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Iconoclasm: Between Religion And Politics
By Dina Rashed
21/03/2001
The recent demolition of the two gigantic statues of Buddha in the Bamiyan valley in Afghanistan
has spurred a wave of resentment and fear within Muslim countries and Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries. Whether out of their own conviction in opposing the destruction of religious symbols of other faiths or because of fear of retaliation against Muslim minorities all over the world, the reaction of Muslims in denouncing the ruling Taliban's decision to dismantle these old pieces of human history was almost united.
Nevertheless, the smashing of the two statues represents nothing new; history books have recorded several precedents of leaders of various faiths and ideologies engaging in the smashing of images, icons, and figures belonging to other groups. This practice is known as iconoclasm.
During the 7th and 8th centuries, the Orthodox Eastern Church witnessed the destruction of sacred images and icons - especially under the reign of Emperor Leo III, the Isaurian, when reformers feared that such visual representation would lead to pagan idol worship. Under an imperial decree, icons were prohibited in 730 and those who worshiped them were persecuted.
For almost a century, imperial decrees fluctuated between the restoration and prohibition of religious images under Constantine Copronyms, Leo the Armenian, Theophilus and other Byzantine emperors (known as the Iconoclast emperors) until they were finally restored in 843.
England also witnessed similar practices during the period known as the English reformation, starting with the reign of Henry VIII who used iconoclasm as part of his war against the monasteries. According to British historian Margaret Aston, the King's chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell, was the one behind the attack on the religious figures.
Later, during the mid 1600s, Puritans opposing the Catholic faith destroyed figures of angels with wings, statues of St. Peter, and almost 245 churches in Cambridge and Suffolk. The destruction of these religious symbols and places of worship, based on commandments of the Old Testament that said, "Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image or any likeness," and "Thou shall not bow down to them," took place right in front of those who believed in their sacredness.
Writings of humanist scholar Erasmus about a similar practice in Basel, Switzerland in 1528 indicated that even church walls were wiped to remove any trace of frescoes, "Not a statue has been left, in the churches… or the monasteries. Everything which would burn has been set on fire; everything else hacked into little pieces," he wrote.
Images and statues, whether religious or not, happen to be symbols that are often the object of violence in times of conflict and turbulence. During modern history, the Cultural Revolution of China was accompanied by a massive attack on the religious symbols of all religions, mainly those of the Islamic and Buddhist faiths. To the leaders of the Revolution, they symbolized "old" thinking and habits that were dysfunctional and inhibited the nation's progress.
In Eastern Europe, when the practice of religious faiths was publicly banned, Communism became the new religion (particularly following World War II) when its new ideologies were imposed on the people. After the fall of the Soviet Empire in the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, the angry masses and their leaders led a secular movement of iconoclasm in Eastern European cities against the symbols and statues of Russian leaders like Stalin and Lenin. They were protesting more than half a century of oppressive rule and human rights abuse that had left a void in their souls and an unfulfilled need for spiritual belief and practices.
By contrast, a look at early Islamic history and the annexation of the Middle East and Mediterranean regions that were not yet Arab into the Islamic empire provides an excellent example of how new beliefs and practices can exercise tolerance and respect for symbols from the past.
At the time, most of the regions of Mediterranean North Africa and East Asia were under Roman-Byzantine rule and adhering to Christian beliefs. Although the Islamic empire was still young; the might of the belief of Muslim conquerors allowed them to swiftly and self-assuredly gather these regions under Islamic rule, allowing their citizens more religious tolerance than under their predecessors.
The conquest of Egypt, the most monumental country in the whole world at that time, in 641 remains a great chapter in Islamic history. During the reign of the great Caliph Omar Bin Al Khattab, when it became annexed to the young empire, the Muslims showed total respect for the Egyptian citizens who were mainly Christian Copts.
Despite the conversion of the majority of Egyptians from Christianity to Islam, Christian monuments were fully restored and respected by the Egyptian governor, Amr Bin Al A'as. Even ancient symbols of the pagan idol religions practiced by Egyptian pharaohs that were no longer being worshipped were left untouched.
The fact that Egypt was one of the earliest regions to become a part of the Islamic empire, and that concurrent Islamic rulers up to the present time have not tampered with her historic pharaonic heritage bears witness that Islam has never been threatened by pagan symbols of the past, recognizing them as good only for anthropological purposes.
Islamic history is filled with numerous examples of tolerance to non-Muslims and their symbols. The emperors of Islamic Afghanistan's history itself have shown respect for non-Muslim faiths. During the 16th century, the rule of the Mogul emperor Akbar, whose empire extended from the Indian subcontinent to Afghanistan, records an outstanding example of tolerance to those of other faiths. Himself a Muslim minority, the emperor managed to unite and rule a nation that was filled with Buddhists, Jews, Jains, and Zoroastrians besides its Muslims.
Though done under the name of Islam, religion cannot explain the demolition of these Buddhist statues, built more than a millennium ago, in a country that is 100% percent Muslim. Rather, taking a look at the international relations and internal affairs of this wretched country that has been plagued by civil wars and famines for almost two decades would provide a better means for explaining what most of the world - particularly the Islamic world - has labeled a travesty.
Historic references:
Armstrong, Karen. Islam: A Short History.
Benet's Reader Encyclopedia.
Martin, E.J. A History of the Iconoclastic Controversy.
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