India versus China (explained)

Aryan non-Muslims of Pakistan: Kalash

The last pagans (non-Muslims) of Pakistan 🇵🇰

Matt Shoe visits Indo-Aryan Afghanistan

(Matt Shoe) In this video, I set out on a ride from Islamabad to the Kalash Valley to find the last remaining (Indo-Aryan) Kalash people — one of the most original and ancient cultures in the region.

• Hunza Valley for longevity (criticalhealthnews.com)
• [The blue-eyed historical Buddha was from Central Asia, Afghanistan (likely in the three seasonal capitals of Bamiyan, Kabul or Kapilavastu, and Mes Aynak in ancient Gandhara), from the foothills of the Hindu Kush, part of the Himalayan Range.]
• Shout out to pakistanbikers.com who set me up with the motorcycle for this adventure! 💪

Indo-Aryan peoples in Pakistan? (wiki)

I rented a motorcycle from PakistanBikers and started the long ride through rainstorms, mountain roads, and small villages. Along the way, I met friendly locals, saw incredible landscapes, and got a real taste of life in northern Pakistan.

After hours of riding, I finally reached the Kalash Valleys — Birir, Rumbur, and Bumburet. I spent the night in Birir, learning about their history, traditions, and the stories passed down for generations.

The next day, I visited Rumbur, where I witnessed something truly rare — an ancient funeral ceremony that few outsiders ever get to see. This was one of the most meaningful trips I’ve ever done — a glimpse into a culture fighting to keep its identity alive in the modern world.

My eBooks: Guides: mattshoe.travel/guides. Follow on socials: Instagram (themattshoe), Facebook (mattshoeyoutube), TikTok (mattshoetravel). Business enquires: contact@mattshoe.travel

•  Matt Shoe, Oct. 11, 2025; Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Inside Afghanistan in 2025 (video)

Inside Afghanistan in 2025 (the world's most dangerous country)

(Matt and Julia) Summer, 2025: AFGHANISTAN, Central Asia. Afghanistan, a country we have all heard of for all the wrong reasons.

For the first time in over 40 years, formerly Buddhist Afghanistan is at peace (particularly in holy Bamiyan). However, under Taliban rule, it remains highly controversial, with human rights, especially of women, being eroded every day.

We decided to solo travel to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in 2025 to try understand what life is really like inside a country we all hear so much about on the news but often understand so little of. #Afghanistan

(Matt and Julia) An American and other Westerners in Central Asia

Afghanistan is a nation with a rich culture, history, and heritage. It is a proud country that has defeated every empire that passed through its land, from the Brits (English) to the Soviets (Russians), to the Yanks (Americans) [and soon the Chinese]. But what is life really like right now?

Join us as we travel solo overland from Pakistan, towards Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and try to understand more about this flawed and often misunderstood sovereign state. Welcome to Afghanistan and daily life under Taliban control.

Crossing Badlands of rural Afghanistan (hostile) - Westerner drops into Kabul with camera

► We use Holafly E-sim's when travelling. Get a unique discount with the code MATTANDJULIA - holafly.sjv.io/yqRMAy ► Learn Russian with us: mattandjulia.co.uk/shop ► Our Travel Guides: mattandjulia.co.uk/shop ► Join us on a Group Tour: humankindexpeditions.com ► Support channel: mattandjulia ► Follow on Instagram: matt.and.julia.

Contact: ► For sponsorship opportunities: sponsorships@mattandjulia.co.uk ► For any other business enquires: business@mattandjulia.co.uk #kabul #travelvlog #travel #middleeast #life. How this content was made: Auto-dubbed audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated. Learn more.

• Matt and Julia, June 20, 2025; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Countries dare to stand up to Israel?

(Jimmy Dore Show) Whistleblower exposes how Israel brainwashes American Christians

(WLA) Algeria and Pakistan stun the world by standing up to the rogue pariah state of Israel and Dictator Netanyahu's war crimes and the Trump administration's diplomatic cover at the U.N.

