If you attempt to talk about Islamic history using books like Sirah Ibn Hisham or Futuhat Shaam as supporting evidence for your thesis, people don’t believe you. Especially non-muslims.

But if you provide archaelogical evidence of your claims, everyone listens. By annihilating monuments of Islamic History, we are exposing ourselves to lurid and false claims about our religion. Without archaelogical evidence in our reponse to these claims, our statements sound hollow.

Muslim historians are now frantically trying to collect togethor evidence of Islamic achievements and accomplishements to PROTECT Islam against attacks. An excellent example is http://www.islamic-awareness.org, who are documenting Islamic manuscripts and examples of Arabic script in arachelogical buildings to debunk Orientalist claims that the Quran was written AFTER the Prophet’s death. If the archaelogical evidence is gone, who will defend Islam. The tooth fairy?

I will write more on a later date.

Mohammad (PBUH) told us to stick to his way and the way of his Companions. One of his Comapanions, Omar ibn Khattab, went so far as to cut down a tree under which many Muslims gave an pledge of allegiance to Mohammad (PBUH) because people started to make pilgrimages there. He was afraid that after a few generations, people would start to commit SHIRK and revere the tree instead of just going to remember what happened there.

That is how idol-worship starts – firstly by looking at something to remind you of something else which is good, and then slowly replacing the remembrance of something good with remembrance of an object.

These places have no special powers or blessings which come from themselves. They cannot benefit us or harm us of themselves. Only ALLAH has power and distributes Blessing as He wills, so turn to HIM for every need.

I think that the people commenting here are not implying in anyway that Muhammed (peace be upon him) was a extremist. Muhammed (peace be upon him) broke the idols in order to dissolve the old tribal system and to establish Tawheed (To make something one, Islamic monotheism).

Today people have returned to the old tribal system while they maintain that they are still have Tawheed.

I don’t personally think that by not preserving old architecture monuments will in anyway implicitly or explicitly promote polytheism or promote people to live in the past pre-Islamic times.

I think that by preserving, refurbishing and maintaining historical monuments such as architecture such as the old town in Jeddah or any other part of Islamic culture is essential in preserving a national and Islamic identity.

This will not in anyway promote the pre-Islamic Arabia but will rather give a contrast of the immense chance and rapid development from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic era. Something that we all as Muslims can be very proud of.

Whether its an old fort or a shrine, a grave or a statue, over a period of time it becomes a symbol of what was great/good/bad/evil about that particular era. We learn and move forward. But their physical presence is a constant reminder to all of us: it can be a source of great pride or a symbol of hatred. It stand silently and tells us a powerful story, much much more powerful then words can describe. Destroy that physical presence and you have destroyed a priceless part of your own heritage. You have nothing to pass on to the next generation except perhaps a fairy tale and a less then inspiring view of a multi story parking lot.