What is the ruling on breaking idols and removing statues, whether they are for decoration or for worship?

Question:
Many questions have come in asking about the ruling on breaking idols and removing statues, and whether it is obligatory for a Muslim to break any idol he has, whether it is for decoration or for worship? And is there a difference between an idol intended for worship, or an idol that is hoped for or thought to be worshipped?

Answer:
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the defacing of images. He said to 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Do not leave any image without defacing it." Idols are among the greatest and most dangerous of images, and destroying them, ruining them, and eliminating them is obligatory in the religion of Islam for whoever is able to do so, for whoever is able to do so, and they are the people of authority. As for the images in your house and the statues in your house, you are responsible for them; no one comes after you to destroy what is in your house. It is obligatory for you to remove from your house the images and three-dimensional figures of living beings, and the hanging images. Deface the images in your house. As for the general case in the town, or in the region, or in the Kingdom, smashing these things is the responsibility of the rulers, as they have the ability to do so. As for individuals, they cannot do it because they do not have authority over them. So the obligatory thing is the smashing of idols and the defacing of images, even if they are not worshipped, because the fact that they are images in itself, the fact that they are images and statues, requires the statues [to be destroyed]. If they are worshipped, the matter is more severe. But this is only for the one who has authority, either specific authority, which is his authority over his house, or general authority, which is those rulers who are able to destroy these statues and these images.