(Jimmy Dore's official website – The Jimmy Dore Show)

China and India preparing for war (WSJ)

A billion people here, another billion there

(WSJ) How China is quietly bracing for war with India. Pakistan is delighted. How much money will Israel and its affiliated arms dealers make from selling weapons in this conflict? How will the CIA angle for long-term advantage (full spectrum dominance) in the region? And does the 14th Dalai Lama regret taking sides and affiliating himself with The Company (aka the CIA)?

• WSJ Coordinates, The Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2025; Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

US-Israel's war plans: Pakistan's next

"Zionism is to Judaism with the KKK is to Christianity."

(The CJ Werleman Show) Israel prepares for illegal "preemptive" attack on former friend Pakistan

You're not supposed to tell everyone, CJ! It's a surprise for the US-controlled UNSC!

Israel shill accuses submissive Piers Morgan of "blood libel," its worst accusation (TJDS)

CIA's promised Messiah Bibi

(Miki Nebulah) A week after the U.S. became guilty of the worst crime against humanity in history by bombing Buddhist Nagasaki (on Aug. 9, 1945), the nation of Tokyo had still not surrendered. If the Japanese had not surrendered on August 15, 1945, as it did, the U.S. war criminals would have struck again with a third experimental and potentially more powerful atomic bomb a few days later. How tiny our differences are in the vastness of space yet how magnified on earth. The draconian ETs must be proud. Nov. 10, 2010.

LYRICS: "Unorthodox Manifesto"

The memories far beyond their reckoning/ Have begun to lurk in the distance/ Like visual objects dearly known/ The grace of devil's hands/ As they walk with me like a medium/ Well I choose and require a burnout/ Resting in expanded malicious force/ Drained for murderous weapons/ Knowing where you stand/ In the magnitude of this thought/ Looking at the spirit of fire and flames/ Enduring on the throne of the black heart. [Repeat Verses 1-3]

The Jewish Holocaust in Palestine

It's very simple: We kill them all, no more POWs

A bringer of evil I am/ And therefore also a carrier of light/ As I use this focus through the dark/ And face the shine in the dead end/ Limitations do not exist/ When you are ahead of the crowd/ With the art of confidence/ I reign at the throne of my soul/ The value of this darkness unwinds/ Travelling the other path/ A hidden triumph/ But obvious to the strong and wise/ By understanding this reality/ I remain in a twice-colored cloud/ With feet connected solid in the ground/ And thus I get peace of mind/ A bringer of evil I am/ And also a carrier of light/ As I use this focus through the dark/ And face the shine in the dead end.

• CJ Werleman, July 3, 2025; Dimmu Borgir; Middle East Eye, July 3, 2025; Pfc. Sandoval, Shauna Schwartz (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Making love at Kalash Fertility Festival

She invited me to Pakistan’s sexy FERTILITY Festival! 🇵🇰

(PBS) Culture shock is valuable part of ‘thoughtful travel,’ says Rick Steves

(Phils Guide to the World!) May 15, 2025: The Chilam Joshi Kalash Festival 2025 was held in Rumbur Valley and Bumburet Valley and Berir Valley, just outside of Chitral in Northwest Pakistan.

Kalash Girls, Tahsin Shah 04 - Kalash people

The festival celebrates the coming of spring and the fertility of the land. The Kalash people and the Kalash tribe are surprisingly progressive, and marital practices allow women to pursue love without social stigma. It's during the spring festival when many Kalash women set their sights on potential mates.

In stark contrast to patriarchal norms found in much of South Asia, the Kalash community promotes gender equality through practices like open relationships and marriage by elopement.

• Hunza Valley, Pakistan, is the land of longevity
• Buddhism in Pakistan (formerly Gandhara/India)

Kalashi: The beautiful Kalash people

Bumberet Valley, surrounded by the Hindu Kush Range, which is part of the parent Himalayan Range, is the largest and most popular valley, attracting the most tourists, especially for the Spring Kalash Festival in 2025.

During Chilam Joshi I enjoyed Kalash dancing, singing, music, traditions, and fashion, with new tribal outfits being made each year for the celebration.

In the mornings, my Kalash Valley of Chitral travel vlog goes inside Rumbur Village and Bamboret Valley to see the DAILY LIFE of the Kalash before the festival.

Kilashi girl, Chitral, like an Afghan (Kalash)

I also visit a baby ceremony, an ancient Kalash Valley graveyard/cemetery, Kalash temple, and several Kalash houses along the way.

Join me to experience the special Kalash culture at the Chilam Joshi Spring Festival 2025. What do you think about these people? Please comment below and share with friends before their culture dies off.

If you enjoy this video, please ✅ SUBSCRIBE (bit.ly/3BqGnIz) to follow along as I travel for six weeks in Pakistan and on to EVERY COUNTRY IN THE KNOWN WORLD! ❤️ It's my goal to see the planet NOT through the eyes of the media, but through my own eyes. Therefore, I show countries the American media shines a bad light on. It is in these countries that I've found the MOST friendly and hospitable people! Please take a look at the full series:

• 🇩🇿 Algeria: https://bit.ly/4hUJYTV
• 🇮🇷 Iran: shorturl.at/mndto 😊
• Syria: https://bit.ly/4gyRfb6
• 🇦🇫 Afghanistan: shorturl.at/eTsIr
• 🇱🇾 Libya: https://bit.ly/3QZEDzn
• 🇮🇶 Iraq: https://bit.ly/3KhayYa
• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: https://shorturl.at/OL0AW

😍 Thanks so much for the support and subscriptions (https://bit.ly/3BqGnIz). They inspire me to continue making positive videos. :). Cheers, Phil #kalash #kalashfestival #pakistan #tribe #festival

