During the brief, violent period during which the Taliban had unquestioned control over the entirety of Afghanistan, the regime was noted for its wanton destruction of the country’s rich history of art and cultural sites.
The most notorious and shameful example of this occurred in March 2001 when the regime, paying no heed to an international uproar, destroyed the Buddha statues of Bamiyan.
The massive representations of Buddha, built out of stone cliffs in the 6th century, were blown up because the radical Islamic government considered them idols.
It was one of the last times they could destroy Buddhist art in the country unimpeded. A few months later, the country’s most infamous tenant engaged in the most egregious act of terrorism in modern history and, in very short order, the Taliban found it was no longer in full control of Afghanistan.
Yet The Associated Press reported last year that workers at the National Museum of Afghanistan were still toiling to restore art that was smashed by the Taliban when they ransacked the museum’s collection of artifacts, shattering over 2,500 statues.
Take note, Lafayette Square protesters and your brethren nationwide: You have miles to go before you sleep.
And that’s rather the character of these protests. It’s moved beyond just Confederate generals or American historical figures who were slaveowners. Just this week, protesters in Madison, Wisconsin tore down a statue of an abolitionist immigrant who gave his life for the Union.
