I still remember the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, the anger, the frustration, and the complete helplessness that I felt back in 2001 when the then leaders of Afghanistan, the Taliban, destroyed the two Buddha Statues in Bamyan Valley. What made it all the worse though was the seemingly incomprehensibility of it all, why would anyone on earth, even religious fanatics, want to destroy such a unique and precious part of civilization's cultural legacy? Even as I sit and think about it now it is still difficult to not feel angry for what I view as a unforgivable and despicable act, yet last night I read a passage that for the first time offered me some insight into why the Taliban may have chosen such a controversial decision as destroying the statues, even as world-wide criticism of their decision was escalating. To the extent that you find the passage convincing is entirely up to you, I'm not entirely convinced myself. Though, I will admit that after reading the passage I did feel somewhat better about the event, and not because I think it was in any way justifiable, but simply because for the first time it seems possible to understand why they chose to do it. 'The Afghans were looking back at a model in their own history to justify their actions today. They found one a thousand years ago. Smashing idols is thus a powerful symbol of faith...' '...the question is not the legitimacy of the model but why they were adhering to it. The answer is not so much that their aim was to antagonize the world - as they did so effectively - but that it was to make several gestures through this one big dramatic gesture. They at one and the same time asserted their sense of identity; they also expressed their disgust with the world which seemed to be indifferent to the suffering and starvation of their families, especially children and women, and more concerned with cultural artifacts; there was also the perverse glee of knowing that they could cause pain to the world that was so indifferent to their own pain. They told the world what they thought of it.' Islam Under Siege, Akbar S. Ahmed