Demolishing Mosul ancient artifacts and some analytic points

Recently, the ISIL Takfiri group has released a new video showing its militants destroying the ancient artifacts at a museum in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The video shows terrorists using sledgehammers and drills to smash ancient statues in Mosul where the militants have been operating over the past ten months.

The vandalism purportedly took place at the Ninawa museum, which puts on exhibit Assyrian artifacts dating back to the 9th century BC. The video shows the Takfiri terrorists barbarically pounding 3,000-year-old sculptures with hammers.

Tens of militants are seen in the footage using pickaxes, ladders, drills and hammers to destroy every single piece of artifact in the museum. A precious Assyrian protective deity, dating back to 7th century BC is also shattered by the militants in the video. ISIL describes the statues as signs of irreverence to God.

The Takfiri terrorists have already razed to the ground a number of mosques in Syria and Iraq, many of them belonging to the early years of the Islamic civilization. The terrorists have also destroyed tombs belonging to revered Shia and Sunni figures. The ISIL also burnt a precious collection of historic books and manuscripts in the Ninawa museum. Tens of thousands of priceless documents, some of them registered with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), went up in flames.

Mosul and the surrounding areas were once occupied by the ancient Mesopotamians who established a great civilization in the lands between Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The artifacts in the Ninawa museum were supposed to have great cultural and historic significance.

Regarding the aforesaid lines, the following analytic points clarify some perspectives of this sad event.

1) Presently in the literature used by media and in different languages, the terroristic group is named and introduced as Islamic State. Given that, any violent and illogical moves tarnishes the divine religion of Islam. It is also possible that many Muslim youths assume such moves and crimes perpetrated by ISIL are a kind of reduplicat from the early years of Islam, which by nature have been updated at the present situation. Given the above lines Muslims are shouldered by a very heavy responsibly in this area.

2) Demolishing and smashing statues of the museum in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and likening such willful measures to the stream of destroying idols in Abrahamic religions is a patent cruelty toward Islam and other monotheist religions. Since these statues are not worshipped these days. Worshiping idols and statues dates back to roughly five or ten thousand years ago. According to the recorded history only those statues worshiped by people were destroyed by prophets.

3) in the holy book of Quran there stand so many verses which invites human beings to observing the movement of earth, the destiny of liars and future of criminals. What follows here are some examples fitted here:

“Similar situations [as yours] have passed on before you, so proceed throughout the earth and observe how was the end of those who denied.” (137. Al-Emran)

Say, [O Muhammad], “Travel through the land and observe how was the end of the criminals.” (69, Al-Naml)

Now the main questions is that: Are we allowed to destroy what have been left from infidels and only preserve the ancient works belong to monotheists and believers? When we destroy these remnants belonged to infidels, criminals and liars, don't we actually help them? Isn’t it necessary that Islamic analysts and clerics make a move against such anti-Islamic measures and delineate the Islamic teachings and instructions. Shouldn’t they touched upon the status of historical museum in Islamic teachings and in the area of media so as to avert negative consequences and fallouts of Takfiri measures and moves.

/SR