ISLAMABAD -- As if the destruction of some key human values were not enough to satisfy the blind zeal of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, they have now turned their guns on historical relics.

In the nearly two weeks since Mullah Mohammed Omar, the reclusive Taliban leader who has seldom been seen in public, ordered the destruction of all statues from the country's pre-Islamic era, Afghanistan has once again been in the international spotlight.

This time, however, the attention is qualitatively different. While earlier criticism of harsh practices such as banning the education of girls and restricting women from most professions came largely from the Western world, the Islamic world's response to the latest burst of destruction has been barely less forthright.