NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 5, 2001: The tradition of “but shikani” (idol or statue-breaking) practiced by Arab marauders in their quest to rule the Indian subcontinent, was done on the plea that idol or religious object worshipping was un-Islamic. One thousand years later, this intolerance has resurfaced, justifying the destruction of all statues of the Buddha in Afghanistan. Historian and expert on the Islamic period Satish Chandra, says under Islamic law, “old or dead monuments were not to be destroyed.” An embarrassed Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the highest platform of the Muslim world, urged the Taliban on Saturday to abandon its decision to destroy the country’s pre-Islamic statues.
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