? There is little direct action, of course, and UNESCO is more concerned with playing Palestinian politics than pursuing its preservation function. Still, diplomacy matters. And so does stigma. Anyone who engages in such behavior should be so far beyond the pale that there can be no redemption. Alas, by talking to the Taliban—the same figures responsible for unleashing this wave of destruction against world heritage—diplomats have signaled that there can be, in effect, redemption after such action and, by so doing, have reduced the cost and stigma of such activity. Perhaps it’s time to decide what actions—terrorism, wanton cultural destruction, genocide—put groups so far beyond the pale of civilized society that there can be no recourse but for their complete destruction.
It was, I believe, Stephen King, who wrote that he kept all his rejection letters until his first successful novel (Carrie) was published. His failures motivated him to succeed. Thus, keeping a record of one's history is an important way of planning one's future. n nIn a religious sense, for example, on Passover Jews recall their slavery to Egyptians so that we will remember what God did for us. Our past in intricate and essential for our present and to our future. Not so by radical Muslims. n nFor such a fringe, the past is to be re-shaped by the present. If the history is negative, as seen from the present, that history must be expunged. Witness, for example, how Arabs are trying to destroy the real and palatable connection of Jews to Jerusalem. These Arabs want Israel to cease excavations lest the world see through direct historic artifacts just how tied Jews are to Israel. Even in negotiations, the PA will not permit a direct reference of the Temple to Jerusalem. Such a fact of history is counter to the PA's claim and therefore they will not concede such a fact. n nWhat makes this all the worse is that when a group dismisses history, it means they no longer are dealing with facts and reality. Rather, such a group is dealing with myth and legend and a false sense of history. Such a group cannot be reasoned with, nor can good-faith negotiations transpire. Because the past is malleable, it is irrelevant. The past though is highly relevant and necessary to negotiate the future. For people to want to destroy it is to say that the past never happened. That is a crime against all who want to understand and deal with the present. n n
Just a small point on the issue of Temple denial by the Palestinians. If the Temple was not in Jerusalem, as they claim, then where does that leave the Gospel stories? Where was Jesus when he chased the moneylenders from the Temple courtyard if not in Jerusalem? Temple denial should not only be viewed as an attempt to deny the Jewish connection to the land of Israel. It is also an attack on Christianity. Why the silence from the Vatican, for instance? Is it purely out of concern for the welfare of Christian communities in Arab lands, as if those communities are no more than hostages insuring other Christians' "good behavior" toward their Arabs overlords?
FTA: "So, under such circumstances, what should the United States do?" n n<raises hand> Oh! Ooooh! I know, I know!! I know what the United States should do!! n n<stands, assumes prim lecture voices, hook hands in front on chest> n n"The United States should advocate the appointment of the Saudi Sheikh Ali bin Said al-Rabi’i as the United Nations High Commissioner for UNESCO. Then the US should applaud when High Commissioner Sheikh al-Rabi'i issues a blanket condemnation of Israel and American colonialism. Then the United States should kiss the Pyramids good-bye."
According to the History Channel they were built by space aliens and we wouldn't want to piss those dudes off. Especially if, when they come back, their landing beacon is wrecked and they crash land.