Bamiyan, Afghanistan:

Located in central Afghanistan, Bamiyan was once one of the major Buddhist centers along

the Silk road, the ancient trade route between Asia and Europe. The mixture of Hellenic and

Buddhist traditions plays a special role in the Gandhara artistic style, the ancient region once

located where today the border runs between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

There were originally six buddha figures in Bamiyan Valley, three large and three small

ones, some of them inside the caves. The bid 55-meter tall buddha statue was situated to the

west, a seated 8-meter buddha was at the center of the complex and a 38-meter tall buddha statue

stood at the eastern side. This statue dated from the 4-5th century A.D. it was originally painted

blue and its face was decorated with gold leaf.

Source: en.qantara.de

The reclining buddha figure that was apparently once built here is only mentioned only in the

travel journals of the Chinese monk Xuanzang. No trace of it has been found. It was supposedly

over 300 meters long. Zemaryalai Tarzi an internationally renowned Afghan archaeologist has
been searching for it for years with his French team. The reclining buddha of Bamiyan, should it

ever be found, would be the biggest buddha statue of all time and a major sensation.

Destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas:

In march, 2001, Taliban militants dynamited the buddha statues of Bamiyan on the orders of

Mullah Omar, leader of Taliban and at that time leader of Afghanistan. However, the Taliban

were not the first ones to vandalize this cultural site it fell victim to the destruction in the 17th

century. People stole the jewellery adorning the statues. We can assume that religious motives

were fueled here by economic greed.

The site remained a tourist attraction until the Soviet occupation. During the war the caves

were used as munitions arsenal as the valley was strategically important. Later it was equipped

with American weapons, engaged in battles here.

However, the destruction of Bamiyan buddhas by Taliban lead to a worldwide wave of

horror and indignation. Taliban destroyed the statues using dynamite, artillery rockets and anti-

aircraft guns.
 This act of the Taliban government was classified as Iconoclasm. Iconoclasm means the

deliberate destruction of religious icons and other images and monuments. This could be

triggered by religious and political motives. The people who engage in such activities or support

iconoclasm are called Iconoclasts. Taliban started their destruction after declaring them idols and

declared not in line with the teachings of Islam.

The crime against culture was committed in the name of religion or rather in the name of

religious interpretations that is both questionable and controversial. By ordering the destruction

of Afghan heritage in the name of his faith, Mullah Omar claimed to know more about the faith

than all the generations of Muslims down the last 15 centuries, all the Muslim conquerors and

leaders who spared Carthage, Abu Simb or Taxil, even more than Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H)

who chose to preserve the architecture of Kaaba at Mecca.

The reason and motive behind the destruction of these sites was to propagate the fact that they

have their hegemony, strength, power well established in the region and anyone or anything that

counters their ideology could be destroyed because they have the power to do so. It was the

propagation of their Islamic Ideology whether it matched the actual teachings of Islam or not. It

was not mere stones that were destroyed. It was an attempt to wipe out a history, a culture,

memory of the classical past. It was the propagation of the Taliban supremacy in the country

where everything was in their control. This was an attempt to make sure that everyone knows

that who runs the country now and whose ideology would be enacted in the concerned society. It

was the declaration of few messages that were sent out loud and clear that Islamic ideology does

not allow sculptures (idols), if one would not agree with them they will forcefully make them

acknowledge it and everyone would have to agree with their ideology if not they have other

means to make sure that everyone follows the rules set by them.
 This act lead to greater condemnation and isolation of the Taliban by the International

community. In January, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on the Taliban.

This caused the damage to all Muslims and Islamic ideology was stained and this confusion still

prevails and Muslims and Islamic Ideology are still misunderstood by the world.

Bamiyan Statues after Destruction:

A few countries and number of prominent organizations already started making plans to

rebuild statues shortly after their destruction. Furthermore, since March 2004 a team of restorers

from the German division of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS),

financed by the German Foreign Office, has been working on recovering and documenting the

stone fragments.

However, last year UNESCO announced that it was no longer considering reconstruction.

Instead they are working with the teams from Japan and Italy to secure the cracking cliff face

and keep the cliffs and any of the remaining wall paintings that once covered the caves and

niches intact. Yet, ICOMOS are still pushing for the buddha to be re-built. Many of the sources

argue that the huge sums would involve in its restoration it would be better if that money would

be spent on humanitarian aid which is much required in war-stricken Afghanistan.

Sources:

En.qantara.de

Telegraph.co.uk

Bbc.com

Casebook.icrc.org