Salafists destroy 8000 year old Moroccan carvings

[Princess Luna]

Stone carvings in Morocco's High Atlas mountains dating back more than 8,000 years and depicting the sun as a pagan divinity have been destroyed by Salafists, a local rights group said on Wednesday.
"These stone carvings of the sun are more than 8,000 years old. They were destroyed several days ago," Aboubakr Anghir, a member of the Amazigh (Berber) League for Human Rights, told AFP.
"One of the carvings, called 'the plaque of the sun,' predates the arrival of the Phoenicians in Morocco," Anghir said.
"It lies in a well-known archaeological site in the Yakour plain south of Marrakesh, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Mount Toubkal."
"There are several Salafist groups active in the region and it's not the first time these pre-Islamic sites have been attacked. We have sent a message to the ministry of culture, but have not yet received a reply," he added.
Salafists, Muslims who adhere to a hardline Sunni interpretation of Islam similar to that practised in Saudi Arabia, which strictly prohibits "idolatry," have enjoyed a surge in strength in Arab Spring countries, benefiting from wider freedom.
Late on Monday, one of Tunisia's main Sufi mausoleums was burned down in an overnight arson attack, seemingly the latest in a spate of attacks on unorthodox Sufi shrines by the country's increasingly assertive Salafists.
In northern Mali, which is close to Morocco, radical Islamists have destroyed ancient World Heritage shrines they consider idolatrous since seizing control of the region earlier this year.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j8YTcHzPr8qkQj8Be68BkdE6L1pA?docId=CNG.bbe1d 6490ab6ef1279c6c7aa83c20199.261

[Rafiq]

Christ...

[Ostrinski]

What an entitled group of unadulterated scum. Destroying historical artifacts because they piss you off. That's conservative ideology for you.

[Zostrianos]

Disgusting...pure evil

[Mather]

This is really sad. I grew up in Morocco and there are lots of sufi shrines, roman ruins, ancient cave paintings and Jewish cemeteries. No doubt they would target all of these if they could.

Salafists are reactionary vermin.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Here's hoping that Salafist shitheads, and others with an irrationally destructive hatred for the legacies of those who came before us, become really unpopular before too much is lost. Not that this sort of thing isn't bad enough.

[Aussie Trotskyist]

Bullshit.

That was part of their history, and I'm sure was a work of art.

And then they wonder why some atheists go so far as to attack religion.

[Grenzer]

They have a hard time getting away with this in the long run.. unfortunately for it's for the wrong reasons that ordinary folks come to oppose the systematic destruction of historical artifacts in many Muslim countries. For a while, this was something done in Iran; but the people opposed it not out of any obligation to protect valuable pieces of history, but rather out of nationalism.

[Zostrianos]

Interesting update on this story: the Moroccan government claims the incident never happened, and there's proof:
http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.ca/2012/10/morocco-denies-destruction-of-ancient.html#.UIv7wu-wfQg

Morocco's government has denied claims that Salafists had destroyed stone carvings dating back more than 8,000 years in the High Atlas mountains.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5csjKw1QapM/UIgxnSOKunI/AAAAAAAAfe0/MuFp78Dinjs/s400/morocco-stone-carvings.jpg (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5csjKw1QapM/UIgxnSOKunI/AAAAAAAAfe0/MuFp78Dinjs/s1600/morocco-stone-carvings.jpg) More than a dozen undamaged carvings of the sun, depicted as a divinity, were visible on rocks located in the middle of the valley south of Marrakesh, some 20 kilometres from Mount Toubkal, Morocco's highest peak [Credit: AFP] “The reports that these stone carvings were damaged, as you can see, is not true,” Communications Minister Mustapha Khalfi told journalists, on a government organised trip to the Yagour plateau.

“It is one of our goals to protect these pre-historic monuments, which reflect Morocco's cultural diversity and the deepness of our history,” Khalfi told AFP.

More than a dozen undamaged carvings of the sun, depicted as a divinity, were visible on rocks located in the middle of the valley south of Marrakesh, about 20 kilometres from Mount Toubkal, Morocco's highest peak.

Earlier, the culture ministry had issued a statement strongly denying claims by a local rights group, reported in the Moroccan media and by AFP, that the stones had been destroyed by Salafists.

“This kind of incident, contrary to our values, cannot take place in Morocco,” it said, adding that an investigation carried out with local and regional authorities had showed that the claims were unfounded.

But such sites “can suffer, like elsewhere, the effects of natural and even human degradation, sometimes through vandalism and trafficking.”

The Amazigh (Berber) League for Human Rights had said that a number of the carvings in the Yagour valley had been destroyed by hardline Salafists, including the largest, called 'the plaque of the sun.'

The carving appeared untouched later in the week.

Salafists, Muslims who adhere to a hardline Sunni interpretation of Islam similar to that practised in Saudi Arabia, which strictly prohibits “idolatry,” have enjoyed a surge in strength in Arab Spring countries, benefiting from wider freedom.

In northern Mali, which is close to Morocco, radical Islamists have destroyed ancient World Heritage shrines they consider idolatrous since seizing control of the region earlier this year.

Morocco's communication minister emphasised the efforts by the ministry of culture to protect its archaeological sites since the 1970s, and insisted that the Salafists were not a threat in the kingdom.

“Morocco is an exception... We've heard the stories (about what they have done) in other countries. But not here in Morocco, God willing,” Khalfi said.

[cynicles]

The Moroccan monarchy lies, they've been playing an on and off game with the resident Salafists for a while now so I wouldn't be surprised if they we're lying about this to cover up. They unleach the Salafists when it's convenient for them then reel them back in and play opposition when they come to a head.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/morocco-using-salafis-pawns

They're being used to push back against activists opposing the dictatorship.