Lets Destroy The Bamiyan Buddhas!

The recent decision by the Taliban militia of Afghanistan to eradicate the two Buddhist statutes of Bamiyan along with other ancient artifacts has raised uproar of protest and indignation from the international community against the Taliban. The international voices of protest are mimicking William Shakespeare’s King Lear as they are howling themselves into a fine frenzy of moral and cultural righteous anger and from their actions, it seems that they have once again sought to portray themselves as the defending guardians of the world’s heritage and its self proclaimed spokesperson. It would seem from their actions and loud noises of protest that the single most pressing issue confronting the pundits of international relations and taxing the best and the brightest minds in all of the world’s many and varied international organizations is the safety of the Buddhist statutes of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. The world is marshalling its anger and its conscience against the Taliban and threatening them with dire consequences if they carry out the destruction and deprive the world of its priceless heritage.

What ever the international opinion may consider of the Taliban, once thing is certain and that is the Taliban have hoisted the morality of the west on its own petard. The international arguments of moral outrage against the Taliban’s actions and its cries of protest are nothing more than hollow meaningless self promoting expressions of political correctness foisted upon the world by a few self chosen champions and purveyors of western arrogance and neo-fascist cultural imperialism. This protest against the destruction of the Bamiyan statutes, led by the United Nations and the nations of the west is nothing but a simple declaration of western self styled hypocrisy and an attempt at political correctness to justify and appease their own sense of an inflated western cultural imperialism.

Yes; granted that the Taliban should be held to a strict sense of accountability for their actions and they should not be condoned for all they have done to malign and disparage the identity of Islam through they own peculiar version of Islam and how it should be implemented. On a scale of relative morality, all the combined ill considered actions of the Taliban cannot tilt the scales in favor of the western countries and absolve them of their own shame of disregard and calculated indifference towards the very same arguments they seem to be articulating with such pained sincerity.

One is sickened and revolted into nausea to hear the world protest against the destruction of the statutes, the de jour symbol of world’s resolve, to protect its cultural heritage from ruin. Who gives the world and its self declared knight in tainted armor, the United Nations, the right to point an accusatory finger at the Taliban? Can the west, the defenders of world’s heritage, honestly be the first one without any sin to cast the first stones of moral ire against the Taliban? Where was this western outrage in the past when so many of the world’s cultural heritage sites were obliterated

Where were the world’s conscience and its moral outrage when the nearly 400-year-old Turkish bridge was destroyed by Serbian artillery fire, because the Croats were using it to reinforce their troops? The Ottoman Turkish bridge, spanning the river Mostar, was considered as the most beautiful example of a single span Ottoman bridge, and was considered by all as the most beautiful of its kind not only in Europe, but also in the rest of the world. That bridge was also made from stone and if the world wants to protect the stones statues of Bamyian, why did it not protect the stone bridge of Mostar from destruction?

One has to wonder with sadness as to where was the so-called moral conscience of the world when the city of Sarajevo eclipsed Leningrad, now St. Petersburg in Russia, by enduring the longest siege in modern history. Leningrad suffered 900 days of siege under the Germans, during the Second World War, and Sarajevo suffered over 1100 days! The same nations of the world, which are decrying the acts of Taliban, were silent in their complicity when Sarajevo was being slowly starved into submission. In Sarajevo, the issue confronting the international defenders of morality was not saving statues made from sand stone, but protecting real living, breathing and feeling human beings who were being slaughtered on their doorsteps by the Serbian snipers. The world always pointed to Sarajevo as a city, where people of different faiths had co-existed peacefully for centuries. In that sense did Sarajevo not qualify as a world heritage site, where all religions existed together and to show to the world how different faiths could live together in harmony?

The world is indignant against the acts of Taliban in destroying a priceless piece of world’s heritage. The only question is where is this global sense of annoyance, when another of the world’s heritage site, also known as Baghdad in Iraq, is bombed and its citizens denied the basic right, which is inalienable to all human beings: the right to live in peace. Is the world’s concern in protecting its heritage only limited to stones and statutes and not human beings? Are human beings and their happiness not a world’s heritage? What is the difference between Iraq and Afghanistan?

Maybe, there is no difference and maybe there is only one similarity and that is that both are Muslim countries that dared to thumb their noses at the patron of western cultural fellatio – the United States of America. To suggest the above argument is to skate upon thin ice, but the perception still exists and that is that these nations have been made a target of American displeasure, because they dared to think independently from Washington’s logicia politicia.

The whole international condemnation of the Taliban is a perverse joke, because the nations that are leading the shouts of “moral shame” against the Taliban are not above guilt themselves and if they had any iota of shame, they would have felt a scrap of modesty in their protests against the Taliban.

For the sake of perversity, lets take France and its crusade against the Taliban. One needs to remind the Gallic defenders of the world’s heritage that they should direct their energies within France itself before turning towards Afghanistan. Paris, the oft proclaimed cultural city of France and the world, is slowly turning into an ugly American suburbia with the golden arches of McDonald competing with Burger King and the tepidly flavored coffee of Starbucks on the Place d’ Concord. The French joié d’ vivre is being replaced by a crass Americanism called commercialism and it is withering away any individuality, which Paris might have once had in the past.

The French national symbol of Eiffel Tower has emerged as the most visible place to situate bill board signs in Paris and if Paris were to disappear under the banner of American inspired GAP mentality, one wonders if one would have to go to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. to catch a glimpse of what Paris once might have looked like?

