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The Taleban, the Islamic fundamentalist government of Afghanistan, recently issued a fatwah ordering the destruction of all idols. The media and governments of the West have picked out the destruction of two large pre-6th century Buddhist statues for particular criticism. However, as the second commandment tells Christians not to worship idols, should we be following the example of the Taleban in an attempt to rid Britain of Buddhas, stone circles and Westlife?
It is important not to merely assume that everything the Taleban does is bad. In these days of the tabloid mentality there is a tendency for us to classify too easily governments as universally good or bad. The Taleban rightly points out lack of similar criticism for the destruction of a historic mosque in India by Hindus around 1990 and similar more recent events. Revenge for this can hardly have been the sole motive, so why did they destroy the statues?
Commentators in the Islamic world regard it as much as a cry for attention as anything, to attempt to indicate to the wider world that they are still there and in control. This perhaps illustrates the isolation of Afghanistan even among its Moslem neighbours, who regard many of its policies as a step too far. For example, the widely publicised forbidding of women’s education goes against one of Mohammed’s first commandments, that any true believer (i.e. men and women) should learn. The destruction of the statues and the resulting condemnation goes against a pragmatic tradition within Islam that any fatwah should not bring harm to Moslems, be that harm physical, mental, social or economic. Afghanistan has also had a significant Moslem population for many centuries, during which the statues have not been destroyed.
Were these statues even idols at all? Buddhism does not worship Buddha as a god, so the role of statues in Buddhism is not immediately obvious. Their purpose is more a focus of meditation, much as some Christians use candles or images of the cross. They are intended to remind Buddhists of the teachings of Buddha, and the closest that comes to worship within conventional Buddhism is in certain orders of monks who are required to pay special respect to images of Buddha.
If images of Buddha are not idols, deities of other religions, such as Hinduism, certainly are. Christians in Britain are surrounded by these and more modern idols, such as footballers, pop stars, and possessions. Why then are we not rushing around destroying things? Jesus’ second commandment, to love your neighbour, involves respect, not seeking to dictate what they may or may not do. Jesus did not worship authority or fame, common ways of succumbing to idolatry. Instead he sought the company of those looked down upon — the despised, the ignored and the powerless.
We have no direct accounts of encounters with idols in the gospels. Jesus concentrates instead upon the less easily discernible idols of money and pride. The early church in many places was surrounded by the idols of the Greeks and Romans, but even here there are no accounts of idols being destroyed other than people’s own upon conversion. Paul uses the proliferation of altars and idols in Athens in his preaching in Acts 17. Perhaps what the Ephesian silversmiths in Acts 19 were afraid of is far more telling: they knew that Christians would stop the worship of idols not by destroying them but by sharing the good news, that the only sacrifice necessary for their salvation had already been made.
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Last modified: 25th November 2005