Iconoclasm

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(Redirected from Iconoclast)
"Iconoclast" redirects here. For other uses, see Iconoclast (disambiguation).
"Triumph of Orthodoxy" over iconoclasm under the Byzantine empress Theodora. Lat
e 14th early 15th century icon.
Iconoclasm[Note 1] is the forceful opposition to the worship of inanimate repres
entations, religious icons, and other symbols, or monuments. The word in time ca
me to mean the opposition to institutional inertia in one's own culture, usually
for religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major politic
al or religious changes. The term does not generally encompass the specific dest
ruction of images of a ruler after his death or overthrow (damnatio memoriae).
People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a term that h
as come to be applied figuratively to any individual who challenges "cherished b
eliefs or venerated institutions on the grounds that they are erroneous or perni
cious".[1] Conversely, one who reveres or venerates religious images is called (
by iconoclasts) an iconolater; in a Byzantine context, such a person is called a
n iconodule or iconophile.
Iconoclasm may be carried out by people of a different religion, but is often th
e result of sectarian disputes between factions of the same religion. In Christi
anity, iconoclasm has generally been motivated by people who adopt a literal int
erpretation of the Ten Commandments, which forbid the making and worshipping of
"graven images or any likeness of anything".[2] The degree of iconoclasm among C
hristian sects greatly varies. Islam, in general, tends to be more iconoclastic
than Christianity, with Sunni Islam being more iconoclastic than Shia Islam.
Contents [hide]
1 Major instances
2 Byzantine iconoclasm
2.1 The first iconoclastic period: 730787
2.2 Second Council of Nicaea 787
2.3 Views in Byzantine iconoclasm
3 Protestant Reformation
4 Muslim iconoclasm
4.1 Early Islam in Arabia
4.2 Egypt
4.3 Recent events
5 Political and revolutionary iconoclasm
6 Iconoclasm in the French Revolution
6.1 Roland and the Monuments Commission
6.2 Public Museums
7 Demolition of Hindu temples
7.1 During Muslim conquest
7.2 During Goa inquisitions
7.3 Contemporary iconoclasm against Hindus
7.3.1 In India
7.3.2 In Bangladesh
7.3.3 In Pakistan
7.3.4 In Malaysia
7.3.5 In Saudi Arabia
7.3.6 In Fiji
8 Chinese "anti-foreignism"
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Major instances[edit]
In Judaism, King Hezekiah purged Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem and the Land of I
srael of figures, including the Nehushtan, as recorded in the Second Book of Kin
gs. His reforms were reversed in the reign of his son Manasseh.
In 305-306, the Synod of Elvira appeared to endorse iconoclasm. Canon 36 states,
"Pictures are not to be placed in churches, so that they do not become objects
of worship and adoration."[3][4][Note 2] Proscription ceased after the destructi
on of pagan temples.
During the process of Christianisation under Constantine, groups destroyed the i
mages and sculptures expressive of the Roman Empire's polytheist state religion.
The Eastern Orthodox Church had a period of Byzantine iconoclasm during the late
medieval years, in which some groups destroyed the church's religious imagery.
During the Protestant Reformation and the European wars of religion, known as th
e Beeldenstorm in the Netherlands, Protestants removed and/or destroyed traditio
nal Catholic images in churches, including paintings, sculptures and other repre
sentations. In some instances, Protestants destroyed the imagery of other Protes
tants. Similarly, in England Protestants removed or destroyed Catholic images du
ring the Reformation and the founding of the Anglican Church under Henry VIII.
Most of the moai of Easter Island were toppled during the 18th century in the ic
onoclasm of civil wars before any European encounter.
During the French Revolution of the late 18th century, people widely destroyed C
atholic religious and monarchical imagery.
During and after the Russian Revolution of 1917, widespread destruction of relig
ious and secular imagery took place, as well as destruction of imagery related t
o the Imperial family.
During and after the Xinhai Revolution in China, as well as during the later Cul
tural Revolution, there was widespread destruction of religious and secular imag
ery in China, including Tibet after it was invaded and occupied by the PRC after
1950.
During the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in Budapest, and through the fall of Commun
ism in 1989, protesters often attacked and took down sculptures and images of Jo
seph Stalin, leader of the USSR.[5]
After the Second Vatican Council in the late twentieth century, some Roman Catho
lic parish churches discarded much of their traditional imagery, art, and archit
ecture.[6]
Byzantine iconoclasm[edit]
Main article: Byzantine Iconoclasm
Byzantine Iconoclasm, Chludov Psalter, 9th century.[7]
Although widespread use of Christian iconography only began as Christianity incr
easingly spread among gentiles after the legalization of Christianity by Roman E
mperor Constantine (c. 312 AD), scattered expressions of opposition to the use o
f images was reported (e.g. Spanish Synod of Elvira). The period after the reign
of Roman Emperor Justinian (527565) evidently saw a huge increase in the use of
images, both in volume and quality, and a gathering aniconic reaction.
In the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, government-led iconoclasm began with By
zantine Emperor Leo III, following what seems to have been a long period of risi
ng opposition to the use or misuse of images. The religious conflict created pol
itical and economic divisions in Byzantine society. It was generally supported b
y the Eastern, poorer, non-Greek peoples of the Empire[8] who had to deal freque
ntly with raids from the new Muslim Empire. On the other hand, the wealthier Gre
eks of Constantinople, and also the peoples of the Balkan and Italian provinces,
strongly opposed iconoclasm.[9]
Within the Byzantine Empire the government had probably been adopting Christian
images more frequently. One notable change came in 695, when Justinian II's gove
rnment added a full-face image of Christ on the obverse of imperial gold coins.
The change caused the Caliph Abd al-Malik to stop his earlier adoption of Byzant
ine coin types. He started a purely Islamic coinage with lettering only.[10] A l
etter by the patriarch Germanus written before 726 to two Iconoclast bishops say
s that "now whole towns and multitudes of people are in considerable agitation o
ver this matter" but there is little written evidence of the debate.[11]
The first iconoclastic period: 730787[edit]
Sometime between 726 and 730, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian began t
he iconoclast campaign.[12] He ordered the removal of an image of Jesus prominen
tly placed over the Chalke gate, the ceremonial entrance to the Great Palace of
Constantinople, and its replacement with a cross. Some of those assigned to the
task were killed by a band of iconodules.[13]
Over the years conflict developed between those who wanted to use the images, cl
aiming that they were "icons" to be "venerated", and the iconoclasts who claimed
they were simply idols. Pope Gregory III "convoked a synod in 730 and formally
condemned iconoclasm as heretical and excommunicated its promoters. The papal le
tter never reached Constantinople as the messengers were intercepted and arreste
d in Sicily by the Byzantines".[14] The Byzantine Emperor Constantine V convened
the Council of Hieria in 754.[15] The 338 bishops assembled concluded, "the unl
awful art of painting living creatures blasphemed the fundamental doctrine of ou
r salvationnamely, the Incarnation of Christ, and contradicted the six holy synod
s. . . . If anyone shall endeavour to represent the forms of the Saints in lifel
ess pictures with material colours which are of no value (for this notion is vai
n and introduced by the devil), and does not rather represent their virtues as l
iving images in himself, etc. . . . let him be anathema". This Council claimed t
o be the legitimate "Seventh Ecumenical Council".[16]
Second Council of Nicaea 787[edit]
An icon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (17th century, Novodevichy Convent, Mo
scow).
Main article: Second Council of Nicaea
In 780, Constantine VI ascended the throne in Constantinople, but being a minor,
was managed by his mother Empress Irene. She decided that an ecumenical council
needed to be held to address the issue of iconoclasm and directed this request
to Pope Adrian I (772795) in Rome. He announced his agreement and called the conv
ention on 1 August 786 in the presence of the Emperor and Empress. The initial p
roceedings were interrupted by the violent entry of iconoclast soldiers faithful
to the memory of the prior Emperor Constantine V. This caused the council to be
adjourned until a reliable army could be assembled to protect any proceedings.
The council was reassembled at Nicaea 24 September 787. During those proceedings
the following was adopted:
... we declare that we defend free from any innovations all the written and unwr
itten ecclesiastical traditions that have been entrusted to us. One of these is
the production of representational art; this is quite in harmony with the histor
y of the spread of the gospel, as it provides confirmation that the becoming man
of the Word of God was real and not just imaginary, and as it brings us a simil
ar benefit. For, things that mutually illustrate one another undoubtedly possess
one another's message.
... we decree with full precision and care that, like the figure of the honoured
and life-giving cross, the revered and holy images, whether painted or made of
mosaic or of other suitable material, are to be exposed in the holy churches of
God, on sacred instruments and vestments, on walls and panels, in houses and by
public ways; these are the images of our Lord, God and saviour, Jesus Christ, an
d of our Lady without blemish, the holy God-bearer, and of the revered angels an
d of any of the saintly holy men. The more frequently they are seen in represent
ational art, the more are those who see them drawn to remember and long for thos
e who serve as models, and to pay these images the tribute of salutation and res
pectful veneration. Certainly this is not the full adoration in accordance with
our faith, which is properly paid only to the divine nature, but it resembles th
at given to the figure of the honoured and life-giving cross, and also to the ho
ly books of the gospels and to other sacred cult objects.[17]
(Note:see[17] also for the original pretranslation text of this council in Greek
and Latin)
Views in Byzantine iconoclasm[edit]
Accounts of iconoclast arguments are largely found in iconodule writings. To und
erstand iconoclastic arguments, one must note the main points:
Iconoclasm condemned the making of any lifeless image (e.g., painting or statue)
that was intended to represent Jesus or one of the saints. The "Epitome of the
Definition of the Iconoclastic Conciliabulum" (Synod of Hiereia) held in 754 dec
lared:[18]
Supported by the Holy Scriptures and the Fathers, we declare unanimously, in the
name of the Holy Trinity, that there shall be rejected and removed and cursed o
ne of the Christian Church every likeness which is made out of any material and
colour whatever by the evil art of painters.... If anyone ventures to represent
the divine image (?a?a?t??, charakter) of the Word after the Incarnation with ma
terial colours, let him be anathema! .... If anyone shall endeavour to represent
the forms of the Saints in lifeless pictures with material colours which are of
no value (for this notion is vain and introduced by the devil), and does not ra
ther represent their virtues as living images in himself, let him be anathema!
For iconoclasts, the only real religious image must be an exact likeness of the
prototypeof the same substancewhich they considered impossible, seeing wood and pa
int as empty of spirit and life. Thus for iconoclasts the only true (and permitt
ed) "icon" of Jesus was the Eucharist, which was believed to be his body and blo
od.
Any true image of Jesus must be able to represent both his divine nature (which
is impossible because it cannot be seen nor encompassed) as well his human natur
e. But by making an icon of Jesus, one is separating his human and divine nature
s, since only the human can be depicted (separating the natures was considered n
estorianism), or else confusing the human and divine natures, considering them o
ne (union of the human and divine natures was considered monophysitism).
Icon use for religious purposes was viewed as an innovation in the Church, a Sat
anic misleading of Christians to return to pagan practice.
Satan misled men, so that they worshipped the creature instead of the Creator. T
he Law of Moses and the Prophets cooperated to remove this ruin. ... But the pre
viously mentioned demiurge of evil...gradually brought back idolatry under the a
ppearance of Christianity.[18]
It was also seen as a departure from ancient church tradition, of which there wa
s a written record opposing religious images.
Triumph of Orthodoxy
The chief theological opponents of iconoclasm were the monks Mansur (John of Dam
ascus), who, living in Muslim territory as advisor to the Caliph of Damascus, wa
s far enough away from the Byzantine emperor to evade retribution, and Theodore
the Studite, abbot of the Stoudios monastery in Constantinople. John declared th
at he did not venerate matter, "but rather the creator of matter". However he al
so declared, "But I also venerate the matter through which salvation came to me,
as if filled with divine energy and grace". He includes in this latter category
the ink in which the gospels were written as well as the paint of images, the w
ood of the Cross, and the body and blood of Jesus.
