Broken Minarets and Lamassu: The Propogandization of Heritage on the Front Line of the War in Northern Iraq

Summary

The armed conflict in Iraq has produced a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, beginning with the take-over of Mosul by the Islamic State (ISIS) in June 2014 followed by their subsequent gains in its northern governorates. Since then millions have become internally displaced or left the country as refugees. These war-wearied Iraqis are struggling with a loss of identity and a lack of control over their lives, and these feelings are further compounded by the destruction of their as a result of the ongoing conflict. Thousands of cultural properties have suffered collateral damaged as a result of intensive armed combat, particularly as a result of aerial bombardment, and more directly by the systematic and overt campaign of genocide and cultural cleansing wrought by ISIS. The conflict has brutally underscored the linkages between cultural heritage, cultural diversity, and human rights. Based on personal fieldwork experiences in northern Iraq and activities with the American Schools of Oriental Research Cultural Heritage Initiatives (ASOR CHI), this talk discusses how the belligerents engaged in the current northern Iraq conflict have responded politically and militarily to the destruction cultural sites, as well as how Iraqi civilians in these war-torn regions are coping with the loss of local heritage.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22522