Sin Chew Daily 2016-09-09 18:45 TAY TIAN YAN Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Fanaticism knows no limits, from the Middle East to the rest of the world.
Often the boundary between fanaticism and insanity is equally blurred.
Many years back when the fanatic Taliban were ruling Afghanistan, many world-shocking events took place there, the most classical being the detonation of Bamiyan's Buddha status.
For thousands of years, Bamiyan Valley used to be on the Silk Road with travelers from China, India, Persia and Europe making regular pit stops there.
Back then Bamiyan was an important hub of Buddhist learning. Thousands of monks and craftsmen sculpted countless of awe-inspiring Buddha statues on the walls of the cliffs in the valley, with unparalleled determination, artistic acumen and exceptional techniques. The biggest among the statues stood at 38 and 58 meters.
From the aesthetic point of view, these were the masterpieces attesting to the pinnacle of cultural preeminence. And from the historical point of view, they were the priceless legacies of human civilization. For over a thousand years, these two enormous Buddha statues watched over this land and witnessed the many historical developments of human race taking place under their noses.
Unfortunately such godly artistic creations were blown up and reduced to ashes by the Taliban in just a matter of hours.
Similarly, after the IS fanatics captured parts of northern Iraq, they blew up the 3,000-year old Assyrian relics and statues in the ancient city of Nimrud.
They also destroyed the Temple of Bel and Baal Shamin in the 4,000-year old city of Palmyra in northern Syria they subsequently captured, smashing up the invaluable ancient animist relics.
Khaled Asad, the Palmyra Antiquities and Museum director, was executed by the IS.
Taliban and IS prohibited idolatry in the pretext of defending their religion, destroying priceless deity statues and relics without taking into consideration their enormous historical values.
What has been brought down can never get restored; neither can pieces of history be duplicated. The fanaticism and insanity of these people have shocked the world and brought tears to millions.
But, what has this got to do with us here?
The eagle statue in Langkawi and the statue of fallen heroes at the National Monument have both been given prominent media coverage of late. Some clerics who thought they were safeguarding their religion called for their demolition to preserve the sanctity of the religion and stub out idolatry.
The eagle is but a symbol of Langkawi and a popular sightseeing spot. No one is going to worship an eagle statue anyway. As for the National Monument, it was built in honor of the warriors sacrificing their precious lives for the nation, and was meant to inspire Malaysians to be patriotic. Similarly, no one is going to deify and idolize them, too.
The narrow-minded and radical interpretations by these people have religionized everything that crosses their minds and banished all that do not belong to them. This is the crudest manifestation of the pride and prejudice born out of such fanaticism.
If by chance their wayward thinking gets approved and legitimized, the country's diversity and universal values will be completely uprooted.
The majority of the world beings essentially the Buddhists have to condemn the fanatics by being peace, otherwise, heaven collapsed and hellish might be a more likely a place of residence upon death, due to ceaseless hates. Nearly towards the end of the dharma ending era, humanity will be liken to such fanaticism and much worsen. It only regain back its consciousness of doubtful fanatic conducts and begin to care when the world only left with a handful of people among themselves. The only way out of this human disaster is to embrace caring and kindness as strong as Hulk