Islamic World's Reaction

Turkey slams Taliban's destruction...

Malaysia urges Taliban not to destroy statues

OIC head urges Taleban to spare Buddhas

Fazl defends Taliban's decision to demolish statues

Iran: Rafsanjani says Taliban act 'ugly'

Egypt: Mubarak urged to save Buddha statues

Egyptian Muslim intellectual Fahmi Howeidy

Pakistan appeals to Taliban

Harkat-ul-Mujahideen supports Taliban’s edict

Egypt's Mubarak to ask Taliban to preserve statues

Muslim Scholars Denounce Taliban

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Iran: Rafsanjani says Taliban act 'ugly'

(March 7, 2001, AFP) TEHRAN: Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Tuesday joined a chorus of international outrage at destruction of pre-Islamic statues by Afghanistan's Taliban regime, calling it "ugly." "Look at what the Taliban is doing in Afghansitan. They are destroying the ancient statues (...) and this deed today, is not a good deed, it is an ugly deed, and there is no logic to it," Rafsanjani told worshippers during prayers on the occasion of Eid-e Qorban, or the feast of sacrifice, at Tehran's university.

On Monday, President Mohammad Khatami denounced the destruction as "inhuman and violent."

Egypt: Mubarak urged to save Buddha statues

(March 8, 2001, AP) CAIRO, Egypt: UNESCO urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday to try to persuade the ruling militia in Afghanistan not to destroy the country's Buddhist statues.

Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported that UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura had phoned Mubarak and asked him to intervene with The Taliban, whose leadership decided last week to destroy all ancient Statues in Afghanistan as idolatrous and un-Islamic.

Matsuura told Mubarak that the huge statues of Buddha in Afghanistan Are part of the world's heritage and should be preserved, MENA reported. Mubarak replied he would instruct the Egyptian government to contact the Taliban and ask it to stop the destruction of the statues, the agency reported.

Turkey slams Taliban's destruction...

(March 5, 2001, AFP) ANKARA: Turkey on Sunday joined the chorus of international condemnation at the decision by Afghanistan's Taliban militia to destroy the country's Buddhist statues, saying such a decision was completely unjustified. "Voluntarily destroying archaeological monuments which represent a part of the heritage of Afghanistan and of the world will deprive future generations of this culture," a foreign ministry statement said.

"No argument can justify such a decision," it added, saying "Turkey associates itself with world public opinion on this issue."

Malaysia urges Taliban not to destroy statues

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Reuters) - Predominantly Muslim Malaysia appealed to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Monday to reconsider their decision to destroy ancient Buddhist statues.

"Malaysia joins other nations in appealing to the Taliban to reconsider rescinding the decision regarding the Bamiyan Buddhas," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said in a statement.

"We appeal to the Taliban to protect Afghanistan's rich cultural sites and artifacts which have been declared part of the world's cultural heritage," he said.

OIC head urges Taleban to spare Buddhas

VOA News, Mar 3, 2001-- Qatar, current head of the world's largest Muslim organization, has called on Afghanistan's Taleban faction to spare two ancient Buddha statues from destruction.

Qatar holds the rotating presidency of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and issued the appeal Saturday. The Qatari statement said the massive mountainside statues belong to a common human heritage which must be protected.

Fazl defends Taliban's decision to demolish statues

(March 1, 2001, NNI) ISLAMABAD—The leader of JUI (F) Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman while defending the Taliban’s decision of demolishing the statues has said that every government has the right to make decisions.

However he said in Pakistan the decisions in this regard should be made in accordance with the country’s constitution, reports BBC.

"The Afghan government can understand whether this decision is in accordance with the Islamic injunctions or not. It is a matter of Islam and Afghanistan has all along remained an Islamic country. I do not know if there are any statues in Afghanistan but that country has a government, which makes decisions according to Islam. So, they should be left to make decisions on their own." Maulana Fazalur Rehman told the BBC.

Egyptian Muslim intellectual Fahmi Howeidy

CAIRO, March 1 (Reuters) - Egyptian Muslim intellectual Fahmi Howeidy said on Thursday an edict by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to destroy pre-Islamic statues ran contrary to Islam.

"Islam respects other cultures even if they include rituals that are against Islamic law," Howeidy told Reuters.

"Muslims did not break any statues in countries they conquered such as Andalusia," Howeidy said, referring to the conquest of much of Spain in early Islamic times.

Pakistan appeals to Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters)- Muslim Pakistan, one of Taliban's very few foreign supporters, joined the international chorus Thursday.

``Pakistan attaches great importance to and supports the preservation of the world's historical, cultural and religious heritage,'' the foreign ministry said.

With the campaign already underway, Foreign Secretary Inamul Haque told reporters: ``We hope the Afghanistan government would give serious consideration to this international appeal, including that by UNESCO and others, and that they will not demolish the cultural heritage of Afghanistan.''

Harkat-ul-Mujahideen supports Taliban’s edict

Kashmiri militant organization Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, one of a number of groups Britain last week labeled as terrorist, voiced support for the Taliban stand.

``In an Islamic country there is no concept of idols and our holy prophet taught us to break the idols,'' said a statement from the Pakistan-based group, which is fighting against Indian control in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

Egypt's Mubarak to ask Taliban to preserve statues

CAIRO, March 7 (Reuters) - Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has agreed to a UNESCO request that he ask Afghanistan's Taliban movement to halt its destruction of ancient Buddhist statues.

Egypt's official MENA news agency said on Wednesday that Koichiro Matsurra, director-general of the United Nations cultural organisation UNESCO, had telephoned Mubarak to make the request and the president had agreed to contact the Taliban.

Matsurra's bid to enlist Mubarak's help was the latest in a series of UNESCO efforts to persuade the Taliban to cease the destruction of pre-Islamic shrines.

Muslim Scholars Denounce Taliban

Times Religion Writer

In a growing intellectual challenge to Islamic practices abroad, leading Southern California Muslim scholars Thursday denounced the ruling Taliban's destruction of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan as contrary to their faith's laws and traditions.

"The senseless policy of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan of destroying statues is a reprehensible act that must be condemned by all Muslims," said a statement signed by eight intellectuals at a forum convened by Minaret magazine and the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles.