Reminds me of the Taliban's
destruction of the centuries-old Buddhas in Afghanistan. In that case, though, a fatwah by Mullah Omar called the statues "the gods of the infidels." In the case of Timbuktu, the documents stored in the library were Islamic manuscripts. Perhaps there is a Sunni/Shia aspect to this? The library itself was built only recently by the South Africans. Perhaps that made it illegitimate in the eyes of the Malian Islamists? The linked Reuters article includes this comment:
Quote:
Marie Rodet, an African history lecturer at Britain's School of Oriental and African Studies, said Timbuktu held one of the greatest libraries of Islamic manuscripts in the world.
"It's pure retaliation. They (the Islamist militant rebels) knew they were losing the battle and they hit where it really hurts," Rodet told Reuters. "These people are not interested in any intellectual debate. They are anti-intellectual."
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Sounds like spite may have played a role as well as anything having to do with politics or religion.