Salafi Destruction Is Back To Business [Archives:2000/12/Local News]

archive
March 20 2000

So called Salafi groups are again roaming all parts of the country doing their unholy job. Claiming to be the guards of true and genuine Islam, they are believed to be responsible for the destruction of a number of historical, religious and invaluable art works and monuments. The most prominent of these victimized monuments by their aggressive behavior was the grave of Queen Arwa Bint Ahmed of the Sulaihi dynasty. Queen Arwa was the wife of King Al-Mukarram Al-Sulaihi and jointly with him ruled Yemen first from Sana’a and later from Djiblah. After his death her reign was one of the longest in Islamic Yemen. Apart of being the only Queen of post-Islamic Yemen, she is one of the few who ruled over a united Yemen.Yemeni authors and historians usually call Queen Arwa Bilqis Al-Sughra, i.e. little Queen of Sheba, in comparison to the older and greater queen mentioned in the Holy Quran and Bible. Other main monuments that suffered at the hand of these groups are the graves -mosques built over or near them- of some of the most holy and popular Walis, or Muslim Saints. The most important of these is that of Al-Hashimi of Aden. Recently it was reported that these ignorant and stubborn Salafis spoiled Al-Mihdhar Mosque of Tarim, Hadhramout Governorate of which the most important and world famous minaret is part. It is noticed that the relevant authorities responsible for these very important historical and religious monuments including police are very relaxed in their reactions to the behavior of these groups which are began as remotely activated and charged.
——
[archive-e:12-v:2000-y:2000-d:2000-03-20-p:./2000/iss12/ln.htm]