_______

چلم جوشی کالاش فیسٹیول 2025 شمال مغربی پاکستان میں چترال سے بالکل باہر وادی رومبر اور بمبورٹ ویلی اور وادی بیریر میں منعقد ہوا۔ یہ موسم بہار کی آمد اور زمین کی زرخیزی کا جشن مناتا ہے۔ کالاش لوگ اور کالاش قبیلہ حیرت انگیز طور پر ترقی پسند ہیں اور ازدواجی رسومات خواتین کو سماجی بدنامی کے بغیر محبت کو آگے بڑھانے کی اجازت دیتے ہیں۔ اور یہ موسم بہار کے تہوار کے دوران ہوتا ہے جب بہت سی کالاش خواتین اپنی نظریں ممکنہ ساتھیوں پر مرکوز کرتی ہیں! جنوبی ایشیا کے زیادہ تر حصے میں پائے جانے والے پدرانہ اصولوں کے بالکل برعکس، کالاش برادری کھلے تعلقات اور بھاگ کر شادی جیسے طریقوں کے ذریعے صنفی مساوات کو فروغ دیتی ہے۔ ہندوکش پہاڑوں سے گھری ہوئی بمبریٹ وادی کالاش کی سب سے بڑی اور مقبول وادی ہے، جو سب سے زیادہ سیاحوں کو اپنی طرف متوجہ کرتی ہے، خاص طور پر بہار کالاش فیسٹیول (2025) کے لیے۔ چلم جوشی کے دوران میں نے کالاش رقص، کالاش گانے، کالاش موسیقی، کالاش روایات، اور کالاش فیشن کا لطف اٹھایا، ہر سال جشن کے لیے نئے قبائلی لباس بنائے جاتے تھے۔ صبح کے وقت، میرا کالاش ٹریول بلاگ آپ کو میلے سے پہلے کالاش کے لوگوں کی روزمرہ کی زندگی کو دیکھنے کے لیے رمبور گاؤں اور بمبورٹ گاؤں کے اندر لے جاتا ہے۔ میں راستے میں ایک بچے کی تقریب، ایک قدیم کالاش قبرستان/قبرستان، کالاش مندر اور کئی کالاش گھروں کا دورہ بھی کرتا ہوں۔ چلم جوشی اسپرنگ فیسٹیول 2025 میں خصوصی کالاش ثقافت کا تجربہ کرنے کے لیے میرے ساتھ شامل ہوں! کالاش لوگوں کے بارے میں آپ کا کیا خیال ہے؟ براہ کرم ذیل میں تبصرہ کریں اور اپنے دوستوں کے ساتھ اشتراک کریں اس سے پہلے کہ ان کی ثقافت مر جائے! اگر آپ اس ویڈیو سے لطف اندوز ہوتے ہیں، تو براہ کرم ✅ سبسکرائب کریں (https://bit.ly/3BqGnIz) جب میں پاکستان میں اور دنیا کے ہر ملک میں چھ ہفتوں کا سفر کرتا ہوں! ❤️ میرا مقصد دنیا کو میڈیا کی آنکھوں سے نہیں بلکہ اپنی آنکھوں سے دیکھنا ہے۔ لہذا، میں آپ کو وہ ممالک دکھاتا ہوں جہاں میڈیا بری روشنی میں چمکتا ہے۔ ان ممالک میں مجھے سب سے زیادہ دوستانہ اور مہمان نواز لوگ ملے ہیں! براہ کرم میری پوری سیریز پر ایک نظر ڈالیں: 🇵🇰 پاکستان: https://bit.ly/3BqGnIz 🇩🇿 الجزائر: https://bit.ly/4hUJYTV 🇮🇷 ایران: https://shorturl.at/mndto 😊 شام: https://bit.ly/4gyRfb6 🇦🇫 افغانستان: https://shorturl.at/eTsIr 🇱🇾 لیبیا: https://bit.ly/3QZEDzn 🇮🇶 عراق: https://bit.ly/3KhayYa 🇸🇦 سعودی عرب: https://shorturl.at/OL0AW 😍 آپ کے تعاون اور سبسکرپشن کا بہت شکریہ

Holy Ramadan, month of Fasts/Feasts

Beauty bound in a burka? Free in hijab (dreamstime.com)

Hey, don't you mean FASTING? Yes, but David Wood (below) assures us it's actually FEASTING that will be happening all of this Muslim-month, with lots of sleep and deluded back-patting of how "pious" and "holy" we're being in observance of sacred traditions.

The many benefits of fasting

The same happens in Buddhism, where monastics observe a daily "fast" (not eating after noon or before dawn) but may overeat the rest of the time, often developing diabetes, cholesterol problems, and all kinds of diseases of modernity as a consequence. Saudi Arabia has many people suffering from overeating, not starvation, during the Ramadan "fast."

It seems even more ridiculous in Holy Roman Catholicism, at least the American version, where asking good Catholics to "fast" -- abstain from eating dead animals in the form of "meat" -- was just too much to ask. Forty days without dead fish? How is McDonald's supposed to make money? (Are fish animals? We thought they were).

Eat all the seed-bearing plants and fruit in the world, which the good God hath made: Genesis 1:29 quotes the God as saying, "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. But that's not good enough. We need to kill animals, or pay people to kill them for us, even during Lent, a 40-day period of abstaining and austerity, abandoning all kinds of bad habits. Does Protestantism advocate fasting? Sort of.

