How Egypt is trying to stop looting at ancient mosques

Raghead thieves are even stealing from their own mosque. In a bid to preserve old mosques and protect them from being looted, the Standing Committee of Islamic and Coptic Monuments, affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities, decided Jan. 4 to move old mosque artifacts to the ministry's warehouses. Smaller items, such as niches, carpets and chairs, are taking priority as they are easier to steal (Khalid Hassan How Egypt is trying to stop looting at ancient mosques
January 20, 2017).  Apparently a number of years ago,  an agreement was concluded between the Ministry of Antiquities and the Ministry of Endowments to entrust security companies associated with the armed forces with the task of guarding and protecting old mosques against theft and trespassing. The Ministry of Endowments did not implement the agreement and thefts continued.

Islamic monuments in Egypt are neglected and have been left vulnerable to robbers over the past years due to the conflict in the tasks and functions between the Ministry of Antiquities and the Ministry of Endowments. On Jan. 2, Anani called on Minister of Religious Endowments Muhammad Mukhtar to find a solution to the conflict between the two ministries. On Dec. 14, 2015, then-Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh el-Damaty announced the theft of three niches from the storehouse of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, located in the al-Fustat area in old Cairo. The thieves managed to replace the niches in the museum with fake ones without the ministry noticing until after they were offered for sale abroad. One of the niches that belonged to Sultan Barquq was sold in an auction in London, while the two other niches that belonged to Sultan Hassan and Emir Selehdar were sold in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The ministry did not officially announce the recovery of these pieces. 

Probably the objects are safer in collections abroad than exposed to the risk of theft by greedy locals, probably aided by corrupt officials associated with the military dictatorship. Who knows how long ot will be before some of those smallportable items from government stores will start appearing on the western market? Not very long, in all probability.