The iconodule response to iconoclasm included:
Assertion that the biblical commandment forbidding images of God had been supers
eded by the incarnation of Jesus, who, being the second person of the Trinity, i
s God incarnate in visible matter. Therefore, they were not depicting the invisi
ble God, but God as He appeared in the flesh. This became an attempt to shift th
e issue of the incarnation in their favor, whereas the iconoclasts had used the
issue of the incarnation against them.
Further, in their view idols depicted persons without substance or reality while
icons depicted real persons. Essentially the argument was "all religious images
not of our faith are idols; all images of our faith are icons to be venerated".
This was considered comparable to the Old Testament practice of offering burnt
sacrifices only to God, and not to any other gods.
Moses had been instructed by God according to Exodus 25:1822 to make golden statu
es of cherubim angels on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, and according to Ex
odus 26:31 God instructed Moses to embroider the curtain which separated the Hol
y of Holies in the Tabernacle with cherubim. Moses had also been told by God to
embroider the tent walls of the Tabernacle with cherubim angels according to Exo
dus 26:1 and Exodus 36:8.
Regarding the written tradition opposing the making and veneration of images, th
ey asserted that icons were part of unrecorded oral tradition (pardosis, sanction
ed in Orthodoxy as authoritative in doctrine by reference to 2 Thessalonians 2:1
5, Basil the Great, etc.).
Arguments were drawn from the miraculous Acheiropoieta, the supposed icon of the
Virgin painted with her approval by St. Luke, and other miraculous occurrences
around icons, that demonstrated divine approval of Iconodule practices.
Iconodules further argued that decisions such as whether icons ought to be vener
ated were properly made by the church assembled in council, not imposed on the c
hurch by an emperor. Thus the argument also involved the issue of the proper rel
ationship between church and state. Related to this was the observation that it
was foolish to deny to God the same honor that was freely given to the human emp
eror.
Protestant Reformation[edit]
Further information: Beeldenstorm
16th-century iconoclasm in the Protestant Reformation. Relief statues in St. Ste
venskerk in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, were attacked and defaced in the Beeldens
torm.
Looting of the Churches of Lyon by the Calvinists in 1562 by Antoine Caron.
Destruction of religious images in Zurich, 1524
Some of the Protestant reformers, in particular Andreas Karlstadt, Huldrych Zwin
gli and John Calvin, encouraged the removal of religious images by invoking the
Decalogue's prohibition of idolatry and the manufacture of graven (sculpted) ima
ges of God. As a result, individuals attacked statues and images, and others wer
e lost during unauthorised iconoclastic riots. However, in most cases, civil aut
horities removed images in an orderly manner in the newly reformed Protestant ci
ties and territories of Europe.
Significant iconoclastic riots took place in Zurich (in 1523), Copenhagen (1530)
, Mnster (1534), Geneva (1535), Augsburg (1537), Scotland (1559), Rouen (1560) an
d Saintes and La Rochelle (1562).[19] The Seventeen Provinces (now the Netherlan
ds, Belgium and parts of Northern France) were disrupted by widespread Protestan
t iconoclasm in the summer of 1566. This is called the "Beeldenstorm" and began
with the destruction of the statuary of the Monastery of Saint Lawrence in Steen
voorde after a "Hagenpreek", or field sermon, by Sebastiaan Matte.
Hundreds of other attacks included the sacking of the Monastery of Saint Anthony
after a sermon by Jacob de Buysere. The Beeldenstorm marked the start of the re
volution against the Spanish forces and the Catholic Church.
Remains of Reformation iconoclasm, Clocher Saint-Barthlmy, La Rochelle, France.
The Iconoclast belief was causing havoc throughout Europe, and in 1523, specific
ally due to the Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli, a vast amount of his followers
viewed themselves as being involved in a spiritual community that in matters of
faith should obey neither the visible Church nor lay authorities. According to a
uthor R.W Scribner:[20]
"Zwingli's attack on images, at the first debate, triggered iconoclastic inciden
ts in Zurich and the villages under civic jurisdiction that the reformer was unw
illing to condone." And due to this action of protest against authority, Zwingli
responded with a carefully reasoned treatise that men could not live in society
without laws and constraint.
Wallace,[20] pp. 95
During the English Civil War, Bishop Joseph Hall of Norwich described the events
of 1643 when troops and citizens, encouraged by a Parliamentary ordinance again
st superstition and idolatry, behaved thus:
Lord what work was here! What clattering of glasses! What beating down of walls!
What tearing up of monuments! What pulling down of seats! What wresting out of
irons and brass from the windows! What defacing of arms! What demolishing of cur
ious stonework! What tooting and piping upon organ pipes! And what a hideous tri
umph in the market-place before all the country, when all the mangled organ pipe
s, vestments, both copes and surplices, together with the leaden cross which had
newly been sawn down from the Green-yard pulpit and the service-books and singi
ng books that could be carried to the fire in the public market-place were heape
d together.'
An illustration from a 1563 edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs depicts "The Templ
e well purged", "Burning of images", and "the Papists packing away their paltry.
"
William Dowsing was commissioned and salaried by the government to tour the town
s and villages of East Anglia to destroy images in churches. His detailed record
of his trail of destruction through Suffolk and Cambridgeshire survives:[21]
We broke down about a hundred superstitious Pictures; and seven Fryars hugging a
Nunn; and the Picture of God and Christ; and divers others very superstitious;
and 200 had been broke down before I came. We took away 2 popish Inscriptions wi
th Ora pro nobis and we beat down a great stoneing Cross on the top of the Churc
h.
