Author: George Fitzherbert
Publication: BBC News
Date: March 10, 2001
The decision by the hardline Islamic
government of Afghanistan to destroy all statues in the country has provoked
indignation across the world. Even Pakistan, the Taleban's closest ally,
has called on the Taleban to show greater tolerance.
But the destruction of statues for
ideological or doctrinal reasons has a long history in the world, right
across Europe and Asia, and is by no means restricted to the Muslim world.
Indeed, the word iconoclasm - the
breaking of images - derives from the early centuries of the Christian
era.
Mao Zedong: His image replaced religious
ones
During the Cultural Revolution in
China the then premier, Mao Zedong, launched a massive campaign to eradicate
what were known as the Four Olds - Old Culture, Old Thinking, Old Ideas
and Old Habits.
In Tibet, where the Buddhist society
placed great emphasis on holy relics, images and statues, this was particularly
devastating.
Tsering Shakya, a Tibetan historian
working at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said there
was a feeling by Maoists that traditional symbols and religious ideology
were hampering the construction of the new Tibet.
There was no question of choosing
to Maoists be involved or not to be involved, because if you say you will
not be involved, its likely that you would be executed
"The presence of the statues was
a reminder of the past and the people's devotion to tradition," said Tsering
Shakya.
"Mao used to say if you make a mistake,
there's no point in trying to correct it in piecemeal fashion, what you
need to do is to wipe it out completely and create a totally new culture.
"So during the Cultural Revolution
there was an attempt to literally destroy every single religious item.
"We are not just talking about the
destruction of a few important statues, we are talking about the destruction
of the entire presence of religious symbols in private houses, in monasteries,
temples, village prayer halls.
English precedent
Going back 400 years to the English
reformation, there are examples of the destruction of religious images
on grounds remarkably similar to those used by the Taleban - namely to
discourage idolatry.
The campaign of destruction went
on for a whole century, starting during the reign of Henry VIII as part
of the campaign against the monasteries.
Dr Margaret Aston, a historian
of the English Reformation, and author of the book England's Iconoclasts,
explained: "It was like a kind of propaganda campaign which was carefully
masterminded by the king's chief minister Thomas Cromwell.
"Objects were actually torn to bits
in front of a congregation of people who were being instructed in this
way."
The idea behind the destruction,
she said, was commandments in 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'.
"The feeling was that people were
attributing to the object, to the images - and this particularly applies
to sculpture, which is the most realistic art form - they were attributing
to the objects a power that is really only God's," said Dr Aston.
"When people in England, for instance,
were kneeling before an image of the virgin, they were praying to the Virgin,
and were expecting answers from the Virgin."
There was such a thorough campaign
against religious statues in England that there are very few such works
of art left.
