The war against the obscurantist Daesh (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is a war between backwardness and civilisation in every sense of the word. And it is only too clear that all those affiliated with this organisation are against life and humanity; their thoughts are 14 centuries behind time.

In its wars, we find that Daesh targets its opponents, cuts off supply lines, kills prisoners of war, and goes further by seizing property and destroying cultural and civilisational landmarks of occupied cities.

I am not about to compare the ugliness of killing people with the horror of destroying man’s cultural heritage, embodied in artefacts; all these historical artefacts are not more valuable than human life. But their value comes not only from the fact that they are priceless, but also because they are a part of humankind’s identity and history. Cultural features, arts and literature give life a wonderfully distinguished and elegant flavour, which eases life’s severity and prevents us from turning into mere tools of industrial production.

When a city’s theatres, cinema houses, antiquity sites, public libraries, museums, and religious landmarks are destroyed, then the city is considered to be facing a war targeting its culture and identity. In truth, such a war will destroy a city’s existence.

Daesh has always been keen on documenting its barbaric tactics of chopping heads, burning people alive, and killing and burying scores of people in mass graves. This is documented in a method similar to a Hollywood production of suspense thrillers. This is done intentionally, to plant fear and panic in the hearts of people. Daesh has come up with a new video, in addition to its other highly offensive productions, showing its militants destroying statues and other antiquities at the Mosul museum — the second biggest museum in Iraq that houses antiquities that go back to the 9th century BC — with huge hammers.

The cultural and antiquity sites destroyed by Daesh do not belong to Iraq alone, rather they belong to all humanity because of their links to important eras in history.

Hence, it is not surprising that international agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) were shocked by the Daesh video, which prompted them to call for a special Security Council session to come up with a resolution for the protection of antiquities against theft and destruction.

Museums also have educational and pedagogical tasks that are no less important than their scientific tasks; and in addition to the museums that hold antiquities, there are museums for natural history and technological development and various types of arts. These museums include books and documents that are indispensable for researchers. And from this perspective, they contribute to the development process in communities.

The UN has also been keen to integrate museums in its quest to communicate a message of peace. In 1945, Unesco was created to respond to the firm belief of nations, forged by two world wars in less than a generation, that political and economic agreements are not enough to build a lasting peace. Peace must be established on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity. Unesco strives to build networks among nations that enable this kind of solidarity, by mobilising for education so that every child, boy or girl, has access to quality education as a fundamental human right and as a prerequisite for human development. Building intercultural understanding through protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity, Unesco created the idea of World Heritage to protect sites of outstanding universal value.

The International Council of Museums (Icom) was established in 1946, and has assisted members of the museum community in their mission to preserve, conserve and share cultural heritage. Icom also takes advice from institutional partners to achieve its objectives.

It is governed in an inclusive and hierarchical manner, on an international level. The organisation comprises more than 32,000 members and is made up of national committees, which represent 136 countries and territories, and international committees, which include experts in museums worldwide.

The Icom secretariat is situated at Unesco House, Paris.

Dash has been keen on committing crimes against culture and heritage in a systematic manner since invading Mosul on June 10, 2014.

It destroyed dozens of mosques, churches, shrines, statues of poets, musicians and part of the Nineveh wall, apart from burning documents and manuscripts.

Daesh has not reaped any financial gains from destroying ancient artefacts, as the terrorists were unable to move them due to their size and weight. Smaller antiquities are considered by these terrorists to be the spoils of war, and thus good to sell. While big statues are taboo and the works of infidels!

— Mohammad Akef Jamal is an Iraqi writer based in Dubai.