Besides removing supposed temptations to idolatry, Islamic jihadists want to destroy the artifacts of non-Muslim civilizations because doing so testifies to the truth of Islam, as the Qur’an suggests that the destroyed remnants of ancient non-Muslim civilizations are a sign of Allah’s punishment of those who rejected his truth:
Many were the Ways of Life that have passed away before you: travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who rejected Truth. (Qur’an 3:137)
This is one of the foundations of the Islamic idea that pre-Islamic civilizations, and non-Islamic civilizations, are all jahiliyya — the society of unbelievers, which is worthless. Obviously this cuts against the idea of tourism of ancient sites and non-Muslim religious installations. V. S. Naipaul encountered this attitude in his travels through Muslim countries. For many Muslims, he observed in Among the Believers, “The time before Islam is a time of blackness: that is part of Muslim theology. History has to serve theology.” Naipaul recounted that some Pakistani Muslims, far from valuing the nation’s renowned archaeological site at Mohenjo Daro, saw its ruins as a teaching opportunity for Islam, recommending that Qur’an 3:137 be posted there as a teaching tool.
#Shameful A life sized statue of God Buddha was discovered in a construction site in Takhtbhai,Pakistan.
However,b4 the Archaeology dept was informed about it, contractor had already broken it into pieces on suggestion of local Molvi. After Carbon dating,it is found 1800 yrs old. pic.twitter.com/mJK0mtbqzR— BJP Gilgit-Baltistan (Official) (@BJP4GB) July 18, 2020
“Ancient Buddha statue discovered in Pak, destroyed by construction workers for being ‘unIslamic,'” by Geeta Mohan, India Today, July 18, 2020:
An ancient Buddha statue, which was found in Pakistan’s Takht Bahi area in Mardan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while digging the foundation of a house, was vandalised by local construction workers on Saturday as they considered the relic to be “unIslamic”.
Workers who were digging the foundation of a house discovered the ancient relic said to be from the Gandhara civilisation. Calling the idol “unIslamic”, the men smashed the statue into pieces.
A video of the incident that has gone viral on social media shows the construction workers destroying the idol using a sledgehammer and expressing their resentment towards it…
Pakistani media has reported that four people involved in vandalising the statue have been arrested.