What ‘cultural cleansing’ looks like under the Islamic State

Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 4, 2015. It has been updated.

Shocking footage of Islamic State (IS) insurgents using sledgehammers and power drills to destroy priceless statues and other relics at Mosul Museum in northern Iraq sparked outrage across the world last month. IS began March the way it ended February, as militants bulldozed the the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud. 

The destruction of artifacts, some of them dating back to the Assyrian and Akkadian empires, has been described as a “catastrophe” and “cultural terrorism.”

Among the items smashed or vandalized were stone figures from the ancient trading city of Hatra, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and “unique artifacts” from nearby archaeological sites.

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Tragically, it’s not the first time IS militants have demolished historic sites or relics in Iraq. And it probably won’t be the last as they carry out their promise to destroy religious idols and icons. 

For months, the militant group, also known as ISIS and ISIL, has been using explosives and bulldozers to lay waste to mosques, shrines, churches and artifacts across territories in northern Iraq and Syria that have fallen under its control.

And what they don't smash, they sell on the black market to help fund their bloody campaign. 

Among the many ancient sites destroyed so far are the tomb of the Prophet Jonah in the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh, near Mosul, as well as the al-Arbain mosque and the 7th-century Green Church in Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. 

Also lost is the al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque in Mosul, which is possibly the same mosque depicted in this photo taken in 1932.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova has described the destruction in Iraq as “cultural cleansing” and said the “deliberate attack against the country’s millennial history and culture” must be stopped.

“This tragedy is far from just a cultural issue: it’s an issue of major security,” Bokova said.

“We see clearly how terrorists use the destruction of heritage in their strategy to destabilize and manipulate populations so that they can assure their own domination.”

The massive outcry over the destruction of historical buildings and artifacts may seem misplaced when you consider the thousands of people who have been killed or forced to flee during IS's murderous rampage across the region.

But experts point out that these buildings and relics are more than just religious sites or objects.  They are fundamental parts of Iraq's ational identity. 

“What ISIS does by destroying cultural sites is fundamentally to undermine people's hope," Eleanor Robson, chair of the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, told Channel 4. 

"It undermines the cohesion that holds communities and societies together. That's why it's so damaging and so hard."

It's important to note that the destruction of Iraq's precious cultural heritage predates the rise of the Islamic State. Following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the US military damaged ancient Babylon in order to build Camp Alpha according to a report released by UNESCO in 2009.

Here's a grim snapshot of just some of the sites destroyed so far.

Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque, Mosul, Iraq

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Jawad Husseiniya mosque, Tal Afar, Iraq

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Saad bin Aqeel Husseiniya shrine, Tal Afar, Iraq

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Tomb of the Girl, Mosul, Iraq

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Ahmed al-Rifai shrine and tomb, Tal Afar, Iraq

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Virgin Mary church, Mosul, Iraq

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The tomb of the Prophet Jonah, Mosul, Iraq

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Al-Arbain mosque, Tikrit, Iraq

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Ancient lion statues, Ar-Raqqah, Syria

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