Blood Antiquities: Islam’s War on Art History

The Hill Museum and Manuscript Library in Minnesota is not only a warehouse of priceless historical documents, but also sends out teams of researchers and preservationists to rescue parchments, papyri, and other ancient texts. These manuscripts are endangered because of the activity of the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Authors Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra and Gordon Govier write:

“ISIS is very savvy, very alert to economics,” said Columba Stewart, executive director.

Not only texts, but artworks in the forms of paintings and sculptures are being destroyed wholesale by the terrorists. Stewart seeks to save as many historic items as he can. “His team has been taking digital photographs of” those which cannot be brought to safety. The team has been working to preserve “artifacts in the Middle East for 12 years.”

It’s a tale of victory and tragedy. Each piece preserved, snatched from the hands of the terrorists, is a triumph. Every item left behind is loss.

Also known as IS (“Islamic State”) or ISIL (“Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant”), this group is a manifestation of the Muslim antipathy to representative art. While some Muslim scholars permit paintings, drawings, and other images, mainstream Islam condemns any artistic image. For centuries, Muslim artists have specialized in abstract or nonrepresentational art: architecture and calligraphic patterns.

Most of the contents in Syria’s 34 national museums were transported to safe havens, United Nations officials reported last February. Still, the remaining museum pieces — or worse, uncatalogued items in archaeological sites — are at risk.

A few Islamic artists have produced images and representational art over the centuries. They, and their works, find safe havens outside Islamic nations.

In addition to the team from the Hill Museum, there are other scholars seeking to preserve artworks and ancient documents.

Enter the US Committee of the Blue Shield, the subject of George Clooney’s WWII movie The Monuments Men. Along with training the US military on how to protect cultural heritage during armed conflict, the committee also trains and teaches foreign museum staff who are trying to protect endangered artifacts, said member Corine Wegener.

The US Committee of the Blue Shield operates in concert with the Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield and the International Committee of the Blue Shield.

Major Corine Wegener (U.S. Army) was a founder and leader of this effort. It is clear that many nations around the world are eager to see cultural artifacts saved from Islamic terror.