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ISNA President Asks Taliban Not To Destroy Statues
WASHINGTON, March 7 (IslamOnline) - The Islamic Society of North America's (ISNA) president, Muzammil H. Siddiqi, issued a statement Wednesday requesting the
Taliban regime in Afghanistan not to destroy ancient Buddhist statues in the country.
ISNA is an umbrella organization that provides the forum for the unification of the various and numerous Islamic and Muslim organizations within the United States.
Its annual convention is the largest gathering of Muslims in the United States, with every major Islamic organization in the U.S. attending the event. Last year, well over 30,000 Muslims attended their convention held in the suburbs of Chicago.
Siddiqi's official statement follows below:
Safety of Buddhist Statues in Afghanistan
Statement by Muzammil H. Siddiqi, President of ISNA
We ask the Taliban government of Afghanistan to stop the destruction of Buddhist statues and relics in their country. Their decision is un-Islamic and very dangerous. It will give a very bad name to Islam and will create hate against their people among the nations of the world. It may also create intolerance and hate crimes against Muslims in Buddhist and other non-Muslim countries.
Afghans have been Muslims for more than one thousand years. These statues existed in Afghanistan long before Afghans became Muslims. No Afghan Muslim government in the past tried to destroy them. When the Caliph 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) captured Jerusalem, he visited several churches in that city. Those churches were full of images and statues. He did not order the destruction of any images or statues.
Muslims are supposed to give the message of Allah to humanity, so that humanity will in turn renounce idolatry, but they are not supposed to force people to accept Islam or to destroy other people's sacred symbols and places of worship. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) preached the message of God to the people of Makkah, and when they accepted Islam he then asked them to clean the Ka'bah from idols because it was originally built for the worship of one God. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never told Muslims to destroy other people's places of worship or their symbols.
The statues in Afghanistan are its historic treasures. They are very useful for Afghans and others to know about Afghanistan's past history and its transformation into a Muslim community that recognized Tawhid and worshiped only one God. Islam also teaches respect of other religions' holy places and sacred symbols. Past generations and governments of Afghanistan did not destroy these images and yet Islam flourished in Afghanistan. In many other countries where Muslims are a majority, and have ruled those lands for centuries, they did not destroy the religious symbols of other people. Such images and symbols of the past still exist in almost all Muslim countries.
The Taliban should not have any fear that their people will worship those statues. Afghans have been very staunch believers in Tawhid for centuries despite the presence of these statues. The Taliban should focus on the Islamic education of their people and give them good examples of Islamic kindness, mercy, respect of human rights and care for men, women and children. These positive measures will strengthen the faith of the Afghan people in Islam much more then the negative methods of suppression or destruction.
We hope that the Taliban Government of Afghanistan will reconsider its decision and will give full assurance to the world Buddhist community, and others, about the safety of these historic relics of the past.
The world community is rightly outraged on the destruction of these statues and relics. However, it is a shame to see that there is not much concern about the death and starvation of millions of human beings in Afghanistan and Iraq due to unjust sanctions, not to mention the death, torture, economic blockade and political oppression against Palestinians by the Israelis. All religions teach that the life of a human being is much more important then any relic. We should have more concern for human life and their well-being.
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