Why do religious extremists attack art?

[rug]

Posted on November 30, 2016

PARIS -- Jihadists from the Islamic State group have destroyed ancient sites and museum pieces in Syria and Iraq in the last two years but that is just the latest example of extremists attacking religious buildings or art.

Historian Francois Boespflug, a French former Catholic priest, tells AFP about the roots of attacks against images that the perpetrators consider to be blasphemous or idol worship.

COMMON THREAD

Question: What is the common thread between the destruction of the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2001, the mausoleums of Timbuktu in Mali by Al-Qaeda-linked militants and two of the most important temples in the Syrian city of Palmyra by militants from the Islamic State group?

Answer: When an image is considered to convey contempt or is the object of a cult that extremists consider fetishist, they react as if they have been insulted themselves. Destroying artefacts in (the Iraqi city of) Mosul should be the least of the jihadists’ strategic concerns. They do it because they want to cultivate their reputation as ultra-pious Muslims, faithful to the Koran -- condemning idols is almost a leitmotiv. But it has a double bonus for the extremists because it allows them to thumb their noses at the West and to all those who love art for art’s sake.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Arts&Leisure&title=why-do-religious-extremists-attack-art&id=137060

[guillaumeb]

1. One aspect of the rejection of art that depicts the human figure:

This is perhaps the main division in the philosophy and approach towards art between the Muslims and non-Muslims. With this approach, Islamic art did not need any figurative representation of these concepts. How can he depict God if he believes that He is the Unseen and nothing is like unto Him? Any artistic expression of these, either in natural or human forms, would undermine the meanings and the essence of the Muslim faith. Consequently, artists engaged in expressing this truth in a sophisticated system of geometric, vegetal and calligraphic patterns (Al-Faruqi, 1973). Islam was the only religion that did not need figurative art and imagery to establish its concepts (Von Grunedaum, 1955).

http://www.muslimheritage.com/article/introduction-islamic-art

SO if there is no God but God, perhaps these people feel that their actions are an expression of faith.

[rug]

2. That's a good link.

[guillaumeb]

3. I thought so. And there is Islamic thought that argues that because God embodies beauty,

any depiction of beauty is praise of God. Christians are well aware of this concept. Perhaps, as the link states, the rejection of figural representation is a rejection of Christian and all non-Islamic Middle eastern religions.

But this rejection seems, at least to me, to violate the Prophet's injunction to respect the people of the Book.

A suggestion would be to cross-post this in the Islam Group and see what responses it brings.

[rug]

4. Be my guest. It would be a nice change of subject.