Bhagavan Bhakthi (Hinduism devotion)

Maha Shivratri – celebrated in February/March, the Great Honoring of the Trinity Component God Shiva is a solemn Hindu festival that occurs towards the end of winter, before the spring. It is marked with rituals such as fasting (vrata) and meditation (dhāraṇā and dhyana). The holiday occurs on the last night of the waning moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna or Magha. What do Hindus consider "fasting"? Six important fasts or vrats Hindus should keep and why

• Different types of fasts performed by Hindus (ServDharm)

What is Ramadan? The Islamic Holy Month - Behind the News

• Fast fast (take nothing but air)
• Water fast (just drink lots of water)
• Juice fast (just take fresh juices, but be careful of the natural sugar content separated from its healthy fiber)
• Fast all day (24 hours)
• Fast part of the day (from 12 noon to about 6:00 am)
• Fast all night (like when sleeping, avoiding after dinner snacks)
• Fast part of the night (like during Ramadan, after the giant feast dinner, staying up all night to digest before ruining that digestion with a big breakfast, before the recovery-sleep done all of the rest of the day)
• Food? Give it a rest and clean house, as fasting allows the body to clean itself like a self-cleaning oven, the energy-consuming organs of digestion.
• All forms of fasting are good for the body, if undertaken correctly. It may seem scary because we overeat and are sugar addicts with diabetes, prediabetes, and all sorts of metabolic syndrome conditions, which fasting would eventually clear
• Who's healthier and more alive than someone trapped for a time without food, finding all the senses heightened and fully alert?

Ramazan begins with crescent moon, how official start time can still vary around the world

(WION) Ramazan (aka Ramadan), the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is one of the holiest periods for Muslims around the world. In 2025, the world's Muslim community anticipates a rare alignment in the moon sighting for the beginning of Ramadan. Watch to know more. #Eid #Ramadan #worldnews

Fasting, the Islamic way: FEASTing

The REAL Ramadan rules we never knew existed

(Acts 17 Polemics) #Ramadan is typically described as a month-long "fast" (period of not eating). Yet, the entire month is filled with "feasting" (periods of eating).

Indeed, binge eating during Ramadan is causing a health crisis in Muslim countries. So why is gluttony and excess portrayed as strict discipline and self-control in Islam?

Is there a spiritual component to Ramadan? Christian critic David Wood explores the issue and uncovers the disturbing truth about Islam's holiest month.

Articles cited:

• "Not so fast: Ramadan sees rise in binge eating and A&E cases": cnn.com/2013/08/07/world...
• "The Economic Impact of Ramadan on the Food Sector": hlb.global/the-economic-i...
• "The puzzle of self-reported weight gain in a month of fasting (Ramadan) among a cohort of Saudi families in Jeddah, Western Saudi Arabia": ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

How dare you question us, you infidel!

The REAL reason Christian ex-con David Wood is so harsh on Islam

Join the channel to get access to perks: @acts17polemics. Love to attend a Christian apologetics, polemics, and evangelism training event in person or even just streamed online, make sure to get FREE tickets NOW for the Ministry to Muslims event coming to Ohio this August. Tickets can be reserved for those just "interested" but also those able to make it in person "all-access" or "online-only." Please sign up now. ⇨ seekandsharetruth.eventbrite.... ⇦ 🔔 Please help support these additional channels by following: ‪@YourBrotherInChrist‬ ‪@ElleISOElohim‬ ‪@apologeticsroadshow‬ ‪@PhilosophyUnderground‬ 😊Thanks for donations: acts17apologetics https://www.buymeacoffee.com/YBIC, elleisoelohim

⚠️ MUSLIMS BEWARE ⚠️ Ramadan [as celebrated nowadays] defies Islam!

UPCOMING: Muslims vs. the Bible: Can YOU prove it's corrupt? ▶ youtube.com/live/L_LNWKHJX

• WION, Feb. 28, 2025: Behind the News; Acts 17 Polemics) March 22, 2023; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Jesus ordained as a Buddhist monk: BBC

Jesus of Nazareth: Historical figure or Jewish-Roman imperial myth?
What Christians get wrong about Jesus Christ and their own faith

Jesus was a Buddhist monk | BBC documentary

Jesus' seamless robe (Christian Faith Guide)

(Brian Oblivion) From Minute 38 on comes the interesting part. This British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC 4) documentary examines the question "Did Jesus Die?"

