Blogs > Cliopatria > Cataloging Taliban Cultural Atrocities

May 13, 2004

Cataloging Taliban Cultural Atrocities


by Cliopatria


A message on H-Asia, forwards a sad report, reposted here with permission, anonymous for security reasons but reportedly authoritative:

On Saturday we went to the museum. The museum sits on the outskirts of Kabul. Unfortunately it sits on the road that all attackers had to come through to take Kabul. Under the Soviets, it was reasonably safe. The Soviets did not take any objects back to the Soviet Union and the museum just floundered. In 1992 when the Soviets imploded, the Civil War began. This was devastating to the museum. Every warlord who aspired to take Kabul bombed, raped, looted and burned the museum. It became a ghost building. With the Taliban victory in 1996 things were stabilized. Everyone grew a beard or retreated into their burkhas. The museum staff returned to the museum to put things in order so the Taliban could do their job more efficiently.

In early 2001 the Taliban spent three months in the museum. They systematically destroyed every object. Don't imagine defacing a Buddha or taking a few hammer whacks at a stone stele. Imagine reducing every piece to rubble, some to pebbles the size of golf balls. The museum is being refurbished. The building has a new roof and will be in first class shape in a matter of months. Newly plastered walls, new everything. It will be fine.

We toured the storage rooms. Imagine a room filled with tables, each table having a tray filled with hundreds of small rocks. On the tray is a photo of what the object as it was before it was reduced to rubble. In another room we saw their wooden objects from Nuristan. All were chopped into firewood. We went into the conservation center. There they had tin trunks. Each with a label."Kanishka Torso" we would open the trunk and once again a pile of small rocks, some with a facet that contained a small piece of the jigsaw puzzle they are hoping to put back together. There are a handful of third rate pieces left and that is it. Nothing more from the Museum. They have a hoard of 20,000 pieces of Bactrian gold that is kept in a vault at the Ministry. Next week National Geographic is going in to begin an inventory project. As far as we can tell, that is the story of what is left of their national heritage in Kabul.

Other list-members have asked for clarification on reports of ongoing restoration efforts, and questioned the Bactrian gold hoard report. I will post updates as appropriate.

You might expect me to comment here, as I very rarely post without commenting, but there's just nothing particularly incisive or clever that comes to mind. The destruction of cultural treasures is a crime against humanity, and the Taliban carried it out with intent and thoroughness that brings to mind the Cultural Revolution, or the Holocaust. What more is there to say?


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More Comments:

mary lili jory - 8/17/2009

I like very much the writings and pictures and explanations in your adress so I look forward to see your next writings.
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Jonathan Dresner - 5/16/2004

The article to which I posted did not. But lots of news reports have cited the Taliban's abhorrence for non-Muslim religions, particularly the non-Book, non-theistic, pre-Islamic Silk Road Buddhism represented by the great buddhas and museum collections. Theocratic "purification."

Van L. Hayhow - 5/15/2004

I'm curious, did the original article say if the Taliban had any reason for the destruction of the museum?

Jonathan Dresner - 5/15/2004

Well, the inaccurate and unfair bits, yeah.

Grant W Jones - 5/14/2004

Backtracking? The Taliban may will return if the U.S. pulls out. Besides, your the one who asked, "what more is there to say." Does the content of my reply bother you?

Jonathan Dresner - 5/14/2004

Your assumption that you know what I have or have not thought about the matter is offensive. And your backtracking is amusing. Call it even.

Grant W Jones - 5/14/2004

It is a work in process. Take a minute to remember and thank Pat Tillman, and all our other troops in Afghanistan.

Austin K. Williams - 5/14/2004

You might try comparing the creation of the Afghan National Rock Museum with the "cultural atrocities" committed upon the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad. I believe the latter incidents were heavily commented on at the time - perhaps in this very forum. As an intellectual exercise only, of course.

Austin

Jonathan Dresner - 5/14/2004

"Ridding the world" would be an overstatement, as there are still Taliban in control of portions of Afghanistan.

Grant W Jones - 5/14/2004

"What more is there to say." I say 'thank you' to the U.S. military for ridding the world of the Taliban. Let's hope they never return.