Fatwa allowing illegal antiquities excavation triggers ire in Egypt
The Egyptian government will attempt to hold on to its antiquities amid a religious edict giving ordinary citizens the right to excavate and keep such treasures.
A recent religious edict allowing ordinary Egyptian citizens to illegally excavate and keep antiquities and treasure from their own land has triggered an uproar from the country’s government officials and moderate religious scholars.
Early this month, Abdel Hamid el-Atrash — former head of the Edicts Committee at Egypt’s top Islamic body, Dar al-Ifta — said that it is the right of any individual who finds gold or treasure on his or her own land to keep it, provided they offer part of the value to charity, the semi-official daily newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
Moderate scholars have strongly criticized the scholar’s opinion, saying that such a religious edict paves the way for individuals to illegally search for treasure and antiquities on their own land, overtaking the government's role of excavating artifacts.
“Gold and treasure are considered antiquities. Those are historical things and are regarded as part of the Egyptian civilization and heritage,” Amna Noseir, professor of Islamic Studies at Al-Azhar University, told Al-Monitor.
