I must confess that I wasn't sure which section to put this in but I hope I haven't trodden on any toes.
Islamic militants set fire to sacred tombs


I know that icon bashing has been going on for millennia - Egypt to the above, via Hal VIII and Oliver Cromwell - but was it usually accepted or condemned, as I would do in this instance?

Difficult to condemn if a person lives in fear of reprisals Bren. But this latest occurance is no different from the Dissolution of the Monestaries, only the happenings in Mali is on a much smaller scale as it is not the government of Mali re-writing the history. Did the majority of the English population privately disapprove of the destruction and dismantiling of hundreds of years of belief, tradition and history, but were too afraid to speak out?

I'd say yes, but we'll never know for sure as we only have the recordings of those responsible.

Quote :

I know that icon bashing has been going on for millennia - Egypt to the above, via Hal VIII and Oliver Cromwell - but was it usually accepted or condemned, as I would do in this instance?

I'd suggest that it was usually resented, if not overtly condemned for fear of reprisal, by the majority of the population who had grown up with the these traditional, if not always canonically authorised, practices and had a deep emotional attachment to many of them.
In the case of Islam, unlike the Catholic Church which encouraged the veneration of saints and relics, the mainstream Islams have always been at best ambivalent and often hostile towards the kind of reverence towards saints, especially the marabouts of the Maghreb, which not only verged on idolatry but were often synchretic and could include figures revered in Christianity and pagan beliefs. The tombs of these saints could acquire considerable political significance on a local level when they became associated with, and controlled by, a particular tribal group and the festivals held there were manifestations of tribal identity and power, especially important in a nomadic society.

Whose sacred tombs? Sufis bashing down shia tombs is possible where intense veneration is observed but not worship - used much as a cathedral chantry was with silent wishful thinking about what the revered one might do for them. Sunnis have non of this and rely on prayer - and possibly the sword. The strife with Islam is far greater threat than is understood in the west.

I am though reminded of my chairman coming ruffled to a meeting and cursing his driver no end. Apparently , as they had approached a roundabout there was a mob exchaning hurled stones with force at another on the opposite kerb - this was sectarian and not religious. The driver hooted. And having decided that sahibs are above that sort of thing he would drive through. So both parties lobbed rocks at them in a brief truce of shared resentment. The car windows were smashed on both side and sahib's BMW dented and sahib's goodwill staunched for the day.There's a moral in there somewhere.

In the stricter sections of Islam idolatory of any kind is banned. This includes statues and figures on tombs etc as they are considered blasphemous. It is also a good way of showing the local population who is boss.