WORLDViews_ Islamic State says ‘historical monuments’ of Palmyra are safe – except for the statues

The Washington Post

WorldViews

Islamic State says ‘historical monuments’ of Palmyra are safe – except for the statues

By Adam Taylor
May 27 at 4:25 PM



The ancient Roman city of Palmyra, northeast of Damascus. (SANA via AP)

The Islamic State's capture of the Syrian city of Palmyra has caused a great deal of concern around the world, and not just because of the considerable strategic importance of the city itself. Many around the world fear what the Islamic State could do the pre-Islamic ruins just by the city, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Syria's most important archeological sites.

In the past, Islamic State militants have vandalized and destroyed ancient artifacts, justifying their destruction with religion. However, in an interview this week conducted with Alwan, an anti-Assad Syrian radio station, one Islamic State commander argued that the ruins of Palmyra are safe – for the time being at least.

"Concerning the historical city, we will preserve, and it will not undergo damages," the commander, dubbed Abu Laith al-Saoudi, told Alwan in an audio interview posted by the group to YouTube on Tuesday. Saoudi added that "historical monuments" would not be damaged by the group's bulldozers. However, in the interview Saoudi did admit that some statues of pre-Islamic religious figures may be destroyed,

On the same day as Saoudi's interview was released, an Islamic State-related group released a video that appeared to show the ruins of Palmyra untouched. The Washington Post was unable to verify when this video was filmed, however, and it was unclear whether the video was intended as reassurance – or a threat.

VIDEO: This video, released by the Islamic State, purports to show ancient ruins still intact in the captured Syrian city of Palmyra. Since the city was seized, many have feared that the historic ruins would be destroyed. Editor's note: The content in this video could not be independently verified by The Washington Post. (YouTube/A3maq Agency)

It remains unclear what the Islamic State intends to do with the ancient city of Palmyra. The group follows an extremist Islamist ideology that holds idolatry to be a deep sin, but their destruction of ancient sites may have more practical concerns: Qais Hussein Rashid, head of Iraq’s State Board for Antiquities and Heritage, has said he believes the destruction wrought by the Islamic State in ancient cities like Nimrud was motivated by a desire to cover up widespread looting.

Joshua Landis, director of Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, says that Palmyra's status in Syria may make it a target for the Islamic State. "For them, Palmyra stands for a Syria that is pre-Islamic and pagan. It is idolized by Syria's religious minorities and secular Sunnis, who look to the Mediterranean culture of Syria and not so much to the Islamic conquests of Mohammad," Landis writes in an e-mail.

"[The Islamic State] seeks to destroy this past in order to make a modern statement about who will rule today and what is divine," Landis added. "It is a blow to those Syrians who cherish Syria's long history of multiple cultures."

Even if the group is not harming the ruins, they may well be harming the city. On Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors Syria's civil war, reported that the Islamic State had carried out a mass execution in UNESCO-listed Palmyra's Roman ampitheater.

See also

* Among Syrians, Palmyra is famous for a different landmark — its brutal prison
* The splendors of Palmyra, the ancient Syrian city captured by the Islamic State
* Militants tighten grip on Palmyra, one of the Mideast’s most renowned sites

Adam Taylor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. Originally from London, he studied at the University of Manchester and Columbia University.


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