Taiwan's Museum of World Religions donated HK$1 million (NT$4,426,000 or US$128,200) yesterday to kickstart a campaign to help rebuild two giant Buddhist statues destroyed last year by Taliban extremists in Afghanistan.
"We want to rebuild them and urge other religious groups to join us [to pay for it]," said Venerable Dharma Master Hsin Tao (心道法師), the founder of the Museum of World Religions.
Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong, where he is currently visiting to publicize his campaign, the monk also urged religious groups the world over to help protect holy artefacts.
"If all religious groups can come together, everyone will be able to come to a common understanding to protect all religious relics in the future," said the monk.
The Taliban destroyed many artworks in Afghanistan, including the world-famous Buddha statues in Bamiyan, as they saw them as abominations to their fiercely fundamentalist version of Islam.
Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai said earlier this year the country hoped to rebuild the statues.
"Experts say the reconstruction will cost US$25 million and take four years. We want to start this so that more people will be aware of this issue and its importance," said Master Hsin Tao.
He will head for Kabul at the end of the month where he will participate in a conference organized by UNESCO on how best to reconstruct the two statues.
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