Dowsing,[21] p. 15, Haverhill, Suffolk, January 6, 1644
Protestant Christianity was not uniformly hostile to the use of religious images
. Martin Luther, initially hostile, came round to the view that Christians shoul
d be free to use religious images as long as they did not worship them in place
of God. Lutheran scholar Jeremiah Ohl writes:[22]
Zwingli and others for the sake of saving the Word rejected all plastic art; Lut
her, with an equal concern for the Word, but far more conservative, would have a
ll the arts to be the servants of the Gospel. I am not of the opinion said [Luther
], that through the Gospel all the arts should be banished and driven away, as so
me zealots want to make us believe; but I wish to see them all, especially music
, in the service of Him Who gave and created them. Again he says: I have myself he
ard those who oppose pictures, read from my German Bible. But this contains many
pictures of God, of the angels, of men, and of animals, especially in the Revel
ation of St. John, in the books of Moses, and in the book of Joshua. We therefor
e kindly beg these fanatics to permit us also to paint these pictures on the wal
l that they may be remembered and better understood, inasmuch as they can harm a
s little on the walls as in books. Would to God that I could persuade those who
can afford it to paint the whole Bible on their houses, inside and outside, so t
hat all might see; this would indeed be a Christian work. For I am convinced tha
t it is Gods will that we should hear and learn what He has done, especially what
Christ suffered. But when I hear these things and meditate upon them, I find it
impossible not to picture them in my heart. Whether I want to or not, when I he
ar, of Christ, a human form hanging upon a cross rises up in my heart: just as I
see my natural face reflected when I look into water. Now if it is not sinful f
or me to have Christs picture in my heart, why should it be sinful to have it bef
ore my eyes?
Ohl,[22] pp. 8889
Altarpiece fragments (late 1300 early 1400) destroyed during the English Dissolu
tion of the Monasteries, mid-16th century.
Muslim iconoclasm[edit]
Further information: Aniconism in Islam
The taller of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in 1963 and in 2008 after destruction
Within Muslim history, the act of removing idols from the Ka'ba in Mecca is cons
idered by all believers to be of great symbolic and historical importance.
In general, Muslim societies have avoided the depiction of living beings (animal
s and humans) within such sacred spaces as mosques and madrasahs. This oppositio
n to figural representation is not based on the Qur'an, but rather on various tr
aditions contained within the Hadith. The prohibition of figuration has not alwa
ys extended to the secular sphere, and a robust tradition of figural representat
ion exists within Muslim art.[23] However, western authors have tended to percei
ve "a long, culturally determined, and unchanging tradition of violent iconoclas
tic acts" within Islamic society.[23]
Early Islam in Arabia[edit]
The first act of Muslim iconoclasm dates to the beginning of Islam, in 630, when
the various statues of Arabian deities housed in the Kaaba in Mecca were destro
yed. There is a tradition that Muhammad spared a fresco of Mary and Jesus.[24] T
his act was intended to bring an end to the idolatry which, in the Muslim view,
characterized Jahiliyya.
The destruction of the idols of Mecca did not, however, determine the treatment
of other religious communities living under Muslim rule after the expansion of t
he caliphate. Most Christians under Muslim rule, for example, continued to produ
ce icons and to decorate their churches as they wished. A major exception to thi
s pattern of tolerance in early Islamic history was the "Edict of Yazid", issued
by the Umayyad caliph Yazid II in 722723.[25] This edict ordered the destruction
of crosses and Christian images within the territory of the caliphate. Research
ers have discovered evidence that the order was followed, particularly in presen
t-day Jordan, where archaeological evidence shows the removal of images from the
mosaic floors of some, although not all, of the churches that stood at this tim
e. But, Yazid's iconoclastic policies were not continued by his successors, and
Christian communities of the Levant continued to make icons without significant
interruption from the sixth century to the ninth.[26]
Egypt[edit]
The missing nose on the Great Sphinx of Giza is attributed to iconoclasm by a Su
fi Muslim fanatic in the mid-1300s.[Note 3]
Recent events[edit]
Further information: Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia
Certain Muslim denominations continue to pursue iconoclastic agendas. There has
been much controversy within Islam over the recent and apparently on-going destr
uction of historic sites by Saudi Arabian authorities, prompted by the fear they
could become the subject of "idolatry".[27][28]
During the Tuareg rebellion of 2012, the radical Islamist militia Ansar Dine des
troyed various Sufi shrines from the 15th and 16th centuries in the city of Timb
uktu, Mali.[29]
During the Bahraini urprising a large number of Shia mosques were were destroyed
by the Sunni government.
The Islamic State has carried off iconoclastic attacks such as the destruction o
f Shia mosques and shrines. Notable incidents include the Mosque of the Prophet
Yunus (Jonah)[30] and the Shrine to Seth in Mosul.[31]
Political and revolutionary iconoclasm[edit]
This section may stray from the topic of the article. Please help improve this s
ection or discuss this issue on the talk page.
Main article: damnatio memoriae
The Sons of Liberty pulling down the statue of George III of the United Kingdom
on Bowling Green (New York City), 1776.
Revolutions and changes of regime, whether through uprising of the local populat
ion, foreign invasion, or a combination of both, are often accompanied by the pu
blic destruction of statues and monuments identified with the previous regime. T
his may also be known as damnatio memoriae, the Ancient Roman practice of offici
al obliteration of the memory of a specific individual. Stricter definitions of
"iconoclasm" exclude both types of action, reserving the term for religious or m
ore widely cultural destruction. In many cases, such as Revolutionary Russia or
Ancient Egypt, this distinction can be hard to make. Examples of political destr
uction of images include:
All public references to the "heretical" Pharaoh Akhenaten were destroyed soon a
fter his death in about 1334 BC; a very laborious process with stone-carved reli
efs and inscriptions.
Several Roman emperors and other political figures were subject to decrees of da
mnatio memoriae, including Sejanus, Publius Septimius Geta, and Domitian.
