Qaradawi To Lead Delegation To Afghanistan To Save Statues
DOHA, March 9 (IslamOnline) - A delegation of top Islamic scholars led by prominent
Islamic scholar Youssef al-Qaradawi will go to Afghanistan within a few days to meet with Mulla Mohamed Omar, the head of the ruling Taliban, in a bid to halt the demolition of Afghanistan 's cultural heritage, including two massive Buddha statues.
This mission follows a message sent by Japanese foreign minister Yohi Kono to the Qatari Foreign Minister urging him to intervene in order to save Afghanistan's priceless heritage.
Qaradawi issued a fatwa (religious ruling) last week stating that Afghanistan's statues are not idols, and thus would not threaten Muslim beliefs or contradict Islamic doctrine.
"The demolition of these statues would harm the image of Islam and will provoke the anger of the international community, especially Buddhists who number 300 million," Qaradawi said last week.
Despite the lack of diplomatic relations between Qatar and the ruling Taliban, officials in Qatar contacted senior Taliban officials Friday via the Qatari embassy in Pakistan.
In addition to the Qaradawi diplomatic mission, Japanese artist Eko Hirayama succeeded in collecting more than 5000 signatures from amongst the Japanese population calling upon, and appealing to, the Taliban to end the demolitions.
Observers state it is premature to speculate on whether or not the Qaradawi delegation will succeed or collide with the Taliban, especially given the Taliban's official rigid line on the issue.
Egypt has also declared that a senior official would visit Afghanistan within a few days in a bid to withdraw the order calling on the demolition of the statues.
Reports from news agencies indicate that the Taliban on Friday resumed the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in central Afghanistan.
The Taliban have ignored waves of international protests in response to the demolitions and have repeatedly stated that they would not reconsider their decision.
