by Jon Lackman | 29 June 2006 | Museums
From the Washington Times: “Spectacular artifacts from two lost cities of ancient Egypt, rescued from the sea after more than 1,300 years, have taken the breath away from more than 1 million visitors to the Martin-Gropius Building in Berlin. They have even ignited religious debate — nonviolent so far — in Egypt … Sheik Ali Gomaa, the grand mufti of Egypt, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, saying statuary in the human form is forbidden in Egyptian homes. He didn’t specifically include museums in the fatwa, but cited an Islamic text that “sculptors would be tormented most on Judgment Day.’”