During the American Revolution, the Sons of Liberty pulled down and destroyed th
e gilt lead statue of George III of the United Kingdom on Bowling Green (New Yor
k City), melting it down for use as musket balls against the British Army. Simil
ar acts have accompanied the independence of most ex-colonial territories. Somet
imes relatively intact monuments are moved to a collected display in a less prom
inent place, as in India and also post-Communist countries.
During the French Revolution, the statue of King Louis XV, in the Paris square w
hich until then bore his name, was pulled down and destroyed. This was a prelude
to the guillotining of his successor Louis XVI in the same site, renamed "Place
de la Rvolution" (at present Place de la Concorde).
The statue of Napoleon on the column at Place Vendme, Paris was the target of ico
noclasm several times: destroyed after the Bourbon Restoration, restored by Loui
s-Philippe, destroyed during the Paris Commune and restored by Adolphe Thiers.
The October Revolution in 1917 was accompanied by destruction of monuments of pa
st Tsars, as well as Russian Imperial Eagles, at various locations throughout Ru
ssia. "In front of a Moscow cathedral, crowds cheered as the enormous statue of
Tsar Alexander III was bound with ropes and gradually beaten to the ground. Afte
r a considerable amount of time, the statue was decapitated and its remaining pa
rts were broken into rubble".[32]
The Chinese Cultural Revolution included very widespread destruction of historic
artworks in public places and private collections, whether religious or secular
. Objects in state museums were mostly left intact.
The fall of Communism in 1989 was followed by destruction or removal of statues
of Vladimir Lenin and other Communist leaders in the former Soviet Union and in
other Soviet bloc countries. Particularly well-known was the destruction of "Iro
n Felix", the statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky outside the KGB headquarters, and anot
her one of his on Warsaw square of his name (now Plac Bankowy).
Iconoclasm in the French Revolution[edit]
Throughout the radical phase of the Revolution, iconoclasm was supported by memb
ers of the government as well as the citizenry. Numerous monuments, religious wo
rks, and other historically significant pieces were destroyed in an attempt to e
radicate any memory of the Old Regime. At the same time, the republican governme
nt felt responsible to preserve these works for their historical, aesthetic, and
cultural value. One way the republican government succeeded in their paradoxica
l mission of preserving and destroying symbols of the Old Regime was through the
development of museums.
Roland and the Monuments Commission[edit]
The Monuments Commission had a responsibility of preserving art despite its prob
lematic political symbolism. Jean Roland was installed as the Minister of Interi
or in 1792 and was faced with pressure from the National Convention to destroy s
ymbols of the Old Regime. Roland, given the responsibility of simultaneously pre
serving and destroying art, found his solution in the form of public museums. Th
e museum served as a representation of Frances rich artistic heritage. Roland had
an idealistic vision for the opening of the Louvre as a means of showcasing the
glory and power of the Revolution.[33]
Public Museums[edit]
The Louvre was first opened to the public on August 10, 1793. The Louvres collect
ion was almost entirely composed of art from the monarchys collection in Versaill
es. Although the radical governments official purpose of installing this art was
to avoid favoritism among artists, the paintings were secretly held in high regard.[
34] Many critics believed that the art from the royalist era was superior to the
work of contemporary artists and therefore believed that the works served a gre
ater historical and aesthetic purpose.[35] These artistic symbols of royalty, feu
dalism, and superstition lost their significance in the passive and detached envi
ronment of the Louvre.[36] The Louvre, along with other French museums, was a co
mpromise between the political push to preserve and destroy art. Consequently, t
he museum was one form of iconoclasm as it destroyed the essence and meaning of
artistic images while preserving its physical form. French museums stripped art
of its culturally specific meaning, separating the great artworks from their pot
entially counterrevolutionary context. Subsequently, politically controversial w
orks were allowed to be preserved.[37] Thus, the museum freed images from their
intended symbolic meaning and allowed French citizens to appreciate the art mere
ly for its aesthetic and technical characteristics.[38] The museum houses, defen
ds, preserves, and abstracts by its very nature, and as such, was one of the mos
t significant architectural and conceptual structures to have been conceived in
the modern age.[39]
Similarly, the Premier Muse des Monuments opened to the public in the year 1795,
having been commissioned in October of 1790 to hold artworks collected by the re
volutionary government. It eventually became one of the most popular museums in
Europe. Its curator, Alexandre Lenoir, preserved religious sculptures and tombs
for his museum. He was able to preserve relics of the feudal system by convincin
g revolutionary leaders of their stylistic merit, and minimizing reverence towar
d the societies the works portrayed.[40] Revolutionary museums did not so much el
iminate meanings as provide new ones. [41]
Demolition of Hindu temples[edit]
This section may stray from the topic of the article. Please help improve this s
ection or discuss this issue on the talk page.
During Muslim conquest[edit]
General view of Temple and Enclosure of Marttand or the Sun, near Bhawan. . Phot
ograph of the Surya Temple at Martand in Jammu & Kashmir taken by John Burke in
1868.
Records from the campaign recorded in the Chach Nama record temple demolitions d
uring the early 8th century, when the Umayyad governor of Damascus, Hajjaj,[42]
mobilized an expedition of 6,000 cavalry under Muhammad bin-Qasim in 712 CE.
The historian, Upendra Thakur records the persecution of Hindus and Buddhists:
... Muhammad triumphantly marched into the country, conquering Debal, Sehwan, Ne
run, Brahmanadabad, Alor and Multan one after the other in quick succession, and
in less than a year and a half, the far-flung Hindu kingdom was crushed ... The
re was a fearful outbreak of religious bigotry in several places and temples wer
e wantonly desecrated. At Debal, the Nairun and Aror temples were demolished and
converted into mosques.[43]
Sultn Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 13891413) ordered the breaking of all "gol
den and silver images". The Tarikh-i-Firishta states: "After the emigration of t
he Bramins, Sikundur ordered all the temples in Kashmeer to be thrown down. Havi
ng broken all the images in Kashmeer, (Sikandar) acquired the title of Destroyer
of Idols".[44]
Somanatha Temple Prabhas Patan, Gujarat, from the Archaeological Survey of India
, taken by D. H. Sykes in c. 1869.
