Thursday, March 16, 2006

Of stolen and destroyed heritage

Ancient 13th century Islamic coins stolen by a Florida man from a shipwreck in the Red Sea are returned to Saudi Arabia by the US DHS and US customs.

“These coins are treasured artifacts that reflect the cultural heritage of humanity as well as Saudi Arabia’s unique history as an ancient trade center and as the birthplace of Islam,” said Saudi Ambassador Prince Turki Al-Faisal. “Their recovery and return to the Kingdom is an example of the deep friendship between Saudi Arabia and the United States and the respect the U.S. has for cultural heritage.”

This is such heartening news . I just hope the Saudi government, its zealots and greedy businessmen do not 'misplace' or deliberately destroy this heritage ( thanks Aya).

She is a Saudi blogger in the US currently. Check her posts about 'Respecting our History' , she has her theory about the 'real reason' for this wanton destruction of Muslim heritage : parts 1 & 2.

Isn't it ironic that so called 'infidels' preserve it while self professed 'righteous' Muslims don't?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Highlander,

Thank you for writing about this important issue. What is happening with the Islamic history in Saudi Arabia is such a disgrace. I am quite mad about the loss of our common cultural heritage. If you think about it, there is not much left other than few coins and books here and there, almost all buildings and castles are gone.

All the best, Aya

gatorbait said...

You're not truly surprised are you? :-)

Anonymous said...

Dear Aya ,thank you for visiting I know what you mean and it makes me so mad and sad too. Usually I respond fast to my commenters but I had trouble with blogger for the last week .

Gatorbait ..i'm truely surprised ;)

Prup ...Welcome to my blog as well , saw you in other blogs , first time here . I'm not aware of any campaigns yet ...but I'm going to check around ..however I don't think Congress will bother much with Saudi Arabia ..they have let them get away with worse stuff :(