Who would have guess this Muslim would be in denial of the ancient Jews presence in Middle East?????
Who would have guess this Muslim would be in denial of the ancient Jews presence in Middle East?????
Who would have guess this Muslim would be in denial of the ancient Jews presence in Middle East?????
Zahi Hawass is a pretty mixed-bag. He's charming and energetic, and has done a lot to revitalize world-wide interest in the study of Egyptian antiquities. On the other hand, he can be capriciously and ideologically repressive when dealing with anything that threatens to challenge the accepted theories of orthodox Egyptology.
His shameful treatment of Rudolf Gantenbrink and his "Upuaut" robot team in the exploration of the mysterious "air shafts" of the Queen's Chamber of the Great Pyramid was the turning point for me where I transitioned from enthusiastic support of Hawass to watchful skepticism.
With regard to this particular issue, I don't know if his obstructionism is derived from his personal "Muslim" beliefs, but I suspect not. He has always struck me as being a pretty secular academician with a real passion for his field of study. He's also a smart political animal, however, who has to avoid the pitfalls of serving in a rabidly repressive Muslim Egyptian government. His obstructionism in this case may be due as much to the necessities for his own political survival as to any personal religious beliefs.