‘Derogatory’ Champollion statue in Paris angers Egyptians

H/T Magic Martin

Ahram Online:

Statue of Jean François Champollion, who deciphered hieroglyphics, provokes criticism 135 years after it was placed in Collège de France in Paris

Nevine El-Aref , Tuesday 26 Feb 2013
Champollion

Champollion

A statue in Paris of Jean François Champollion, the French archaeologist who deciphered hieroglyphics, has been condemned as “derogatory” and “shameful” by Egyptian Egyptologists.

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi carved the marble statue depicting Champollion standing with his left foot on a pharaonic head in 1875.

It was put on display in the Parc Egyptian created by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette for the Universal Exhibition of 1877.

It was originally intended to be transported to Figeac, the birthplace of Champollion, but the project did not find sufficient support and it remained in Paris. In 1878, the statue was placed in its current location in the courtyard of the Collège de France.

Click to continue:

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

8 Replies to “‘Derogatory’ Champollion statue in Paris angers Egyptians”

  1. Salafists fail to stop ‘Harlem Shake’ in Tunisia

    Dozens of Tunisian Salafists fail to stop a ‘Harlem Shake’ dance at a school in the El Khadra neighborhood, as students shouted ‘Get out, get out’

    Salafist Muslims tried to prevent the filming of current Internet craze the “Harlem Shake” at a Tunis school on Wednesday, but were driven off after coming to blows with students, an AFP correspondent said.

    When the dozen or so ultra-conservative Muslims, some of them women in veils, showed up at the Bourguiba Language Institute in the El Khadra neighbourhood, a Salafist bastion, students shouted “Get out, get out!”

    One of the Salafists, wearing military gear and carrying a Molotov cocktail he never used, shouted “Our brothers in Palestine are being killed by Israelis, and you are dancing.”

    The Islamists eventually withdrew, and the students were able to film their production.

    On Monday, Education Minister Abdellatif Abid said a probe had been ordered into a staging two days earlier of a “Harlem Shake” by students in a Tunis suburb.

    He said there could be expulsions of students or sacking of educational staff who were behind the staging of the dance.

    In response, the ministry’s website was hacked and a call went out on social media for the staging of a mega Harlem Shake in front of the ministry on Friday.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/65725/World/Region/Salafists-fail-to-stop-Harlem-Shake-in-Tunisia.aspx

  2. Egyptian court orders destruction of Gaza tunnels

    An Egyptian court ordered authorities Tuesday to destroy tunnels between the country and Gaza — the latest sign of a crackdown on underground smuggling networks.

    It’s unclear what Egyptian authorities will do to comply with the court’s decision, but it appears to fall in line with a recent push to put a stop to the tunnels.

    Egyptian security forces began sending sewage through the tunnels earlier this month as part of a new campaign to flood them, two senior intelligence sources said.

    The sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said security forces were using the new tactic as part of a stepped-up effort to stop smuggling.

    There are hundreds of underground tunnels — big and small — in the vast Sinai Desert area.

    http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/26/world/meast/egypt-gaza-tunnels/

  3. Egypt confiscates missiles smuggled from Libya

    An Egyptian security official says authorities have confiscated two pick-up trucks carrying 60 anti-tank missiles smuggled across the border from Libya.

    The official says two truck drivers were arrested and the weapons seized just south of Cairo on Wednesday morning.

    The two were heading from Marsa Matrouh, 430 kilometers (270 miles) northwest of the capital on the Mediterranean Coast, to the largely lawless Sinai Peninsula where weapons are regularly smuggled to Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip through underground tunnels.

    The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

    Lawlessness has been rife in Sinai since the ouster of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Weapons have flowed from Libya into the peninsula, where Islamist militants have grown in strength.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/65730/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-confiscates-missiles-smuggled-from-Libya.aspx