Christians, Muslims
and the Destruction of Ancient Sites (Le Figaro, France)
"The
terrorists refer to the iconoclastic tendency found in the history of
religions, including Christian theology. The image, considered a form of
idolatry, is in effect biblically prohibited. We must remember the quarrel over
the icons of Byzantium that lasted from 723 to 843. … During these years, the
Byzantine emperors forbade the worship of icons and had images representing
Christ or the Saints systematically destroyed. … It mustn't be forgotten that in
16th century Protestantism, there was an iconoclastic rage that went on to wreak
havoc on our cultural heritage. … This is not to suggest a hazardous
equivalence between Calvinism and radical Islam, but the Islamists are falling
back on an iconoclastic religious tradition that was defeated by Christianity."
LE FIGARO: The jihadists
of the Islamic State have destroyed an ancient city with bulldozers. What does
that lead you to think?
GÉRARD LECLERC: It is a step further
into abomination; the systematic destruction of an irreplaceable inheritance. I
am horrified. This is neither a massacre nor a decapitation. Nor is it a crucifixion.
It is a form of violence that wounds in a very particular way which is a
profound assault on our nature. It evokes in me the 1993 bombing that damaged the
Uffizi Gallery in Florence in which priceless works of art were ruined. The
terrorists act deliberately. Their reflex is to eradicate everything that does not
comport with their conception of life.
There is a desire to eradicate the past as if the Islamists
want to remake humanity anew. Through the rigorous application of Sharia law, they seek to create a new society and a new
man. One can find an analogy in the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the desire
of the Red Guards to eradicate every shred of cultural and artistic heritage in
order to wipe the slate clean of the past.
LE FIGARO: Why go
after these historic sites?
GÉRARD LECLERC: The
terrorists refer to the iconoclastic tendency found in the history of
religions, including Christian theology. The image, considered a form of
idolatry, is in effect biblically prohibited. We must remember the celebrated quarrel over the icons
of Byzantium that lasted from 723 to 843. During these hundred years or so,
the Byzantine emperors forbade the worship of icons and had images representing
Christ or the Saints systematically destroyed. This was finally brought to an
end with the triumph of Orthodoxy and restoration of the veneration of icons at
the Second
Council of Nicaea in 787.
Western Abandonment of Persecuted Christians a Grave 'Strategic Error' (Le Figaro, France)
That would result in the emergence of Western religious art
and the production of unparalleled artistic marvels. Nevertheless, at a
religious level, there is a constant struggle between representation and the denial
of representation. It must not be forgotten that in 16th century Protestantism,
there was also an iconoclastic rage that went on to wreak havoc on our cultural
heritage. Needless to say this is not to hazard an equivalence between
Calvinism and radical Islam, but the Islamists are falling back on an
iconoclastic religious tradition that was defeated by Christianity. They have
taken up the task of suppressing all representation which in their eyes is
idolatrous. This scorched-earth policy refers to a certain conception of the
divine, which ignores the epiphany of transcendence that can shine out through works made
by the hand of man. That leads them to turn against the entire culture, even if
their fury is greater with regard to all civilizations foreign to Islam.
LE FIGARO: Didn’t
the Christians commit the same acts against ancient cultures?
GÉRARD LECLERC: At
the end of Roman Antiquity [widely considered to be from the end of
the Roman Empire's Third Century Crisis (235 – 284 AD) to the re-organization
of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Muslim conquests in the mid-7th century] they
[Christians] attacked pagan statues and temples. The fact is undeniable.
It is all too certain that Emperor
Theodosius I, in his desire to abolish paganism, put in place practices the
effects of which were not always fortunate. That is the least that can be said.
However, care must be taken before assimilating current events with these
ancient practices. The relationship of Christianity to ancient culture, notably
with Greco-Roman, was not at all as an eradicator. Quite the contrary!
Certainly, paganism was contrary to the Christian faith and there was necessarily
a clash over the most critical questions about the meaning of life. However, as
shown by [Historian] Henri-IrénéeMarrou, Christianity was
from the start a scholarly religion that could not have existed in the context
of barbarity.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
"It is an important fact," Marrou wrote, "that
in the initial centuries between the emergence of Christianity and classicism, an
intimate link was formed that the historian can only note as solid." The
most telling sign of this intimacy was the acceptance by first generation Christians
of the Greco-Roman school for its children. Prior to that, however, Marrou went on to say that there was an absolute certainty
that: "to be a Christian, one first has to be a man mature enough from a strictly
humane point of view, to be able to perform an act of faith and morality."
Hence Christianity's fruitful alliance with the best of human culture.
GÉRARD LECLERC: It is a step further
into abomination; the systematic destruction of an irreplaceable inheritance. I
am horrified. This is neither a massacre nor a decapitation. Nor is it a crucifixion.
It is a form of violence that wounds in a very particular way which is a
profound assault on our nature. It evokes in me the 1993 bombing that 