In 725 Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second
Somanath temple.[45] In 1024 AD, the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud
Ghazni[46] who raided the temple from across the Thar Desert. The temple was reb
uilt by the Gujjar Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhima of Guj
arat (Anhilwara) or Patan between 1026 and 1042. The wooden structure was replac
ed by Kumarpal (r. 114372), who built the temple of stone.[47]
In 1296 AD, the temple was once again destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji's arm
y.[45][46] According to Taj-ul-Ma'sir of Hasan Nizami, Raja Karan of Gujarat was
defeated and forced to flee, "fifty thousand infidels were dispatched to hell b
y the sword" and "more than twenty thousand slaves, and cattle beyond all calcul
ation fell into the hands of the victors".[45] The temple was rebuilt by Mahipal
a Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 AD and the Linga was installed
by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351 AD. In 1375 AD, the temple was
once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat.[45]
In 1451 AD, the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Begda, the Sultan of G
ujarat.[45][46] In 1701 AD, the temple was once again destroyed by Mughal Empero
r Aurangzeb.[45] Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, usi
ng some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.
Mahmud of Ghazni was an Afghan Sultan who invaded the Indian subcontinent during
the early 11th century. His campaigns across the gangetic plains are often cite
d for their iconoclastic plundering and destruction of temples such as those at
Mathura and he looked upon their destruction as an act of "jihad".[48] He sacked
the second Somnath Temple in 1026, and looted it of gems and precious stones an
d the famous Shiva lingam of the temple was destroyed.[49]
Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai a
ttest to the iconoclasm of Qutb-ud-din Aybak. The first mosque built in Delhi, t
he "Quwwat al-Islam" was built after the demolition of the Hindu temple built pr
eviously by Prithvi Raj and certain parts of the temple were left outside the mo
sque proper.[50] This pattern of iconoclasm was common during his reign, althoug
h an argument goes that such iconoclasm was motivated more by politics than by r
eligion.[51]
Another ruler of the sultanate, Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, conquered and subjugated
the Hindu pilgrimage site Varanasi in the 11th century and he continued the des
truction of Hindu temples and idols that had begun during the first attack in 11
94.[52]
No aspect of Aurangzeb's reign is more citedor more controversialthan the numerous
desecrations and even the destruction of Hindu temples.[53] During his reign, t
ens of thousands of temples were desecrated: their facades and interiors were de
faced and their murtis (divine images) looted.[53] In many cases, temples were d
estroyed entirely; in numerous instances mosques were built on their foundations
, sometimes using the same stones. Among the temples Aurangzeb destroyed were tw
o that are most sacred to Hindus, in Varanasi and Mathura.[54] In both cases, he
had large mosques built on the sites.[53]
The original holy well Gyanvapi in between temple and mosque.
The Kesava Deo temple in Mathura, marked the place that Hindus believe was the b
irthplace of Shri Krishna.[54] In 1661 Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the t
emple, and constructed the Katra Masjid mosque. Traces of the ancient Hindu temp
le can be seen from the back of the mosque. Aurangzeb also destroyed what was th
e most famous temple in Varanasi the Vishwanath Temple.[54]
The temple had changed its location over the years, and in 1585 Akbar had author
ized its location at Gyan Vapi. Aurangzeb ordered its demolition in 1669 and con
structed a mosque on the site, whose minarets stand 71 metres above the Ganges.
Traces of the old temple can be seen behind the mosque. Centuries later, emotion
al debate about these wanton acts of cultural desecration continues. Aurangzeb a
lso destroyed the Somnath temple in 1706.[54]
Hindu nationalists claim that Mughals destroyed the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, locat
ed at the birthplace of Rama, and built the Babri Masjid on the holy site, which
has since been a source of tension between the Hindu and Muslim communities.
Writer Fernand Braudel wrote in A History of Civilizations (Penguin 1988/1963, p
p. 232236), Islamic rule in India as a "colonial experiment" was "extremely viole
nt", and "the Muslims could not rule the country except by systematic terror. Cr
uelty was the norm burnings, summary executions, crucifixions or impalements, in
ventive tortures. Hindu temples were destroyed to make way for mosques. On occas
ion there were forced conversions. If ever there were an uprising, it was instan
tly and savagely repressed: houses were burned, the countryside was laid waste,
men were slaughtered and women were taken as slaves."
C. K. Kareem also notes that Tippu Sultan issued an edict for the destruction of
Hindu temples in Kerala.[55]
In a two-volume book by Sita Ram Goel, Arun Shourie, Harsh Narain, Jay Dubashi a
nd Ram Swarup, Hindu Temples What Happened to Them, includes a list of 2000 mosq
ues that it is claimed were built on Hindu temples in the first volume,[56] whic
h it is asserted is based primarily on the books of Muslim historians of the per
iod or the inscriptions of the mosques. The second volume excerpts from medieval
histories and chronicles and from inscriptions concerning the destruction of Hi
ndu, Jain, and Buddhist temples.[57] The authors claim that the material present
ed in this book are only the tip of an iceberg.[58]
During Goa inquisitions[edit]
Diago de Boarda, a priest, and his advisor Vicar General, Miguel Vaz, had made a
41-point plan for torturing Hindus. Under this plan Viceroy Antano de Noronha i
ssued in 1566, an order applicable to the entire area under Portuguese rule:[59]
I hereby order that in any area owned by my master, the king, nobody should cons
truct a Hindu temple and such temples already constructed should not be repaired
without my permission. If this order is transgressed, such temples shall be, de
stroyed and the goods in them shall be used to meet expenses of holy deeds, as p
unishment of such transgression.
