A New Wave of Iconoclasm? The Destruction of Sacred Places in the Contemporary Islamic world

During the past decade, the Islamic world has been the theater for destroying several holy places. At first glance, the destruction would lead us to link them to an iconoclastic nature considered inherent to Islam, but what is the actual nature of the destruction? This article argues that the destruction cannot be associated with iconoclastic acts occurring during the very first phase of Islam—often used as motivation by the groups undertaking these actions. The destruction hides other theological and political motivations originating from Islamic Reformation thought. Indeed, the primary reason seems to be the attempt formulated by some reformist movements, in the context of Islamic societies, to impose themselves not only from the point of view of the hegemony of the religious discourse but also to impress their principles as far as possible into religious landscapes of Islamic countries where they succeeded in assuming political control. Lastly, this attempt presents famous antecedents in the contemporary history of the Islamic world.