Preservation of Cultural Heritage

PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE 4. The Quran describes one quality of the believer as al-sai’h (9:112), meaning travelling across the earth and, by seeing the remains and dwellings left behind by earlier nations, taking lessons from them (28:58). Repeatedly, the Quran states: Say, “Travel about the land and see what was the end of the deniers.” (6:11) Accordingly, Islam requires that historical remains be preserved in their original form so that those who see them may learn lessons from them. If historical remains are not preserved, the educational objective of Islamic travel will be lost. 5. Culture is always the heritage of a group or a community. Every community has the absolute right to protect its culture. In matters of culture, it will not be judged whether it is in accordance with Islam or against it. Whenever a community regards something as its culture and wishes to preserve it, this right will be granted to it. Just as this right is recognized in secularism, it is equally recognized in Islam. An example of this can be seen during the caliphate of the second caliph, ‘Umar al-Faruq. When Jerusalem (Aelia) was conquered, ‘Umar himself traveled from Madinah to Jerusalem. At that time, the agreement concluded between the Islamic Caliphate and the Christian