Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany headed on Monday an
inspection tour of the mausoleums of King Fouad and Princess Feria at central
Cairo's Al-Refai mosque, following the robbery on Sunday of six Islamic lamps
that decorated the sites.
Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
During the inspection, El-Enany said that the Ministry of Antiquities
would be collaborating closely with the Ministry of Religious Endowments to
ensure the highest level of protection for artifacts in Egypt's historical
mosques.
El-Enany told Ahram Online that the mausoleums where the lamps were
stolen are not used for prayers and are home to a number of historical
artifacts. He said they should therefore be managed by the Ministry of
Antiquities rather than the religious endowments ministry.
The Prosecutor-General's office is currently investigating the theft and
questioning employees from the ministries of antiquities and religious
endowments.
Alsaeid Helmy, head of Islamic and Coptic Antiquities at the ministry,
said that a committee assigned Sunday to conduct an inventory of the mosque's
artifacts has begun its work.
Helmy added that one of the stolen lamps has been replaced with a
replica until the real ones can be recovered.
The stolen lamps date to 1911 (1328 Hegira), and are made of thick glass
decorated with a Quranic verse from the Surah An-Nur written in Mameluke raised
script.
The verse says: “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The
example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp.”
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