Taliban Intends To Monetize The Destruction Of 6th-Century Buddha Sculptures In Afghanistan

Taliban, who destroyed the historically and culturally significant ‘Buddhas of Bamiyan’, now wants to profit from the empty niches because they are starved for cash.

Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist of religions and author, writes in Bitter Winter about how, despite being an eager traveler he turned down a trip to Afghanistan because he didn’t want the Taliban to profit from the landmarks they destroyed.

The author explained, “The Afghan regime desperately needs cash. It cannot show the Bamiyan Buddhas for the good reason it blew them up. But it would take tourists to the site for a fee”.

According to the author, the Taliban smashed the sixth-century CE giant statues with artillery fire and anti-tank explosives in 2001.

The public may now only observe the empty niches where these Buddhist sculpture masterpieces previously stood and contemplate there. But this is not for free; rather, by paying money to the regime.

The author went on to explain that he may even pay a price to tour the Nazi Party’s propaganda headquarters in Nuremberg and the location of the Khmer Rouge mass graves in Cambodia, because, the money is not going to Adolf Hitler or Pol Pot, but to the later governments.

In the case of Afghanistan, however, it is the Taliban themselves who committed the crimes and are eager to profit while in power.

The author claims that doing so would be equivalent to paying Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the infamous transformation through education camps in Xinjiang, where Uyghurs are subjected to horrific abuse and even executed.

“I understand the empty niches of the destroyed statues do have their own melancholic beauty. however, I do not want to support the Taliban with my ticket. I would rather not go”, Massimo Introvigne continued in his piece.

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