Whats interesting and really sad is how this playing out in mecca. Now the Saudis as we know are guardians of the Holy sites there. But the wing of Islam there is so Iconclast there destroying major historical buildings and artifacts relating to the prophet himself. Thats the reason you see so many modern buildings around there. The view point is tear it down it promotes idolatry. This of course coincides nicely with the fact that new building are reconstructed using Royal Family Construction companies
Remember the Taliban blowing up the ancient Buddhas???
Why the Taliban are destroying Buddhas
By W.L. Rathje, Discover Archaeology Magazine
In the Diamond Sutra, the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni (whose lifetime crossed the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.), says to a disciple: "Thousands of lifetimes ago when my body was cut into pieces by King Kalinga, I was not caught in the idea of a separate self or life span. If, at that time, I had been caught up in any such idea, I would have felt anger and ill-will against the king." Now, that's Buddhist tolerance!
In Afghanistan recently, supreme Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar issued an edict against un-Islamic graven images, which means all idolatrous images of humans and animals. As a result, the Taliban are destroying all ancient sculptures. Explosives, tanks, and anti-aircraft weapons blew apart two colossal images of the Buddha in Bamiyan Province, 230 kilometers (150 miles) from the capital of Kabul.