Another country, which has lent its support to the politically correct endeavor of preserving the statues of Bamyian from the archeological graveyard, is India. One is really stirred and impressed that India has the time and the concern to voice its protests to the Taliban. One should sincerely thank the Indian government for its concerns in the matter. One also needs to ask the Indian government that would it not be nice if they exhibited the same concern towards another world heritage site in their country called the Taj Mahal. India, it seems, is more concerned about the statues of Bamyian than it is about the fact that pollution in Agra is yellowing the once pristine marble of the Taj into a smoker’s favorite shade of sickly yellow.

Since the Taj is a considerable source and inspiration of Indian tourist dollars, it would be economically in Indian interests to halt the spread of the pollutants from harming the Taj Mahal as the symbol of world’s romantic ideal. Maybe, the gradual death pangs of the Taj, from pollution, is a proud testament to India’s drive to integrate into the global economy and open its doors to foreign investment. After all, India’s most natural ally the United States would love to exploit the Indian market, not to say anything of its middle class, for its own commercial gratification.

Does anyone really care if the Taj Mahal should be destroyed and in return the stockholders of Goodrich and General Electric should see their shares split and a get a healthy dividend?

All in favor say “yea”, please!

While we are discussing the hypocritical defenders of global heritage, let us not forget that bastion of global conservation, which is the delight and envy of the free and enslaved world. Pakistan, too, has given its support to the cause of protecting the statutes of Bamyian and seems to be out doing everyone else in its efforts to be the poster child of “Save The Buddhas’ Of Bamiyan” campaign. It is really nice of Pakistan to be so concerned about the heritage of the world and it would be equally nice if it were devote the same commitment to protecting the world heritage sites within Pakistan itself!

The Lahore Fort, and the Shalimar Gardens in Pakistan are in an awful state of condition and are literally falling apart each day. Still, it bemuses one that the international community is silent on the matter and there is no sense of international outrage against the Pakistani government scolding it to gets its together and the save the world’s heritage on its soil from the oblivion.

Still, one need not begrudge Pakistan its fifteen minutes of Andy Worholian fame, because it has been long time since something pleasant was associated with Pakistan and spoken after its name.

Pakistan might as well milk its fifteen minutes (currently in its 13 ½ minute) for all it is worth, because a moment of fantasy is much more comforting than reality and Pakistan’s reality is had it not been for Afghanistan, it would really have discovered just how cold and lonely this world can really get! Maybe, instead of castigating the Taliban, Pakistan should be thanking them for diverting the world’s attention from putting a cordon sanitairé around Pakistan’s neck in the international affairs.

If one thinks that India and Pakistan are two odd couples throwing stones in a glass house, one need not look further than Saudi Arabia to wonder what in Dante’s nightmare is it doing in joining the chorus against the Taliban in the matter of the Buddha of Bamyian. Saudi Arabia has protested, too, against the avowed acts of the Taliban and by their action, one is forced to ask the bitter question as to what makes the Guardians of the Palm Trees think that have a right to point a finger at the Taliban.

Maybe, being originators of traditional sword dances and camel races under GE lit skies, with their cheerleaders, comprising of Saudi princess, wearing Victoria’s Secret’s latest wonder bras and panties under their official Dracula costumes, the Saudis feel a lot more cultured since they followed Lawrence of Arabia out of the desert into Damascus.

As to the Japanese and their protests of howl at the acts of the Taliban, it would seem that the Japanese are more interested in who sliced and diced the British Blackman girl than they are if the statutes at Bamiyan are blown up or given a blow up by the Taliban militia. In all fairness to the Japanese, one thinks that they should stick to sulking at the American marines for indulging in pre-teenage sex with young Japanese girls. Maybe, if the Japanese are serious about stopping the American marines’ sexual misadventures, they should do something about banning the Hentai cartoons, which are giving some very disturbed ideas to the marines stationed at Okinawa as to what do to the local population.

Coming back to the issue of the world’s outrage, in the matter of the Bamyian statutes, one is again forced to ask where is the world’s outrage at the prospect of the Afghans suffering from the drought? Are a few statutes more important than an Afghan’s life? Does an Afghan father or mother really care about the international concern for the statues of Bamyian, when their child is dying, in front of their eyes, from hypothermia in a refugee camp inside Pakistan? Does the world really think that after abusing the Taliban and pushing them to the proverbial wall, the Taliban will really give a diplomatic equivalent of a bowel movement when the world threatens it with “dire consequences” if the Taliban go ahead and crumble the Buddhist statutes at Bamyian into rubble?

No!

I, for the record, am against the policies of the Taliban and their interpretations of Islam and laugh at the Organization of Islamic States, when it lodges a protest against the Taliban on the issue of the Bamyian statues. Where was this august body of political and intellectual pygmies, and where was its sense of outrage when the Taliban were destroying the raison d’ etre of Islam by their medieval acts of intolerance and malpractice?

In this sense, I think that Taliban should go ahead do what they please, because the world, but more importantly the Muslim nations that support the Taliban, need a swift kick in the ass to wake them from their slumber and force them to deal with the menace of the Taliban, because today the issue is the statutes of Bamyian and tomorrow it well could be the honor and dignity of Islam, as a religion, itself!

Oscar Wilde once wrote that you destroy the thing you love and that which you love, will destroy you in the end.

Let us hope for the sake of Islam that we destroy the Taliban before they destroy Islam in their misguided vision of what constitutes as the true devotion to, and implementation of, Islam.