Thursday, February 16, 2012

Trouble in paradise: Maldives see rise of Islamic extremism as Buddhist statues are smashed...

At the Maldives' National Museum, smashed Buddhist statues are testament to the rise of Islamic extremism and Taliban-style intolerance in a country famous as a laid-back holiday destination.

On Tuesday, as protesters backed by mutinous police toppled president Mohamed Nasheed, a handful of men stormed the Chinese-built museum and destroyed its display of priceless artefacts from the nation's pre-Islamic era.

"They have effectively erased all evidence of our Buddhist past," a senior museum official told AFP at the now shuttered building in the capital Male, asking not to be named out of fear for his own safety.

"We lost all our 12th century statues. They were made of coral stone and limestone. They are very brittle and there is no way we can restore them," he explained. Full story...

Don't miss:
  1. Maldives' 'paradise' image tarnished by violence...
  2. Maldives closes hundreds of luxury resort spas for being "anti-Islamic"
  3. In the Maldives, celebrating Christmas is illegal...
  4. President of Maldives apologises to sham wedding Swiss couple...
  5. Atheist in Maldives who rejected Islam "hangs himself..."
  6. Maldives: islanders suffer the effects of brutal police repression...

No comments:

Post a Comment