In 1567 the campaign of destroying temples in Bardez met with success. At the en
d of it 300 Hindu temples were destroyed. In 1583 Hindu temples at Assolna and C
uncolim were destroyed through army action.[59]
"The fathers of the Church forbade the Hindus under terrible penalties the use o
f their own sacred books, and prevented them from all exercise of their religion
. They destroyed their temples, and so harassed and interfered with the people t
hat they abandoned the city in large numbers, refusing to remain any longer in a
place where they had no liberty, and were liable to imprisonment, torture and d
eath if they worshipped after their own fashion the gods of their fathers". wrot
e Filippo Sassetti, who was in India from 1578 to 1588.[59]
An order was issued in June 1684 eliminating the Konkani language and making it
compulsory to speak Portuguese language. Following that law all the symbols of n
on-Christian sects were destroyed and the books written in local languages were
burnt.[59]
Contemporary iconoclasm against Hindus[edit]
In India[edit]
On December 6, 1992, a large crowd of Hindu Karsevaks (volunteers) entirely dest
royed the 16th-century Babri mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India, in an atte
mpt to reclaim the land known as Ram Janmabhoomi. The demolition occurred after
a religious ceremony turned violent and resulted in several months of intercommu
nal rioting between India's Hindu and Muslim communities, causing the death of a
t least 2,000 people most of which were Muslims.[60]
In June 2010, during rioting in Sangli, people threw stones inside a Ganesh mand
al.[61]
The permanent Durga mandap at Chattalpalli and the makeshift pandal in front. Th
e passage to the area was being dug up by Muslims to prevent the Hindus from ent
ering the area.
The 2010 Deganga riots began on 6 September when mobs resorted to arson and viol
ence over a disputed structure at Deganga, Kartikpur and Beliaghata under the De
ganga police station area. The violence began late in the evening and continued
throughout the night into the next morning.[62][63][64][65] The violence finally
calmed down on 9 September after hundreds of business establishments and reside
nces were looted, destroyed and burnt, dozens of people were severely injured an
d several places of worship desecrated and vandalized.
In June 2011 at Asansol Market area, a Hindu temple, under construction led by B
astim Bazaar Sarbojanin Durga Puja Committee was and approved by ADM on 12 April
2011, was attacked by an Islamic mob.[66]
In Bangladesh[edit]
In Bangladesh atrocities[67] including targeted attacks[68] against temples and
open theft of Hindu property have increased sharply in recent years after the Ja
mat-e-Islami joined the coalition government led by the Bangladesh National Part
y.[69][70] Hindu temples in Bangladesh have also been vandalised.[71][72]
On the February 6, 2010, Sonargaon temple in Narayanganj district of Bangladesh
was destroyed by Islamic fanatics.[73][74][75]
In Pakistan[edit]
Further information: Decline of Hinduism in Pakistan
Several Hindu temples have been destroyed in Pakistan. A notable incident was th
e destruction of the Ramna Kali Mandir in former East Pakistan. The temple was b
ulldozed by the Pakistani Army on March 27, 1971. The Dhakeshwari Temple was sev
erely damaged during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and over half of the temple
's buildings were destroyed. In a major disrespect of the religion, the main wor
ship hall was taken over by the Pakistan Army and used as an ammunitions storage
area. Several of the temple custodians were tortured and killed by the Army tho
ugh most, including the Head Priest, fled first to their ancestral villages and
then to India and therefore escaped death.
In 2006 the last Hindu temple in Lahore was destroyed to pave the way for constr
uction of a multi-story commercial building. The temple was demolished after off
icials of the Evacuee Property Trust Board concealed facts from the board chairm
an about the nature of the building. When reporters from Pakistan-based newspape
r Dawn tried to cover the incident, they were accosted by the henchmen of the pr
operty developer, who denied that a Hindu temple existed at the site.[76]
Several political parties in Pakistan have objected to this move, such as the Pa
kistan People's Party and the Pakistani Muslim League-N.[77][78] The move has al
so evoked strong condemnation in India from minority bodies and political partie
s, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress Party, as well as Mu
slim advocacy political parties such as the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat
.[79] A firm of lawyers representing the Hindu minority has approached the Lahor
e High Court seeking a directive to the builders to stop the construction of the
commercial plaza and reconstruct the temple at the site. The petitioners mainta
in that the demolition violates section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code prohibiti
ng the demolition of places of worship.[80]
On June 29, 2005, following the arrest of an illiterate Christian janitor on all
egations of allegedly burning Qur'an pages, a mob of between 300 and 500 Muslims
destroyed a Hindu temple and houses belonging to Christian and Hindu families i
n Nowshera. Under the terms of a deal negotiated between Islamic religious leade
rs and the Hindu/Christian communities, Pakistani police later released all prev
iously arrested perpetrators without charge.[81]
In Malaysia[edit]
Between April to May 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall au
thorities in the country, accompanied by violence against Hindus.[82] On April 2
1, 2006, the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced to
rubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers.[83] Many Hindu advocacy groups ha
ve protested what they allege is a systematic plan of temple cleansing in Malays
ia. The official reason given by the Malaysian government has been that the temp
les were built "illegally". However, several of the temples are centuries old.[8
4] On May 11, 2006, armed city hall officers from Kuala Lumpur forcefully demoli
shed part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus.[8
4]
In Saudi Arabia[edit]
On March 24, 2005, Saudi authorities destroyed religious items found in a raid o
n a makeshift Hindu shrine found in an apartment in Riyadh.[85]
In Fiji[edit]
In Fiji according to official reports, attacks on Hindu institutions increased b
y 14% compared to 2004. This intolerance of Hindus has found expression in anti-
Hindu speeches and destruction of temples, the two most common forms of immediat
e and direct violence against Hindus. Between 2001 and April 2005, one hundred c
ases of temple attacks have been registered with the police. The alarming increa
se of temple destruction has spread fear and intimidation among the Hindu minori
ties and has hastened immigration to neighboring Australia and New Zealand. Orga
nized religious institutions, such as the Methodist Church of Fiji, have repeate
dly called for the creation of a theocratic Christian State and have propagated
anti-Hindu sentiment.[86] State favoritism of Christianity, and systematic attac
ks on temples, are some of the greatest threats faced by Fijian Hindus. Despite
the creation of a human rights commission, the plight of Hindus in Fiji continue
s to be precarious.[86]
Chinese "anti-foreignism"[edit]
This section may stray from the topic of the article. Please help improve this s
ection or discuss this issue on the talk page.
