De-Islamizing Islam: Taliban Style

conquered. At that time, an agreement was reached between the Caliph and the Christian authorities. One of the clauses of this agreement, signed by the Caliph Umar, was that the Christian churches as well as the statues of Mary and Christ placed in the churches and the Cross would remain as they were. This illustrates a principle of religious tolerance which has been observed by Muslims throughout the history of Islam. We do find instances of certain Muslim kings having broken idols. But these instances are exceptions and not the rule. Furthermore, such acts on the part of rulers were governed by their political interests and not by the teachings of Islam. The statues of Gautam Buddha carved in the mountains may have been objects of worship in the past, but today they enjoy the position of historical monuments. They no longer belong to a particular religious group: their status is that of symbols of a historical heritage common to all mankind. The principle of Islam, applicable to this state of affairs, is to remove the issue from the private or the national sphere to the universal sphere. One of the teachings of Islam is that Muslims ought not to take any such action as is likely to be counterproductive. For instance, the Quran enjoins: “Revile not those whom they invoke besides Allah, lest they may revile Allah spitefully without knowledge.” (6:108) This shows that even if Muslims believe some act to be right, they may refrain from indulging in it, if the result is not going to be in their favour. Looked at in the light of this principle, the present move of the Taliban is wholly against the teachings of Islam. For if such historical places and relics, which have profound and timehonoured associations for the believers of other religions, are destroyed in a Muslim country, those whose feelings are hurt