A leading Muslim scholar has lamented the loss of Notre Dame Cathedral which was destroyed completely in a fire on Monday, April 15, in a tragic loss to a historical place.
“The most iconic church in France, the Notre Dame Cathedral, has almost completely been damaged as a result of what appears to be an accidental and tragic fire,” Sheikh Yasin Qadhi wrote on Facebook.
“As Muslims, we express our grief at the loss of a venerated place of worship that has tragically been destroyed, and even more so in a land where faith in God is itself becoming scarce.”
A massive blaze at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris devastated large parts of the 850-year-old church on Monday evening.
Around 400 firefighters were deployed to the scene but were delayed slightly by rush hour traffic.
It is unclear how the fire, which spread very quickly across the roof and over a section of around 1,000 square meters (10,763 square feet), began.
The Cathedral is part of the World Heritage site of “Paris, Banks of the Seine” inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991.
The site includes bridges, quays and the banks of the River Seine, along the historical part of its course, between the Sully and Iéna bridges, the Ile de la Cité and the Ile St Louis.
The cathedral destruction in the fire was mourned by world leaders.