Restaurant Managers & Sculptors Suffer Under Islamic Law

Little Green Footballs points us to two stories which demonstrate the problems facing the west when it comes to dealing with Islamic nations. First we have the case of the unfortunate European restaurant manager who accidentally threw away translations of the Quran that were distributed at the recent Grand Prix race in Bahrain:

A EUROPEAN manager at a major restaurant who allegedly desecrated the Holy Quran has fled the country, it was revealed yesterday.

A lawsuit against the manager has been filed by MP Mohammed Khalid Mohammed at the Public Prosecutor, which issued a warrant for his arrest.

The employer told the GDN last week that the man was sacked on the spot because of the offence caused when he threw translations from the Quran into a waste bin in front of Muslim colleagues.

The manager disposed of copies of translations from the Quran by mistake that were distributed by Discover Islam during the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and left on one of the desks by some customers.

He admitted being guilty, but he said it was unintentional.

Shaikh Mohammed said that Interpol should bring the manager to justice like any other criminal.

“I don’t care where this manager is, the only thing that matters is for him to be brought back to the country to face the punishment he deserves,” he said.

“This is a serious matter and the government shouldn’t rest until this man is punished. He should have been arrested a long time ago, but everyone knows about the bureaucracy in this country. This person has made a mockery of Muslims and Islam and should get the severest punishment possible, but first he should be brought back. I am very angry and I will not breathe a sigh of relief until he is behind bars.”

In other words, Interpol is being asked to enforce Sharia law. Let's hope they don't comply.

And in Egypt, a fatwa has been declared against sculptors and sculpture, a ruling which could create big problems for the nation's tourist industry which relies heavily on people wishing to see...sculptures:

A fatwa issued by Egypt’s religious authority forbidding the display of statues has raised fears that it could be used as an excuse to destroy the country’s historical heritage.

Shaikh Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt and the country’s most senior Islamic jurist, issued the religious edict last week. He ruled that the exhibition of statues in homes is prohibited and based his opinion on the hadith (the sayings of Prophet Muhammad).

Intellectuals and artists argue that the decree represents a setback for art - a mainstay of the multi-billion-dollar tourist industry - and would damage the country’s fledgling sculpture industry.

Gomaa did not mention statues in museums or public places, but he condemned sculptors and their work.

Still, some fear that the edict could encourage people to attack the thousands of ancient and pharaonic statues at tourist sites across Egypt.

Gamal al-Ghitani, editor of the literary magazine Akhbar al-Adab, said: “We don’t rule out that someone will enter the Karnak temple in Luxor or any other pharaonic temple and blow it up on the basis of the fatwa.”

You may recall that the Taliban took a similar approach to ancient Buddhist statues which were summarily blown up by Taliban officials. That didn't do much for their tourism either, though they did get a sudden influx of U.S. Military equipment and funds.