I couldn’t resist reading the replies on this issue. I will throw a bomb here and I apologies if I hurt the feelings of some of you. After all we are learning from one and another and NO-One is perfect but Him. I’m not saying that all Talibans were/are bad; I’m sure we can find at least minimal group of so called “Talibans” to be the true people of guidance. Religion reconciles opposites that seem to be mutually exclusive: religion - science, this world–the next world, nature–Divine Books, the material–the spiritual, and spirit–body. Religion can erect a defense against the destruction caused by scientific materialism, put science in its proper place, and end long-standing conflicts among nations and peoples. Because Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and, and even Hinduism and other world religions accept the same source for themselves, and, including Buddhism, pursue the same goal. As Muslims, we accept all Prophets and Books sent to different peoples throughout history, and regard belief in them as an essential principle of being Muslim. A Muslim is a follower of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and all other Prophets(Prophets from the people of the Books). Not believing in one Prophet or Book means that one is not a Muslim. Thus the oneness and basic unity of religion, which is a symphony of God’s blessings and mercy, and the universality of belief in religion, are undeniable facts. So, religion is a system of belief embracing all races and all beliefs, a road bringing everyone together in brotherhood and sisterhood. Regardless of how their adherents implement their faith in their daily lives, such generally accepted values as love, respect, tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, human rights, peace, brotherhood and sisterhood, and freedom are exalted by religion. All of them are accorded the highest precedence in the messages brought by Moses, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad PBUH, as well as in the messages of Buddha and even Zarathustra, Lao-Tzu, Conficius, and the Hindu prophets or sages. It cannot be denied that religion was sometimes used in the past as a dividing factor by some. But the fault here lay in not religion itself but in some who claimed themselves to be its followers(like the Talibans and their massive destruction during the years they controlled Afghanistan). However, today it has been understood by many that religion is a unifying factor and therefore must function as so, and a dialogue is necessary between its followers.
I DO NOT, IN ANYWAY, AGREE WITH THE ACTIONS OF TALIBANS ON THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BUDHHA IN AFGHANISTAN.