Título: Mohammed Omar
Seção: Bamiyan Buddhas
Background: According to most sources, Omar was born sometime between 1950 and 1962 in a village in Kandahar Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan (in present-day Kandahar Province or Uruzgan Province). Some suggest his birth year as 1950 or 1953, or as late as around 1966. According to a "surprise biography" published by the Taliban in April 2015, he was born in 1960. His exact place of birth is also uncertain; one possibility is a village called Nodeh near the city of Kandahar.

Conteúdo: On 4 April 1996, supporters of Mullah Omar bestowed on him the title Amir al-Mu'minin ('myr lmw'mnyn, "Commander of the Faithful"), after he donned a cloak alleged to be that of Muhammad that was locked in a series of chests, held inside the Shrine of the Cloak in the city of Kandahar. Legend decreed that whoever could retrieve the cloak from the chest would be the great Leader of the Muslims, or "Amir al-Mu'minin".  In September 1996, Kabul fell to Mullah Omar and his followers. The civil war continued in the northeast corner of the country, near Tajikistan. The nation was named the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in October 1997 and was recognized by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Described as a "reclusive, pious and frugal" leader, Omar very seldom left his residence in the city of Kandahar, and visited Kabul only twice between 1996 and 2001 during his tenure as ruler of Afghanistan. In November 2001, during a radio interview with the BBC, Omar stated: "All Taliban are moderate. There are two things: extremism ['ifraat', or doing something to excess] and conservatism ['tafreet', or doing something insufficiently]. So in that sense, we are all moderates - taking the middle path."  According to Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai, Mullah Omar stated in the late 1990s, "We have told Osama [Bin Laden] not to use Afghan soil to carry out political activities as it creates unnecessary confusion about Taliban objectives."  In 1998, despite receiving a pe

user: What are Bamiyan Buddhas ?

assistant: In July 1999, Mullah Mohammed Omar issued a decree in favor of the preservation of the Bamiyan Buddha statues.

user: Were they saved ?

assistant: In March 2001, the Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban under an edict issued from Mullah Omar, stating:

user: Who created them ?

assistant: Because Afghanistan's Buddhist population no longer exists, so the statues are no longer worshiped, he added:

user: Why did Omar want them preserved ?

assistant: considers the Bamiyan statues as an example of a potential major source of income for Afghanistan from international visitors. The Taliban states that Bamiyan shall not be destroyed but protected."

user: When were they destroyed ?

assistant: In March 2001, the Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed

user: Was there a reason to destroy them ?

assistant: edict issued from Mullah Omar, stating: "all the statues around Afghanistan must be destroyed."

user: Was it due to religious reasons ?

assistant: Information and Culture Minister Qadratullah Jamal told Associated Press of a decision by 400 religious clerics from across Afghanistan declaring the Buddhist statues against the tenets of Islam.

user: Was there a response from the rest of the world of the destruction ?

assistant: This prompted an international outcry.