It looks at various ideas around this question until Minute 25, where this examination of ideas takes a very logical and grounded turn with surprising conclusions that demonstrate:

The "Three Wise Men" were Tibetan Buddhist monks who (were in search of a tulku) found Jesus and came back for him about the time of puberty.

• What is a "Buddhist monk" (shaman, sramana, wandering ascetic)?
• 13 misconceptions about what it truly means to be a Christian
• Christ is NOT king to Jews, so Daily Wire's Jewish CEO fired host Candace Owens for saying so on the air
• The life of a wandering ascetic (shramana) in India
• 14 reasons some Christians don't believe the Easter story
• Seamless robe of Jesus like the wandering ascetics of India wear
• Real Story of the [Tibetan Buddhist monks who were Christianity's] Three Wise Men (White Feather | Medium)

Western Buddhist monk Dhammadipa

After being trained in a Buddhist monastery [Hemis Gompa, Ladakh] he spread the Buddhist philosophy, survived Jewish persecution in Palestine and crucifixion in the Roman Empire (Israel), and escaped to Kashmir, Afghanistan.

This part of Kashmir is near the birthplace of the Buddha, known as ancient Gandhara in Central Asia, with its capital now in Pakistan (after the 1947 Partition of India).

There he died an old man at the age of 80 [and his corpse was entombed in the Jewish-style with its distinct orientation with Buddhist-style footprints marking his burial site.

That grave is now covered by an Islamic grave it of another person, making excavation difficult without stirring up a great deal of trouble.

See the scholarship of Holger Kersten and Nicolas Notovitch for the details and written evidence.

• BBC 4 documentary via Brian Oblivion (YouTube, 12/19/11); Pfc. Sandoval, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Mountaineer loses Guinness world record

Will Taylor (@WillTaylor_news) LBC, 9/26/23; CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

This is Bull Scheiße!

Legendary mountain climber stripped of Guinness World Records after map enthusiast claims he stopped 5 meters short of real summit. Westerner Reinhold Messner has been stripped of his Guinness World Records.

The famed mountaineer who believed he had scaled the 14 highest peaks on the planet is furious after he was stripped of his Guinness World Records when a map enthusiast said he stopped five meters short of the true summit on one of those climbs, namely, Annapurna.

• 

  Annapurna mountain, Nepal (Alamy)

  [However, Buddhist Sherpa guides and porters did make it to the top of the highest mountains and have been doing so for a long time without the glory. Without them, no Westerner would be making it to the top of Mt. Everest, Annapurna, or K-2, allegedly the highest summit in the world, even taller than Everest.]

Reinhold Messner mad at Guinness Book folks

Reinhold Messner was recognized as having been the first man to climb the world's 8,000-meter summits. But Eberhard Jurgalski, after using German space agency imagery, has said he fell just short of reaching the actual peak of Annapurna in the Himalayas when he climbed it in 1985.

After a decade of work, Jurgalski believes he stopped five meters away, and that mountaineers failed to properly complete the summits on three different peaks. More

What is Himalayan Pink Salt? (video)

Celtic sea salt vs. Himalayan pink salt: mineral comparison + differences

(Clean Food Living) March 12, 2022. Ever wonder what the differences between Celtic sea salt and Himalayan pink [rock] salt are? This video explores in depth information about the minerals in pink Himalayan salt (an ancient sea salt mined in pristine caves in Pakistan) and the minerals in Celtic sea salt. The hostess compares Celtic sea salt minerals to pink Himalayan salt minerals in a side-by-side chart showing numeric values. Plus this video shows the many similarities and differences (other than mineral content) between the two. With this information we can determine some of the health benefits of each.

