A few years back, the Taliban blew up the great stone statues of Buddha in Afghanistan.
I thought that was horrible.
It turns out extremist Wahabbis don't respect their own historical heritage.
The holy sites have also been targeted for decades by the clerics who give Saudi Arabia's leadership religious legitimacy. In their puritanical Wahhabi view, worship at historic sites connected to mere mortals -- such as Muhammad or his contemporaries -- can easily become a form of idolatry.
The house where Muhammad is believed to have been born in 570 now lies under a rundown building overshadowed by a giant royal palace and hotel towers. The then-king, Abdul-Aziz, ordered a library built on top of the site 70 years ago as a compromise after Wahhabi clerics called for it to be torn down.
The notion of not preserving one's heritage is completely alien to them. It's almost like fighting idolatry has become a form of idolatry for them.
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