Abstract
In cities, archaeological sites and religious and historic monuments devastated or destroyed by ISIS, the West is an oblivious witness, abandoning its core values. The entire international community is suffering from the disavowal of the courageous achievements of modern culture. When my colleagues and I launched a campaign to save cultural heritage under attack in Syria,1 along with Paolo Matthiae, we did not want to defend a dictator — Assad — over the cutthroats of Daesh, or al Qaeda. We knew that these tragedies concern and sweep away universal freedoms. It appears that many were shocked with the deliberate spread of films with which ISIS, under its black banner, claimed responsibility for the destruction of the Mosul Museum. Horror, shame and barbarism. But now is not only a time for commentary. Can anything be done?
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Notes
C. Wegener, Presentation to the Annual Meeting of the US Committee of the Blue Shield (Washington, DC, 2013). http://www.cchag.org date accessed 25 January 2014.
L. Rush, B. Rose, and D. Siebrandt, Visit to the National Museum of Iraq (Baghdad, Iraq, 2009).
L. Johnson-Kelly, Presentation to the Annual Meeting of the New York State Archaeological Association (Watertown, NY, 2013).
B. Lione, The Iraqi Institute for Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage at Erbil; an Update, Presentation to the Combatant Command Cultural Heritage Action Group Annual Meeting, Co-Sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC, 2013).
F. Hiebert and P. Cambon, Afghanistan, Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul (Washington, DC: The National Geographic Society, 2008).
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S. Kane, Lessons Learned from Libya (Presentation at the Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2014).
F. Hartt, Florentine Art Under Fire. Princeton (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1949), p.5.
N. Furstenhofer, The First Austrian Experience, Earthquake Calabritto 1980 (Presentation to Archaeology in Conflict, World Archaeology Inter-Congress, Vienna, Austria, 2010).
L. Johnson-Kelly, Presentation to the Annual Meeting of the New York State Archaeological Association (Watertown, NY, 2013).
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© 2016 Laurie W. Rush
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Rush, L.W. (2016). Looting of Antiquities: Tearing the Fabric of Civil Society. In: Charney, N. (eds) Art Crime. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-40757-3_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-40757-3_11
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