This August, ISIS publicly beheaded respected 82 year-old archaeologist Khaled al-As’ad.
His mutilated body was hung from a roman pillar at the archaeological site he had studied.
Placed on him, was a sign that accused him of being a “Heretic."
The Syrian antiquities expert had worked in Palmyra for 50 years before he was captured
by militants a month before his murder.
During his capture he refused to lead Isis to hidden artifacts.
His barbaric death has rattled Syrians and archaeologists throughout the world.
In August 2015, the Islamic State reportedly blew up a 2,000 year old ancient temple located
in Syria.
This is the latest in a long list of willfully destructive acts against cultural sites.
Their attempts at eradicating important historical landmarks has lasting repercussions, and are
condemned worldwide.
So, why is ISIS trying to erase history, and what have they destroyed so far?
Well, since 2014, ISIS has been on a campaign to destroy the Middle East’s ancient religious
artifacts.
Although a large reason for these acts is to shock the world and call further attention
to themselves, there is a more insidious and symbolic message behind the damage.
As ISIS has instituted themselves within Syria and Iraq, they have attempted to remove all
traces of the rich history behind those countries.
They have painted themselves not only as a ruling force, but as the only relevant historical
force.
This sort of “cultural cleansing” is commonly seen with oppressive, genocidal regimes as
an attempt to erase both the past and the future of an endangered region.
The Khmer Rouge in Cambodia knocked down temples and prohibited religious worship.
Adolf Hitler’s Nazis were known for burning famous works of art, and mountains upon mountains
of books.
In a little over a year, ISIS has destroyed 30 historical sites in Iraq alone, including
mosques, shrines, churches, and other important UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
After capturing the city of Mosul, ISIS jackhammered and smashed a number of artifacts from the
second largest museum in Iraq.
A video shows them bulldozing the archeological site of the ancient Assyrian city, Nimrud.
ISIS even has a specific battalion dedicated to destroying these sites and artifacts.
The group has claimed that the ancient relics are a form of idolatry, and that they were
ordered by God to destroy them.
ISIS members also steal and resell some of the artifacts they find.
The destruction of cultural heritage sites is an important issue for the international
community.
However, despite a post-World War II Hague Convention to protect cultural property during
armed combat, there is little the governments of Iraq, Syria, and Libya can do to stop the
mayhem.
Although the UN is running the Unite4Heritage campaign to protect these sites, and US Secretary
of State, John Kerry, announced the State Department’s efforts to document the destruction,
very little has actually been done.
The United Nations has called the loss of these important sites and artifacts, a “war
crime."
ISIS’s actions are extremely telling of the type of organization they want to be.
Their ideology is similar to that of many Islamic extremist groups.
But the careful application of Sharia law, coupled with wiping the historical slate clean,
speaks to their hope of becoming a totalitarian, genocidal state.
Like the Nazis who came before them, ISIS is a dangerous and dedicated group, with a
reprehensible end-goal.
ISIS may be trying to erase history, but they can’t erase or take back anything they’ve
done, especially not the murders they’ve committed against people like humanitarian
Kayla Mueller.
To learn more about how Kayla ended up dying at the hands of these terrorists, watch the
video.
Thanks for tuning in on TestTube today!
Make sure to like and subscribe for new episodes daily.