The Supreme Council for Fatwa has ruled against the construction and placement of monuments depicting animals, saying such practices are forbidden in Islam.
In a fatwa issued under the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, the council said statues, monuments and similar objects representing living beings are not religiously permissible.
The ruling refers to events during the conquest of Mecca, when Prophet Mohamed ordered his Companions to destroy idols inside the Kaaba. The fatwa also cites a narration in which the Prophet instructed Ali ibn Abi Talib to remove the features of every idol and to level raised graves.
The council referred to hadiths stating that image makers of living beings face the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection. Based on these narrations, the council said Islamic scholars share a consensus on the prohibition of making and displaying idols.
The statement said angels of mercy do not enter places where such objects exist. It also said such objects lead to shirk, the act of associating partners with Allah.
The council said earlier communities began idol worship when people attached religious significance to objects created in memory of righteous individuals. Over time, those objects became linked to acts of worship.
The fatwa urged Muslims to avoid statues and similar representations and to focus on seeking the pleasure of Allah.
Islamic jurisprudence places strong emphasis on monotheism. Many scholars discourage physical representations of living beings in religious and public spaces due to their historical link to idol worship.