4. The Buddhas Of Bamiyan Dynamited
There was an international outcry in 2001 when the iconic Buddhas of Bamiyan were dynamited and destroyed by the Taliban, on orders from leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, after the Taliban government declared that they were idols. An envoy visiting the United States later attempted to explain that the incredible statues were destroyed to protest international aid exclusively reserved for statue maintenance while Afghanistan was experiencing famine. While the Afghan Foreign Minister claimed that the destruction was merely about carrying out Islamic religious iconoclasm. International opinion strongly condemned the destruction of the Buddhas, which in the following years were seen as an example of the extreme religious intolerance of the Taliban. Japan and Switzerland, among others, pledged support for the rebuilding of the sandstone statues, which had often been a target. In 1221 with the advent of Genghis Khan “a terrible disaster befell Bamiyan,” nevertheless, the statues were spared by the great warrior. Later, the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, tried to use heavy artillery to destroy the iconic statues. Another attempt was made by the 18th century Persian king Nader Afshar, directing cannon fire at them but they survived. But in the end a cocktail of modern technology and ignorance saw to their demise.