Re: Mecca for the rich: Islam’s holiest site ‘turning into Vegas’
http://www.islam.at/index2.php
It would be interesting to imagine the handling of the issue by the same media machine had it existed in the 19th century when British army used these statues for target practice during its unsuccessful incursions into Afghanistan. The British army, to our dismay, did not have powerful enough weapons to finish the job. History does not record any laments for the British attempts that did cause the most damage to these statues before the Taliban completely obliterated them. (It is interesting how many people have argued that these statues had survived centuries of Islamic rule with little damage. Do they suppose what could not be done in the 19th century could have been done earlier?)
http://blog.sojo.net/2011/07/28/buddhas-brought-back-to-life-in-central-afghanistan/
Second, these statues were used by the British for artillery target practice, which blew away the facial features and large portions of the lower surfaces. By the time the British were driven out of Afghanistan, the statues were unrecognizable as statues of the Buddha, they were vaguely humanoid shapes covered with pockmarks.
There is also a book : “Idiot’s guide to Islam” which says the same what I posted.