Prophet Mohamed prohibited the worshipping of idols in the form of statues. This is why in modern times sculptures have been associated with idolatry. But in the view of enlightened men of religion, such as renowned Egyptian Sheikhs Mohamed Abdou and Abdul-Halim Mahmoud, there's nothing wrong with sculptures that haven't been made to be worshipped. Scholars like Sheikh Mohamed el-Ghazali issued fatwas (religious edicts) in defence of fine arts, arguing that beauty contributes to the development of mankind's intellect, spirit and humanity. Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayyeb recently issued an edict allowing people to sculpt and display statues. He has also entrusted members of the Islamic Research Centre (IRC), an influential arm of Al-Azhar, to study Islam's attitude to fine arts of different kinds, stressing that, according to prominent Muslim scholars, it's time to end Islam's hostility to art and creativity. Islam and the Fine Arts, a book written by Mohamed Emara of the IRC, will be one the channels that Al-Azhar will resort to in its research into Islam's position on arts such as painting, sculpture, music and singing. In his book, Emara refers to what the most prominent scholars have had to say about this. Sheikh Abdul-Mo'ti Bayoumi, another member of the IRC, is happy with el-Tayyeb's fatwa as long as the statues aren't sculpted for the purposes of worshipping, as he told Al-Massa'iya Arabic language newspaper. Amr Ibn Al-Aas brought Islam to Egypt with 4,000 companions. He didn't break the statues they found because they were not used for worshipping. They were different from the idols broken by Prophet Mohamed in Mecca. In Egypt, statues of famous persons are found in the streets and squares, reminding the Egpytians of what these people have done for the country; no-one has the slightest intention of worshipping them. In modern times, there have been many fatwas forbidding drawings or paintings of the prophets and companions. Islamic art is, therefore, restricted to Islamic decoration, manuscripts and creative calligraphy.