• Why is sea salt salty? It's sodium and trace minerals
• What are minerals and who cares?
• Mineral deficiency causes signs of aging
• Minerals are the micronutrients necessary for life
• Most "functional beverages" (sports drinks) suck
• Get all 90 essentials nutrients from criticalhealthnews.com

NOTE: Dear friends, please forgive my mispronunciation of Himalayas (called them Himalayans) and of Celtic. I was phonetically saying "Seltic" (like the basketball team) instead of "Keltic" 😊 Many blessings!

The Buddha of Swat Valley, Pakistan

Why the Buddha of Swat, once destroyed by Taliban, is a symbol of resilience

MINGORA, Pakistan - The Buddha of Swat, carved on a cliff in the 7th century, was dynamited by the Pakistani Taliban [created by an alliance of the CIA and ISI] in 2007. Now it has been restored, a powerful symbol of tolerance in the traumatized Pakistan's Swat Valley.

The holy figure, depicted in a lotus meditation position at the base of a granite cliff in northern Pakistan, was severely damaged by Islamist terrorists in an echo of the Afghan Taliban's complete destruction of its more imposing counterparts at Bamiyan in 2001.

For some, it was a wanton act of vandalism that struck at the heart of the area's unique history and identity.

It felt "like they killed my father," says Parvesh Shaheen, a 79-year-old expert on Buddhism in Swat. "They attack...my culture, my history."

The Buddha sits in Jahanabad, the epicenter of Swat's Buddhist heritage, a beautiful valley in the foothills of the Himalayas.

There the Italian government has been helping to preserve hundreds of archeological sites, working with local authorities who hope to turn it into a place of Buddhist pilgrimage once more and pull in sorely needed tourist dollars.

A decade ago, the militants climbed the six-meter (20-foot) effigy of the Buddha to lay the explosives, but only part of them were triggered, demolishing the top of the Buddha's face. Another, smaller fresco nearby was torn to pieces.

For Shaheen, the statue is "a symbol of peace, symbol of love, symbol of brotherhood."

"We don't hate anybody, any religion! What is this nonsense to hate somebody?" he asks.

But other Swatis, less familiar with Buddhist history and in 2007 not yet traumatized by the full brutality of the [CIA/ISI's] Taliban, applauded the attack and took up the argument that sculpture was "anti-Islamic."

Like their counterparts in neighboring Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban are extremist insurgents who terrorized the population in the name of a fundamentalist version of Islam [called Wahhabism], banning all representation in art and for whom the idea of a non-Islamic past is taboo.

The episode became a marker for the beginning of the Taliban's violent occupation of Swat, which would only end in 2009 with heavy intervention by the Pakistan Army. By then, several thousand people had been killed and more than 1.5 million displaced.

Land of Buddhism

The population of Swat has not always been as it is today, mostly conservative Muslim, where cultural norms dictate that women wear burqas [modesty coverings].

Instead, it was for centuries a pilgrimage site for Buddhists, especially from the Himalayas. The Vajrayana school even consider it a "holy land," from where their Dharma originated.

They continued to visit right up until the 20th century, when borders hardened with the independence of British-India and creation of Pakistan in 1947.

Now the vast majority of Pakistan's population are Muslim, and its religious minorities -- mainly Christians and Hindus -- are often subject to discrimination and communal violence.

Buddhism for its part disappeared from the region around the 10th century AD, driven out by Islam and Hinduism [a revival of the old Vedic religion of the Brahmin priests].

Its golden age in Swat lasted from the second to the fourth centuries, when more than 1,000 Buddhist monasteries, sanctuaries, and stupas [reliquary burial mounds] spread out in constellations across the valley.

"The landscape was worshipped in itself," says Luca Maria Olivieri, an Italian archeologist who oversaw the restoration of the Buddha.

"The pilgrims were welcomed by these protective [Buddhist] images, sculptures, and inscriptions, arranged along the last kilometers (miles) before arriving," Olivieri explains. More