Islamic State Wages War on the Middle East’s Cultural Heritage Just this week terrorists blew up Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque, which had stood since 1173. By Thomas Campbell
https://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-wages-war-on-the-middle-easts-cultural-heritage-1498254299
If you’ve ever been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, chances are that you visited the glass pavilion containing the Temple of Dendur. One of only three such temples outside Egypt, it was built by the Roman emperor Augustus around 10 B.C. as part of an effort to cultivate the local Nubian population. This month marks its 50th anniversary overlooking Central Park, where it provides an unforgettable glimpse of Egypt’s ancient culture for millions of tourists who will never travel to the Middle East.
But more important, at a time when the U.S. is questioning the nature of its longstanding relationships with countries across the world, the temple is a symbol of international cooperation. In the 1960s, 50 nations united to save 22 irreplaceable monuments—including the Temple of Dendur—set to be submerged during the construction of Lake Nasser. These countries were motivated not by their own national interests, but by an understanding that mankind has a common interest in protecting historic monuments.
With a final investment of $16 million, the U.S. became the largest contributor to the $100 million preservation project. As a demonstration of gratitude, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser gave the Temple of Dendur to the U.S. in 1965. After a competition led by the newly created National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, President Lyndon Johnson decided that the 2,000-year-old temple should go to the Met.
The Middle East’s fragile cultural heritage was in the news again this week. On Wednesday Islamic State blew up the historic Grand al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, obliterating a cultural and religious site that had stood since 1173. Religious fundamentalism, illicit excavation, black-market trade and simple neglect have destroyed historic sites in the Middle East at an alarming rate. Wednesday’s bombing underscores the most urgent problem: ISIS and its affiliates have turned cultural destruction in Iraq and Syria into propaganda, even as they sell looted works of art on the black market to raise money for arms.
Why should we worry about a bunch of old monuments when the human cost of the unrest is so high? There are two reasons. First, the Middle East is the cradle of civilization. As our forebears recognized when they acted to save the cultural heritage of Lower Nubia, these monuments are integral to our collective human story. Architectural monuments illuminate the complexity of our common past. So much has already been lost. We have a moral obligation to save what remains.
The second reason we should be concerned is simple pragmatism: A focus on history and heritage will be key to the eventual recovery of the Middle East. Cultural sites provide citizens with a sense of their value and self-identity beyond religious dogma. They also provide jobs, income and stability by attracting tourists. Iraq and Syria are home to some of the most significant sites in the history of civilization. It may be hard to conceive of a vacation in Damascus or Baghdad today, but travel to Vietnam would have been equally inconceivable 40 years ago. In 2017, Vietnam projects tourist revenue of $20 billion.
Countries with economies tied to tourism are motivated to maintain peace and internal safety. Thus it is in the U.S. national interest to protect Middle Eastern heritage sites.
Continuing conflicts across the region make modern preservation efforts more complicated than the drive to save the monuments threatened by Lake Nasser. Over the past year, Britain and France created funds to help protect and restore monuments in Middle Eastern conflict zones. Earlier this spring, the United Nations passed a resolution defining the destruction of historic monuments as a war crime, creating the basis for future intervention and criminal prosecution.
This is all laudable and necessary preparation for a time when the region stabilizes. In the short term, local scholars and archaeologists, who often work in grave danger, may be the most effective avenue for aid. In late 2015, staff from the Met convened a conference in Istanbul for colleagues from museums in Syria and Iraq. They told us of their urgent need for basic photography and computer equipment to document collections that are at risk. In response, the Met developed portable documentation kits and sent them to these colleagues via Jordan. While this may sound like a drop in the bucket, it met an urgent need.
This process of listening and responding to on-the-ground experts is both scalable and replicable. Governments and foundations should promote—and fund—similar collaborations. The U.S. government could certainly play a more active role than it has so far in this work.
As we reflect on the effort that saved the Temple of Dendur, let’s not be deterred by the sheer complexity of present-day challenges. One way or another, Iraq and Syria will have peace once again. For the sake of future generations, let’s play our part in safeguarding the cultural heritage of the Middle East.
Mr. Campbell is director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Comments are closed.
