Timbuktu is listed among UNESCO World Heritage sites and hosts ancient shrines of Islamic saints worshipped by Sufi Muslims. Ansar Dine, a grouping of Islamic fundamentalists linked to Al-Qaeda believes saint worshipping to be idolatry. The group members already ruined some ancient mausolea in Timbuktu.

The UN Security Council condemned the destruction of the tombs and warned that it could constitute a war crime. It means that a case could be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Hague.

On July 15, the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda dubbed the destruction of Timbuktu monuments a war crime. Timbuktu is also known as the "City of 333 saints". Ideology of Ansar Dine movement prohibits saint worship considering this idolatrous. Meanwhile, for Muslims following traditional forms of Islam, particularly the Sufis, this kind of veneration is a common practice.

Vandalism of an Islamic grouping is no surprise. Coming to power in Afghanistan, the Taliban destroyed the huge Bamiyan Buddha statues. Recently an absurd idea of demolishing the pagan pyramids was voiced in Egypt...

It should be noted that destruction of architectural monuments that do not fit in the pattern of any religion is not merely Islamic feature. First Christians were similarly zealous in exterminating everything related to heathen beliefs.

Nowadays, however, such actions are causing bewilderment, at best, and rejection of Islam as global religion supposed to spread peace and light, at worst. The trouble of various groupings is that lacking education and breadth of mind, they have no idea of the whole world devoid of division into followers and opponents of Allah. The Talibs who never go beyond Pakistani madrasah are interpreting Koran in their own way, dooming to extermination anything beyond their understanding. Same is the case with destruction of the ancient Armenian cemetery in Old Jugha.

Devastation of universal cultural values one again proved total incompetency of both UN and UNESCO, which, as always, limited themselves to mere “condemnation” after the memorials were ruined. Here the share of responsibility of the international organizations arises; in fact, there is none. Annually updated UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage lists, architectural and cult constructions, the pride of the mankind are nothing but a mere paper for radical Islamists who attract global attention by ruining the monuments. They just aim to intimidate the whole world and make people take them into account. Indeed, the Islamists are on the right track to achieve their goal.

Anyway, Islam is losing its authority globally. Or maybe just the contrary, our inverse world presents the destructive power as the democracy, and if one person justifies actions of the Islamists, the land inhabited by Allah supporters will soon have nothing left but the mosques…