Deliberate destruction and theft of cultural heritage has been conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant since 2014 in Iraq, Syria, and to a lesser extent in Libya. The destruction targets various places of worship under ISIL control and ancient historical artifacts. In Iraq, between the fall of Mosul in June 2014 and February 2015, ISIL has plundered and destroyed at least 28 historical religious buildings.
Beyond the ideological aspects of the destruction, there are other, more practical, reasons behind ISIL's destruction of historic sites. Grabbing the world's attention is easily done through the destruction of such sites, given the extensive media coverage and international condemnation that comes afterwards. Destroying historic ruins also allows ISIL to wipe the slate clean and to start afresh, leaving no traces of any previous culture or civilization, while also providing an ideal platform for the group to establish its own identity and leave its mark on history.
In 2014, media reported destruction of multiple, chiefly Shiite, mosques and shrines throughout Iraq by ISIL
The Virgin Mary Church was destroyed with several improvised explosive devices in July 2014.[21]
Dair Mar Elia, the oldest monastery in Iraq, was demolished sometime between late August and September 2014. The destruction went unreported until January 2016.[22][23]
The Al-Tahera Church, built in the early 20th century, was possibly blown up in early February 2015.[1] However, there is no evidence that the church was actually destroyed.[24]
St Markourkas Church, a 10th-century Chaldean Catholic church, was destroyed on 9 March 2015, according to the Iraqi government official Dureid Hikmat Tobia. A nearby cemetery was also bulldozed.[25]
Another church, which was reportedly "thousands of years" old, was blown up in July 2015. According to Kurdish sources, four children were inadvertently killed when the church was destroyed.[26]
The Sa'a Qadima Church, which was built in 1872, was blown up in April 2016.
ISIL has burned or stolen collections of books and papers from various locations, including the Central Library of Mosul (which they rigged with explosives and burned down),[69] the library at the University of Mosul, a Sunni Muslim library, a 265-year-old Latin Church and Monastery of the Dominican Fathers, and the Mosul Museum Library. Some destroyed or stolen works date back to 5000 BC and include "Iraq newspapers dating to the early 20th century, maps and books from the Ottoman Empire, and book collections contributed by about 100 of Mosul’s establishment families." The stated goal is to destroy all non-Islamic books.
Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria continue their war on the region’s cultural heritage, and now the 'war' has come to the United States....
Does this remind you of anything happening in the US today ?
Beyond the ideological aspects of the destruction, there are other, more practical, reasons behind ISIL's destruction of historic sites. Grabbing the world's attention is easily done through the destruction of such sites, given the extensive media coverage and international condemnation that comes afterwards. Destroying historic ruins also allows ISIL to wipe the slate clean and to start afresh, leaving no traces of any previous culture or civilization, while also providing an ideal platform for the group to establish its own identity and leave its mark on history.
In 2014, media reported destruction of multiple, chiefly Shiite, mosques and shrines throughout Iraq by ISIL
The Virgin Mary Church was destroyed with several improvised explosive devices in July 2014.[21]
Dair Mar Elia, the oldest monastery in Iraq, was demolished sometime between late August and September 2014. The destruction went unreported until January 2016.[22][23]
The Al-Tahera Church, built in the early 20th century, was possibly blown up in early February 2015.[1] However, there is no evidence that the church was actually destroyed.[24]
St Markourkas Church, a 10th-century Chaldean Catholic church, was destroyed on 9 March 2015, according to the Iraqi government official Dureid Hikmat Tobia. A nearby cemetery was also bulldozed.[25]
Another church, which was reportedly "thousands of years" old, was blown up in July 2015. According to Kurdish sources, four children were inadvertently killed when the church was destroyed.[26]
The Sa'a Qadima Church, which was built in 1872, was blown up in April 2016.
ISIL has burned or stolen collections of books and papers from various locations, including the Central Library of Mosul (which they rigged with explosives and burned down),[69] the library at the University of Mosul, a Sunni Muslim library, a 265-year-old Latin Church and Monastery of the Dominican Fathers, and the Mosul Museum Library. Some destroyed or stolen works date back to 5000 BC and include "Iraq newspapers dating to the early 20th century, maps and books from the Ottoman Empire, and book collections contributed by about 100 of Mosul’s establishment families." The stated goal is to destroy all non-Islamic books.
Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria continue their war on the region’s cultural heritage, and now the 'war' has come to the United States....
Does this remind you of anything happening in the US today ?
