Prof. Mostafa Abdul Karim, Fatwa Secretary In Dar al-Iftaa, said that the thought of intolerant groups does not express the tolerance of Islam; Islam respects all humanitarian civilizations and considers antiquities as humanitarian heritage. He added that Islam did not destroy any statue or ant ancient temple in any country that Islam entered, including Egypt, which Amr Ibn Al-Aas conquered in the year 20 AH during the era of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. Those noble companions, who were more committed to Islam, never demolished the Pharaonic antiquities or even incited that. The antiquities at that time were a witness to the strength of the ancient Egyptians and their civilization, which is the most powerful civilization in the world.
This came at the lecture of “Antiquities Are not Idols” within the activities of the course of correcting concepts held by the World Organization for Al-Azhar Graduates, at its headquarters in Cairo, for international students of different nationalities.
In response to the fact that the Prophet (PBUH) demolished the idols at the conquest of Makkah, that was because the idols were in the Kaabah and worshiped instead of Allah.  

Furthermore, Prof. Abdul-Karim added that every Muslim worships Allah and is firmly rooted in his heart and belief that these statues represent ancient civilizations and remind us of the extent of progress in which they lived. Thus, the intolerant groups’ understanding of antiquities is insufficient and does not express a true knowledge of the teachings of the true Sharia.
Moreover, Prof.  Mostafa Abdul Karim clarified that the antiquities that we find underground do not follow the rule of ore mentioned in jurisprudence, the matter has changed by the rule of the guardian and the laws regulating that.