Prometheus
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BBC News - Senegal to inaugurate controversial $27m monument
Senegal is set to inaugurate a massive $27m monument - higher than the Statue of Liberty - that has drawn huge criticism over its cost and symbolism.
The 49m (160ft) Monument of African Renaissance will be unveiled in Dakar as the highlight of the nation's 50th anniversary of independence.
Some scholars have called its scantily-clad figures un-Islamic while others have condemned the huge cost.
Supporters say it represents Africa's rise from "intolerance and racism".
The bronze statue, the brainchild of President Abdoulaye Wade, depicts three figures - a man holding a woman behind him and a child aloft, pointing out to sea.
'Monument of shame'
About 30 heads of state are set to attend the inauguration on Saturday, along with the US civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson.
However, some Muslim scholars have called the monument idolatrous.
On the eve of the celebrations, the Reuters news agency quoted a leading imam, Massamba Diop, as telling worshippers at a mosque in the capital: "We have issued a fatwa urging Senegal's imams this Friday to read the holy Koran in the mosques simply to ask Allah to preserve us from the punishment this monument of shame risks bringing on Senegal."
An opposition march called for Saturday to protest against "all the failures of Wade's regime, the least of which is this horrible statue" has been banned by the authorities.
The statue, built by North Korean workers, has been mired in controversy from the outset.
Some were angered by Mr Wade's proposal that he would personally take 35% of the revenue it generated as it was his idea.
He also had to apologise to Senegal's Christian minority after comparing the statue to Jesus Christ.
Its architect also said he had received complaints about the woman's naked legs.
However, its supporters stood by the project.
Senator Ahmed Bachir Kounta told Reuters: "Every architectural work sparks controversies - look at the Eiffel Tower in Paris."
Senegal is set to inaugurate a massive $27m monument - higher than the Statue of Liberty - that has drawn huge criticism over its cost and symbolism.
The 49m (160ft) Monument of African Renaissance will be unveiled in Dakar as the highlight of the nation's 50th anniversary of independence.
Some scholars have called its scantily-clad figures un-Islamic while others have condemned the huge cost.
Supporters say it represents Africa's rise from "intolerance and racism".
The bronze statue, the brainchild of President Abdoulaye Wade, depicts three figures - a man holding a woman behind him and a child aloft, pointing out to sea.
'Monument of shame'
About 30 heads of state are set to attend the inauguration on Saturday, along with the US civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson.
However, some Muslim scholars have called the monument idolatrous.
On the eve of the celebrations, the Reuters news agency quoted a leading imam, Massamba Diop, as telling worshippers at a mosque in the capital: "We have issued a fatwa urging Senegal's imams this Friday to read the holy Koran in the mosques simply to ask Allah to preserve us from the punishment this monument of shame risks bringing on Senegal."
An opposition march called for Saturday to protest against "all the failures of Wade's regime, the least of which is this horrible statue" has been banned by the authorities.
The statue, built by North Korean workers, has been mired in controversy from the outset.
Some were angered by Mr Wade's proposal that he would personally take 35% of the revenue it generated as it was his idea.
He also had to apologise to Senegal's Christian minority after comparing the statue to Jesus Christ.
Its architect also said he had received complaints about the woman's naked legs.
However, its supporters stood by the project.
Senator Ahmed Bachir Kounta told Reuters: "Every architectural work sparks controversies - look at the Eiffel Tower in Paris."
