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WORLD  Taliban Orders Statues Destroyed FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AFGHANISTAN, Mar 1 (VNN) — Taliban Orders Statues Destroyed, Including World's Tallest Standing Buddha By Amir Shah - Associated Press Writer KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghanistan's hardline Taliban rulers ordered the destruction Monday of all statues, including a giant 5th century Buddha that is said to be the world's tallest of its kind. The order came from the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, who issued an edict declaring statues, including the ancient Buddhas, as insulting to Islam. "Because God is one God and these statues are there to be worshipped and that is wrong. They should be destroyed so that they are not worshipped now or in the future," Omar said in his edict, published by the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency. Afghanistan's ancient Buddhas are located in Bamiyan, about 90 miles west of the Afghan capital of Kabul. One Buddha, measuring 175 feet, is said to be the world's tallest statue in which Buddha is standing up rather than sitting. The smaller is 120 feet tall. The two statues, which have been damaged in fighting in the area, were carved out of the Afghan mountainside in the 5th century. It's not clear what prompted the latest edict from the Taliban. The religious army espouses a harsh brand of Islamic law and reviles all images as contrary to the tenets of Islam. The Taliban bans most forms of light entertainment, all photography, and requires men to wear beards in keeping with the fashion of Islam's prophet Mohammed. The Taliban rule roughly 95 percent of the country and the opposition, led by ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani, the remaining 5 percent. Afghanistan's museum also contains a treasure-trove of Buddhist-era artifacts. Much of the museum was destroyed in the bitter fighting between rival Islamic factions between 1992 and 1996 when the Taliban took control. Many of the artifacts were stolen and sold on the open market. Some have appeared in museums around the world. The tallest of the two giant Buddhas has already been damaged by zealous Taliban soldiers who fired rocket propelled grenades at it. There have been reports that the faces of the Buddhas have been disfigured. Images of faces are forbidden in Islam, according to the Taliban. Omar ordered his Ministry of Vice and Virtue to send its men out to destroy all statues in Afghanistan. The edict comes as an international delegation is in Kabul meeting with Taliban leaders to try to preserve Afghanistan's heritage. Among the delegation are the Italian and Greek ambassadors in neighboring Pakistan. There was no immediate comment from that delegation to the Taliban leader's newest order. Copyright Associated Press  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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