Further information: Anti-Western sentiment in China
During the Northern Expedition, in 1926 in Guangxi, Kuomintang Muslim General Ba
i Chongxi led his troops in destroying Buddhist temples and smashing idols, turn
ing the temples into schools and Kuomintang party headquarters.[87] It was repor
ted that almost all of Buddhist monasteries in Guangxi were destroyed by Bai in
this manner. The monks were removed.[88] Bai led a wave of anti-foreignism in Gu
angxi, attacking American, European, and other foreigners and missionaries, and
generally making the province unsafe for foreigners. Westerners fled from the pr
ovince, and some Chinese Christians were also attacked as imperialist agents.[89
]
The three goals of the movement were anti-foreignism, anti-imperialism, and anti
-religion. Bai led the anti-religious movement against superstition. Huang Shaox
iong, also a Kuomintang member of the New Guangxi clique, supported Bai's campai
gn. Huang was not a Muslim, and the anti-religious campaign was agreed upon by a
ll Guangxi Kuomintang members.[90]
See also[edit]
Aniconism
Censorship by organized religion
Iconolatry
Lost artworks
Natural theology
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Literally, "image-breaking", from Ancient Greek: e???? and ????. Icono
clasm may be also considered as a back-formation from iconoclast (from Greek e??
????st??). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is e???????as?a eikonokla
sia.
Jump up ^ A possible translation is also: "There shall be no pictures in the chu
rch, lest what is worshipped and adored should be depicted on the walls."
Jump up ^ al-Maqrizi, writing in the 15th century, attributes the damage to Muha
mmad Sa'im al-Dahr, a Sufi Muslim fanatic from the khanqah of Sa'id al-Su'ada, i
n 1378.
References[edit]
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Jump up ^ "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of an
ything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in t
he water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them. . . ."
(Exodus 20:45a, ESV.)
Jump up ^ Elvira canons, Cua, "Placuit picturas in ecclesia esse non debere, ne
quod colitur et adoratur in parietibus depingatur".
Jump up ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia, "This canon has often been urged against th
e veneration of images as practised in the Catholic Church. Binterim, De Rossi,
and Hefele interpret this prohibition as directed against the use of images in o
verground churches only, lest the pagans should caricature sacred scenes and ide
as; Von Funk, Termel, and Dom Leclerq opine that the council did not pronounce a
s to the liceity or non-liceity of the use of images, but as an administrative m
easure simply forbade them, lest new and weak converts from paganism should incu
r thereby any danger of relapse into idolatry, or be scandalized by certain supe
rstitious excesses in no way approved by the ecclesiastical authority."
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orf and the Iconoclasm in the Second Half of the 20th Century". Sthughofcluny.or
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7044-0226-2.
Jump up ^ Cf. (ed.) F. GIOIA, The Popes Twenty Centuries of History, Libreria Ed
itrice Vaticana (2005), p. 40.
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Jesus son of Mary and Mary (on both of whom be peace!). ... The apostle ordered
that the pictures should be erased except those of Jesus and Mary."
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State.gov. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
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Jump up ^ Marshall, Paul. Saudi Arabia's Religious Police Crack Down. Freedom Ho
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ts 2005". Hafsite.org. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
Jump up ^ Diana Lary (1974). Region and nation: the Kwangsi clique in Chinese po
litics, 1925-1937. Cambridge University Press. p. 98. ISBN 0-521-20204-3. Retrie
ved 2010-06-28.
Jump up ^ Don Alvin Pittman (2001). Toward a modern Chinese Buddhism: Taixu's re
forms. University of Hawaii Press. p. 146. ISBN 0-8248-2231-5. Retrieved 2010-06
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litics, 1925-1937. Cambridge University Press. p. 99. ISBN 0-521-20204-3. Retrie
ved 2010-06-28.
Jump up ^ Diana Lary (1974). Region and nation: the Kwangsi clique in Chinese po
litics, 1925-1937. Cambridge University Press. p. 99. ISBN 0-521-20204-3. Retrie
ved 2010-06-28.
Further reading[edit]
Barasch, Moshe (1992). Icon: Studies in the History of an Idea. University of Ne
w York Press. ISBN 0-8147-1172-3.
Besanon, Alain (2009). The Forbidden Image: An Intellectual History of Iconoclasm
. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-04414-9.
Bevan, Robert (2006). The Destruction of Memory: Architecture at War. Reaktion B
ooks. ISBN 978-1-86189-319-2.
Boldrick, Stacy, Leslie Brubaker, and Richard Clay, eds. Striking Images, Iconoc
lasms Past and Present (Ashgate, 2014) 236 pages; scholarly studies of the destr
uction of images from prehistory to the Taliban
Freedberg, David (1977). A. Bryer and J. Herrin, ed. The Structure of Byzantine
and European Iconoclasm. University of Birmingham, Centre for Byzantine Studies.
pp. 165177. ISBN 978-0-7044-0226-3.
Freedberg, David (1985; reprinted in Public, Toronto, 1993). Iconoclasts and the
ir Motives (Second Horst Gerson Memorial Lecture, University of Groningen). Maar
ssen: Gary Schwartz. ISBN 978-90-6179-056-3. Check date values in: |date= (help)
Gamboni, Dario (1997). The Destruction of Art: Iconoclasm and Vandalism since th
e French Revolution. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-86189-316-1.
Gwynn, David M. From Iconoclasm to Arianism: The Construction of Christian Tradi
tion in the Iconoclast Controversy [Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 47 (2007
) 225251.
Ivanovic, Filip (2010). Symbol and Icon: Dionysius t